It’s a complicated question what purpose philosophy serves, but I wouldn’t be posting here if I thought it served none. So my question is: What philosophical works and authors have you found especially valuable, for whatever reason? Perhaps the recommendations of such esteemed individuals as yourselves will carry enough evidentiary weight that I’ll actually read the darned things.
Laktatos, Quine and Kuhn are all worth reading. Recommended works from each follows:
Lakatos: ” Proofs and Refutations”
Quine: “Two Dogmas of Empiricism”
Kuhn: “The Copernican Revolution” and “The Structure of Scientific Revolution”
All of these have things which are wrong but they make arguments that need to be grappled with and understood (Copernican Revolution is more of a history book than a philosophy book but it helps present a case of Kuhn’s approach to the history and philosophy of science in great detail). Kuhn is a particularly interesting case- I think that his general thesis about how science operates and what science is is wrong, but he makes a strong enough case such that I find weaker versions of his claims to be highly plausible. Kuhn also is just an excellent writer full of interesting factual tidbits.
’ve also heard that Descartes “proves” that God exists. Now, whether or not Hegel or Descartes may have had any valid insights, this is enough to tell me that it’s not worth my time to go looking for them.
This seems like in general not a great attitude. The Descartes case is especially relevant in that Descartes did a lot of stuff not just philosophy. And some of his philosophy is worth understanding simply due to the fact that later authors react to him and discuss things in his context. And although he’s often wrong, he’s often wrong in a very precise fashion. His dualism is much more well-defined than people before him. Hegel however is a complete muddle. I’d label a lot of Hegel as not even wrong. ETA: And if I’m going to be bashing Hegel a bit, what kind of arrogant individual does it take to write a book entitled “The Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences” that is just one’s magnum opus about one’s own philosophical views and doesn’t discuss any others?
Laktatos, Quine and Kuhn are all worth reading. Recommended works from each follows:
Lakatos: ” Proofs and Refutations” Quine: “Two Dogmas of Empiricism” Kuhn: “The Copernican Revolution” and “The Structure of Scientific Revolution”
All of these have things which are wrong but they make arguments that need to be grappled with and understood (Copernican Revolution is more of a history book than a philosophy book but it helps present a case of Kuhn’s approach to the history and philosophy of science in great detail). Kuhn is a particularly interesting case- I think that his general thesis about how science operates and what science is is wrong, but he makes a strong enough case such that I find weaker versions of his claims to be highly plausible. Kuhn also is just an excellent writer full of interesting factual tidbits.
This seems like in general not a great attitude. The Descartes case is especially relevant in that Descartes did a lot of stuff not just philosophy. And some of his philosophy is worth understanding simply due to the fact that later authors react to him and discuss things in his context. And although he’s often wrong, he’s often wrong in a very precise fashion. His dualism is much more well-defined than people before him. Hegel however is a complete muddle. I’d label a lot of Hegel as not even wrong. ETA: And if I’m going to be bashing Hegel a bit, what kind of arrogant individual does it take to write a book entitled “The Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences” that is just one’s magnum opus about one’s own philosophical views and doesn’t discuss any others?