Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Mission of Philosophy Chapter 2: Systematizing the Data of Philosophy Chapter 3: Philosophical Exposition Chapter 4: The Taxonomy of Philosophy Chapter 5: Some Principles of Philosophy Chapter 6: Philosophical Method: Apories and Evaluative Harmonization Chapter 7: Philosophical Legitimation via Systematization Chapter 8: Philosophical Refutation Chapter 9: Coming to Terms with Philosophical Dissensus Chapter 10: Can Philosophy Be Objective? Chapter 11: Influence among Philosophers Chapter 12: Does Philosophy Make Progress? Chapter 13: On Philosophy as a Guide to Life? Chapter 14: The Philosophy Industry in the USA Chapter 15: How the History of Philosophy Relates to Philosophy Itself? Chapter 16: Interpreting Philosophical Texts Chapter 17:How to Think Like a Philosopher

About the Author

Nicholas Rescher is Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh.

Reviews

This book collects and adds to work by Nicholas Rescher that variously puts philosophy itself in philosophical perspective. It displays the vast, deep, multidimensional knowledge of the field gained in his seventy years at work in it. Like contemporary philosophy itself, the book approaches its subject matter from many angles, always with revealing insight. -- Ernest Sosa, Rutgers University
In his new book, Nicholas Rescher, the Pittsburgh polymath, provides an exhaustive normative survey of the many dimensions of metaphilosophy. Very well informed and very useful for anyone interested in this field. -- Tom Rockmore, Peking University
Rescher brings the history of metaphilosophy alive, not only by making some of its greatest recent figures understandable as traditional or eccentric thinkers, but by introducing the philosophy of philosophy as something in which the reader can participate. He provides the tools and the motivation to grasp the essential features that have distinguished philosophical inquiry from all other branches of higher learning, and demonstrates what thinking in all cultures can gain from its study. This book is profoundly recommended for those seeking a careful, plain-spoken, but positively well-informed discussion of what philosophy can and should do for anyone hoping to understand its complicated progress and contemporary preoccupations. -- Dale Jacquette, Universitat Bern