Between the Absolute and the Arbitrary [Paperback]

Catherine Z. Elgin (Author)

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Book Description

Publication Date: April 1997

In Between the Absolute and the Arbitrary, Catherine Z. Elgin maps a constructivist alternative to the standard Anglo-American conception of philosophy's problematic. Under the standard conception, unless answers to philosophical questions are absolute, they are arbitrary. Unless a philosophy is grounded in determinate, agent-neutral facts, it is right only relative to a perspective that cannot in the end be justified. Elgin charts a course between the two poles, showing how fact and value intertwine, where art and science intersect. Between the Absolute and the Arbitrary cuts a path through philosophy of science, philosophy of language, and philosophy of art, disclosing common problems, resources, and solutions. Elgin highlights the ineliminability of values from the realm of facts, the dependence of facts on category schemes, and the ways human interests, practices, and goals affect the categories we contrive. Individually, the essays in this book contribute to ongoing debates in their respective fields. Collectively, they constitute a sustained critique of an entrenched conception of the resources available to philosophy, and argue for a constructive nominalist alternative. Once free of the conceptual stranglehold of traditional dualisms, Elgin argues, people can contrive a variety of frameworks, tailor-made to suit evolving interests and ends. The results are neither absolute nor arbitrary.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } In Between the Absolute and the Arbitrary, Catherine Z. Elgin maps a constructivist alternative to the standard Anglo-American conception of philosophy's problematic. Under the standard conception, unless answers to philosophical questions are absolute, they are arbitrary. Unless a philosophy is grounded in determinate, agent-neutral facts, it is right only relative to a perspective that cannot in the end be justified. Elgin charts a course between the two poles, showing how fact and value intertwine, where art and science intersect. Between the Absolute and the Arbitrary cuts a path through philosophy of science, philosophy of language, and philosophy of art, disclosing common problems, resources, and solutions. Elgin highlights the ineliminability of values from the realm of facts, the dependence of facts on category schemes, and the ways human interests, practices, and goals affect the categories we contrive. Individually, the essays in this book contribute to ongoing debates in their respective fields. Collectively, they constitute a sustained critique of an entrenched conception of the resources available to philosophy, and argue for a constructive nominalist alternative. Once free of the conceptual stranglehold of traditional dualisms, Elgin argues, people can contrive a variety of frameworks, tailor-made to suit evolving interests and ends. The results are neither absolute nor arbitrary.

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Product Details

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Cornell University Press (April 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0801483999
ISBN-13: 978-0801483998
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,360,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nelson Goodman, Languages of Art, Journal of Philosophy, Saint Jerome, Ways of Worldmaking, Harvard University Press, Making Up People, New York, Hilary Putnam, Israel Scheffler, Saul Kripke, The Night Watch, Wilfrid Sellars, Cambridge University Press, Ian Hacking, Myra Mulligan, Columbia University Press, David Lewis, Jerry Fodor, Sixth Avenue, Twin Earth

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 41 books:

Languages of Art by Nelson Goodman on 13 pages
Ways of Worldmaking by Nelson Goodman on 11 pages
With Reference to Reference by Catherine Z. Elgin on 9 pages
Problems and Projects by Nelson Goodman on 7 pages
Of Mind and Other Matters by Nelson Goodman on 6 pages

See all 41 books this book cites

11 books cite this book:

Truth: Engagements Across Philosophical Traditions (Blackwell Readings in Continental Philosophy) by José Medina on page 286, page 287, and page 348
Excess and the Mean in Early Modern English Literature (Literature in History) by Joshua Scodel in Back Matter
The Blackwell Guide to Ethical Theory (Blackwell Philosophy Guides) by Hugh Lafollette on page 419
Us and Them: Understanding Your Tribal Mind by David Berreby in Back Matter
Reclaiming Identity: Realist Theory and the Predicament of Postmodernism by Paula M. L. Moya on page 342

See all 11 books citing this book

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