Quine: A Guide for the Perplexed

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Willard Van Orman Quine is one of the most influential analytic philosophers of the latter half of the twentieth century. No serious student of modern analytic philosophy can afford to ignore Quine's work. Yet there is no doubt that it presents a considerable challenge. The book offers clear explication and analysis of Quine's writings and ideas in all those areas of philosophy to which he contributed (except technical matters in logic). Quine's work is set in its intellectual context, illuminating his connections to Russell, Carnap and logical positivism. Detailed attention is paid to Word and Object, Quine's seminal text, and to his important theories on the nature of truth, knowledge and reality. This text presents an account of Quine's philosophy as a unified whole, identifying and exploring the themes and approaches common to his seemingly disparate concerns, and showing this to be the key to understanding fully the work of this major modern thinker.

Author Bio

Gary Kemp is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, UK.