Epistemology: The Key Thinkers

by Stephen Hetherington (Editor)

Overview

What have the great philosophers written about the nature of knowledge? Epistemology: The Key Thinkers tells the story of how our thinking about knowledge has developed, introducing you to some of the problems and forces that have dominated the history of philosophy.

Beginning with Plato, Aristotle, ancient sceptics, and the medievals, before moving to Descartes, the British empiricists, Kant, American pragmatism, and twentieth-century thinkers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein, W. V. O. Quine, Alvin Goldman, and beyond, each chapter guides you through the ideas, contribution, and legacy of a leading philosopher or movement. This second edition includes:

· A new chapter covering medieval epistemology
· Extended guides to further reading and future directions for epistemology

The final chapter looks to the future, highlighting some of the very latest debates that energise philosophical writing today about knowledge and how we know what we know.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350085299
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	06/27/2019
Series:	Key Thinkers
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	417 KB

About the Author

Stephen Hetherington is Professor of Philosophy at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, Australia. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Australasian Journal of Philosophy.
Stephen Hetherington is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at University of New South Wales, Australia. His books include Good Knowledge, Bad Knowledge (2001), How To Know (2011), and Knowledge and the Gettier Problem (2016). He is the general editor, for Bloomsbury, of The Philosophy of Knowledge: A History (2018, four volumes). He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Australasian Journal of Philosophy.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors

1. Epistemology's Past Here and Now, Stephen Hetherington (University of New South Wales, Australia)
2. Plato's Epistemology, Nicholas D. Smith (Lewis and Clark College, USA)
3. Aristotle on Knowledge, Robert Bolton (Rutgers University, USA) and Alan Code (Stanford University, USA)
4. Ancient Scepticism, Gisela Striker (Harvard University, USA)
5. Medieval Epistemology: Augustine, Aquinas, and Ockham, Charles Bolyard (James Madison University, USA)
6. The Epistemology of Descartes, Desmond M. Clarke (University College, Cork, Ireland)
7. Locke, Berkeley, Hume: Epistemology, P. J. E. Kail (University of Oxford, UK)
8. Kant and Kantian Epistemology, Melissa McBay Merritt (University of New South Wales, Australia) and Markos Valaris (University of New South Wales, Australia)
9. American Pragmatism: Fallibilism and Cognitive Progress, Christopher Hookway (University of Sheffield, UK)
10. Wittgenstein on Knowledge, Paul Snowdon (University College London, UK)
11. Quine, Goldman and Two Ways of Naturalizing Epistemology, Ram Neta (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA)
12. In Gettier's Wake, John Turri (University of Waterloo, Canada)
13. Epistemology's Future Here and Now, Stephen Hetherington (University of New South Wales, Australia)

Index

Editorial Reviews

There has long been a serious need for a systematic look at the history of epistemology. This volume, written by experts on the various figures who have done so much to shape epistemology as it now is, will go a long way toward filling that gap. It should be essential reading for epistemologists and historians alike.” —Baron Reed, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Northwestern University, USA

“The best history of philosophy is the wellspring of insightful metaphilosophy. This volume is a prime example of both. As these essays so vividly show, the history of epistemology may be a singularly bountiful supply of metaphilosophical insights, for the sharpness of its main problems and the complexity in its most seductive failures.” —Claudio de Almeida, Professor of Philosophy, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Brazil

“Contemporary Epistemology is often practised in historical void. This excellent collection of essays broadens the landscape, by tracing its origins from Plato to modern and contemporary philosophers. This healthy historical cure will help a lot of students and teachers in epistemology to see better where their problems come from.” —Pascal Engel, Director of Studies, The School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences, Paris, France

From the Publisher