Scepticism and Animal Faith: Introduction to a System of Philosophy - Brossura

Santayana, George

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0486202364 ISBN 13: 9780486202365

Casa editrice: Dover Pubns, 1955

Riassunto

In this work, Santayana analyzes the nature of the knowing process and demonstrates by means of clear, powerful arguments how we know and what validates our knowledge. The central concept of his philosophy is found in a careful discrimination between the awareness of objects independent of our perception and the awareness of essences attributed to objects by our mind, or between what Santayana calls the realm of existents and the realm of subsistents. Since we can never be certain that these attributes actually inhere in a substratum of existents, skepticism is established as a form of belief, but animal faith is shown to be a necessary quality of the human mind. Without this faith there could be no rational approach to the necessary problem of understanding and surviving in this world.
Santayana derives this practical philosophy from a wide and fascinating variety of sources. He considers critically the positions of such philosophers as Descartes, Euclid, Hume, Kant, Parmenides, Plato, Pythagoras, Schopenhauer, and the Buddhist school as well as the assumptions made by the ordinary man in everyday situations. Such matters as the nature of belief, the rejection of classical idealism, the nature of intuition and memory, symbols and myth, mathematical reality, literary psychology, the discovery of essence, sublimation of animal faith, the implied being of truth, and many others are given detailed analyses in individual chapters.

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Contenuti

I. THERE IS NO FIRST PRINCIPLE OF CRITICISM II. DOGMA AND DOUBT III. WAYWARD SCEPTICISM IV. DOUBTS ABOUT SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS V. DOUBTS ABOUT CHANGE VI. ULTIMATE SCEPTICISM VII. NOTHING GIVEN EXISTS VIII. SOME AUTHORITIES FOR THIS CONCLUSION IX. THE DISCOVERY OF ESSENCE X. SOME USES OF THIS DISCOVERY XI. THE WATERSHED OF CRITICISM XII. IDENTITY AND DURATION ATTRIBUTED TO ESSENCES XIII. BELIEF IN DEMONSTRATION XIV. ESSENCE AND INTUITION XV. BELIEF IN EXPERIENCE XVI. BELIEF IN THE SELF XVII. THE COGNITIVE CLAIMS OF MEMORY XVIII. KNOWLEDGE IS FAITH MEDIATED BY SYMBOLS XIX. BELIEF IN SUBSTANCE XX. ON SOME OBJECTIONS TO BELIEF IN SUBSTANCE XXI. SUBLIMATIONS OF ANIMAL FAITH XXII. BELIEF IN NATURE XXIII. EVIDENCES OF ANIMATION IN NATURE XXIV. LITERARY PSYCHOLOGY XXV. THE IMPLIED BEING OF TRUTH XXVI. DISCERNMENT OF SPIRIT XXVII. COMPARISON WITH OTHER CRITICISMS OF KNOWLEDGE INDEX

Product Description

Detailed presentation of American philosopher's pragmatic concept of epistemology, isolation of realms of existents and subsistents. Chapters include "There is No First Principle of Criticism," Dogma and Doubt," and "The Discovery of Essence."

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Dover Pubns
• Data di pubblicazione: 1955
• ISBN 10: 0486202364
• ISBN 13: 9780486202365
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 314