Customer Reviews

Anglo-American Postmodernity: Philosophical Perspectives on Science, Religion, and Ethics

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Don't be deceived, this is not merely an introductory textbook, it is genuinely creative philosophy! This small book has been one of the most influential texts in my development as a thinker. Every sentence is carefully phrased and deserves to be read more than once. Murphy's clarity should not be mistaken for any lack of sophistication! I cannot recommend this book highly enough - a close reading of this text would equip one to enter the postmodern conversation in many arenas: ethics, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, this list goes on...

But this book and enjoy it!

(For a counterpart introduction to and appropriation of Continental postmodern thought, Merold Westphal's book "Overcoming Onto-Theology" is a perfect complement to Murphy's "Anglo-American Postmodernity.")

This is an account not of mathematical specificity, rather a general backdrop to many current themes in the philosophy of science, religion, and ethics that is abundantly illuminating. For an individual acclimating to the world of postmodernism, specifically with regard to Christianity and the Anglo-American cultural paradigm, Murphy is an excellent source of information and she should be commended for her ability to articulately integrate often thought disparate fields.

This book is not bedtime reading material. It is dense and requires careful reading, but is very well written and covers a wide range of topics in nearly 200 pages.

Murphy lays out the widespread shift in underlying assumptions within the following areas:
* Epistemology and Philosophy of Science: Foundationalism to a Holistic view (Quine, Kuhn, etc.)
* Philosophy of Language: Meaning from reference to meaning from social use (Wittgenstein, Austin, etc.)
* Ethics: Generic individualism to complex, priority of the social (MacIntyre, etc.)

This is an excellent resource to help situate current philosophical perspectives on postmodern though into a cohesive taxonomy. It can be considered an "introduction" since most perspectives are explained in a few pages, but Murphy provides numerous references to follow-up material if desired (mostly original sources).