Debating the State of Philosophy
Subtitle: Habermas, Rorty, and Kolakowski
Contributors: Jozef Niznik (Editor); John T. Sanders (Editor)
Publisher: Praeger Publishers; Praeger
Published: October 30, 1996
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 160
ISBN-13: 9780275957155
Subjects: Discourse analysis; Western philosophy, from c 1900 -; Philosophy Of The 20th Century; Philosophy; History & Theory - General; Methodology; Philosophy / General; General; 20th century; Congresses; Forecasting; Philosophy, Modern
First sentence: One way to deal with the rather unspecific topic of the "present state of philosophy" is to focus on an obvious feature of contemporary debates-the contextualist mood that prevails in most of the debates, whether in moral and political philosophy, the philosophy of language, or the philosophy of science.
Description: Do we still need philosophical discourse as part of communication within our culture? Is philosophical endeavor still valid? This book offers the views of some of the most popular, distinguished contemporary philosophers who have placed their mark on philosophy. Jurgen Habermas, Richard Rorty, Leszek Kolakowski, and Ernest Gellner bring their ideas into confrontation in a unique debate devoted to the present state of philosophy.

The future of Western culture may depend on the answers to the questions asked by these authors.