What are philosophers trying to achieve? How can they succeed? Does philosophy make progress? Is it in competition with science, or doing something completely different, or neither? Timothy Williamson tackles some of the key questions surrounding philosophy in new and provocative ways, showing how philosophy begins in common sense curiosity, and develops through our capacity to dispute rationally with each other. Discussing philosophy's ability to clarify our thoughts, he explains why such clarification depends on the development of philosophical theories, and how those theories can be tested by imaginative thought experiments, and compared against each other by standards similar to those used in the natural and social sciences. He also shows how logical rigour can be understood as a way of enhancing the explanatory power of philosophical theories. Drawing on the history of philosophy to provide a track record of philosophical thinking's successes and failures, Williams overturns widely held dogmas about the distinctive nature of philosophy in comparison to the sciences, demystifies its methods, and considers the future of the discipline. From thought experiments, to deduction, to theories, this Very Short Introduction will cause you to totally rethink what philosophy is. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. Previously published in hardback as Doing Philosophy

Is philosophy a unique discipline, or are its methods more like those of other sciences than many philosophers think? Timothy Williamson explains clearly and concisely how contemporary philosophers think and work, and reflects on their powers and limitations.

Philosophy introduces important themes in ethics, knowledge, and the self, via readings from Plato, Aristotle, Darwin, and Buddhist writers. It explains how areas of philosophy relate and explores the contexts in which philosophy was and is done.

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an extraordinarily original philospher, whose influence on twentieth-century thinking goes well beyond philosophy itself. In this book, which aims to make Wittgenstein's thought accessible to the general non-specialist reader, A. C. Grayling explains the nature and impact of Wittgenstein's views. He describes both his early and later philosophy, the differences and connections between them, and gives a fresh assessment of Wittgenstein's continuing influence on contemporary thought. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This is the most comprehensive book ever published on philosophical methodology. A team of thirty-eight of the world's leading philosophers present original essays on various aspects of how philosophy should be and is done. The first part is devoted to broad traditions and approaches to philosophical methodology (including logical empiricism, phenomenology, and ordinary language philosophy). The entries in the second part address topics in philosophical methodology, such as intuitions, conceptual analysis, and transcendental arguments. The third part of the book is devoted to essays about the interconnections between philosophy and neighbouring fields, including those of mathematics, psychology, literature and film, and neuroscience.

Leading author, Gerry Gutek, discusses the major philosophical systems and then applies how these systems and ideologies contribute to educational theory. Examines the origen, meaning and relevance to teaching and learning. New Perspectives on Philosophy and Education is organized into three major parts: philosophies, ideologies, and theories of education. Part I examines philosophy and education, idealism, realism, pragmatism, existentialism and postmodernism and analyzes their educational implications; Part II examines Ideology, Nationalism, Liberalism, Conservatism, and Marxism and analyzes their educational implications; Part III deals with theory, Essentialism, Progressivism, Social Reconstructionism, Critical Theory, and Globalization in terms of their meaning for education. In drawing out the educational implications of these philosophies, ideologies, and theories, the author places them in the context of education, schooling, curriculum, and instruction. Pedagogical aspects include discussion questions, topics for reflection and research, websites, and suggested readings.

Preface p. vi Acknowledgements p. vii Chapter 1 The Practical Nature of Social Theorizing p. 1 Chapter 2 Arguments from Natural Science p. 9 Chapter 3 Arguments from Language/Understanding p. 44 Chapter 4 Arguments from Political Community p. 78 Chapter 5 Language, Tradition and Practice p. 117 Notes p. 147 Bibliography p. 171 Index p. 183.