The Philosophy of P. F. Strawson, with Replies 23

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The Philosophy of P. F. Strawson, with Replies 23

TABLE OF CONTENTS FRONTISPIECE IV GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LIBRARY OF LIVING PHILOSOPHERS Vll FOUNDER'S GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LIBRARY OF LIVING PHILOSOPHERS IX ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Xll PREFACE XV PART ONE: INTELLECTUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF P.F. STRAWSON 1 FACSIMILE OF STRAWSON'S HANDWRITING 2 INTELLECTUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF P. F. STRAWSON 3 PART TWO: DESCRIPTIVE AND CRITICAL ESSAYS ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF P. F. STRAWSON, WITH REPLIES 23 1. RUTH GARRETT MILLIKAN: Proper Function and Convention in Speech Acts 25 REPLY TO RUTH GARRETT MILLIKAN 44 2. SUSAN HAACK: Between the Scylla of Scientism and the Charybdis of Apriorism 49 REPLY TO SUSAN HAACK 64 3. E. M. ADAMS: On the Possibility of a Unified World View 69 REPLY TO E. M. ADAMS 86 4. PAN AYOT BUTCHVAROV: The Relativity of Reallys 91 REPLY TO PAN AYOT BUTCHVAROV 106 XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS 5. RICHARD BEHLING: Two Kinds of Logic? III REPLY TO RICHARD BEHLING 127 6. JOHN McDoWELL: Referring to Oneself 129 REPLY TO JOHN McDoWELL 146 7. SIMON BLACKBURN: Relativization and Truth 151 REPLY TO SIMON BLACKBURN 168 8. T ADEUSZ SZUBKA: Strawson and Antirealism 175 REPLY TO T ADEUSZ SZUBKA 192 9. DAVID FREDERICK HAIGHT: Reference and Reality 199 REPLY TO DAVID FREDERICK HAIGHT 214 10. JOSEPH S. Wu: P. F. Strawson's Criticism of Formal Logic 217 REPLY TO JOSEPH S. Wu 224 11. ANDREW G. BLACK: Naturalism and Cartesian Skepticism 227 REPLY TO ANDREW G. BLACK 242 12. DA VID PEARS: Strawson on Freedom and Resentment 245 REPLY TO DAVID PEARS 259 13. ROBERT BOYD: Strawson on Induction 263 REPLY TO ROBERT BOYD 272 14. HILARY PUTNAM: Strawson and Skepticism 273 REPLY TO HILARY PUTNAM 288 15. PAUL F. SNOWDON: Strawson on the Concept of Perception 293 REPLY TO PAUL F. SNOWDON 311 16. ARINDAM CHAKRABARTI: Experience, Concept- Possession, and Knowledge of a Language 315 REPLY TO ARINDAM CHAKRABARTI 324 17. WENCESLAO J. GONZALEZ: P. F. Strawson's Moderate Empiricism: The Philosophical Basis of His Approach in the Theory of Knowledge 329 REPLY TO WENCESLAO J. GONZALEZ 359 18. ERNEST SOSA: P. F. Strawson's Epistemological Naturalism 361 REPLY TO ERNEST SOSA 370 19. CHUNG M. TSE: Strawson's Metaphysical Theory of Subject and Predicate 373 REPLY TO CHUNG-M. TSE 383 TABLE OF CONTENTS xv 20. JOHN R. SEARLE: Truth: A Reconsideration of Strawson's Views 385 REPLY TO JOHN R. SEARLE 402 PART THREE: BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE WRITINGS OF P. F. STRAWSON 405 INDEX 419 .

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Susan Haack SERIOUS PHILOSOPHY1
Susan Haack SERIOUS PHILOSOPHY1 Abstract What is serious philosophy? What does it demand of us? And is it true, as some suppose, that a philosopher can’t be serious about his work unless he is solemn and humorless? Calling on ideas from C.S. Peirce, Haack argues first that philosophy is a serious form of inquiry, requiring real commitment and real intellectual effort, and then that playfulness and humor may actually be of help in such inquiry, while solemnity and self-importance will, for sure, impede it .“The serious philosopher,” she concludes “must indeed work in earnest – but not in grim earnest.” “… the spirit … is the most essential thing – the motive…” (C.S. Peirce)2 At dinner the night before I was to give a talk in her department, a young professor solemnly told me that there’s no place for humor in serious philosophy. Since the paper on the relation of science and literature I was to present the next day was full of playful literary allusions and verbal jokes this was, to say the least, an awkward moment.3 Nonetheless, my paper was a serious piece of work – jokes and all. Now, thanks to Spazio filosofico’s imaginative choice of theme, at last I have my opportunity to explore what’s wrong with the idea that, to be serious, philosophical work must be humorless. It’s been a long time coming; but, as the saying goes, better late than never. “Serious,” of course, has a whole raft of uses, and many subtly-interrelated meanings. We laugh about the apocryphal billionaire who complains that household expenses are skyrocketing – “a million here, a million there, and pretty soon you’re talking serious money”; meaning real money, a significant sum of money.
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