Portraits of American Philosophy

Description

In Portraits of American Philosophy eight of America's leading philosophers offer autobiographical narratives, reminding us that the life of a scholar is both a personal struggle and an adventure in ideas. Selected from the prestigious John Dewey Lectures, these reminiscences provide personal perspectives on how a generation of scholars faced barriers built on prejudices of religion, race, gender, and sexual orientation, while being affected by the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and feminism. Also explored are the major themes of post-World War II American philosophy, including the temporary dominance of logical positivism and then ordinary language philosophy; the animus between some supporters of the so-called "analytic" and "Continental " traditions; new approaches to a variety of subfields; and a deepened understanding of how the history of philosophy can be enriched through concentration on textual and contextual study. These unique remembrances of people,... AcknowledgmentsIntroductionAbout the Contributors1. A Life in Philosophy Nicholas Wolterstorff2. Sixty Years of Philosophy in a LifeJ. B. Schneewind3. How It WasJudith Jarvis Thomson4. A Philosopher's Calling Ruth Barcan Marcus5. The Romance of PhilosophyRichard J. Bernstein6. Reflections of My Career in PhilosophyHarry Frankfurt7. God and Evil Among the PhilosophersMarilyn McCord Adams8. Unnatural Lotteries and Diversity in PhilosophyClaudia CardIndex