Truth: A Guide 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

by Simon Blackburn (Author)

20 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0195168242

ISBN-10: 0195168240

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The author of the highly popular book Think, which Time magazine hailed as "the one book every smart person should read to understand, and even enjoy, the key questions of philosophy," Simon Blackburn is that rara avis--an eminent thinker who is able to explain philosophy to the general reader. Now Blackburn offers a tour de force exploration of what he calls "the most exciting and engaging issue in the whole of philosophy"--the age-old war over truth.

The front lines of this war are well defined. On one side are those who believe in plain, unvarnished facts, rock-solid truths that can be found through reason and objectivity--that science leads to truth, for instance. Their opponents mock this idea. They see the dark forces of language, culture, power, gender, class, ideology and desire--all subverting our perceptions of the world, and clouding our judgement with false notions of absolute truth. Beginning with an early skirmish in the war--when Socrates confronted the sophists in ancient Athens--Blackburn offers a penetrating look at the longstanding battle these two groups have waged, examining the philosophical battles fought by Plato, Protagoras, William James, David Hume, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Richard Rorty, and many others, with a particularly fascinating look at Nietzsche. Among the questions Blackburn considers are: is science mere opinion, can historians understand another historical period, and indeed can one culture ever truly understand another.

Blackburn concludes that both sides have merit, and that neither has exclusive ownership of truth. What is important is that, whichever side we embrace, we should know where we stand and what is to be said for our opponents.

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Product details

File Size: 694 KB
Print Length: 259 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0195315804
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (July 30, 2005)
Publication Date: July 30, 2005
Language: English
ASIN: B00UNRO9HA
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Not Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,374 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #59 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Epistemology
- #126 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Science & Medicine > Philosophy
- #233 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Epistemology

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Amazon Customer

An important and interesting topic, but the author merely ...

February 4, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

An important and interesting topic, but the author merely surveys the issues as they appear in philosophical history without digging in or committing to a position himself. The result is the reader gains immediacy, but no basis for resolution of what their own views might be. A little more commitment and focus would have been helpful. However, as a well-written survey, it's short and well worth the effort of the reader interested in approaches to truth.

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December 28, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The book was a bit confusing but overall great!

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JWaters

excellent analysis, unique perspective

March 27, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

epistemology is inherently difficult, in my view, and Blackburn explores this doggedly. i have not finished it yet, but, already, a number of issues have become clearer to me. The section on Nietzsche is especially interesting as it seems to place him on the path from Kant to Wittgenstein. The distinction from pragmatism is especially interesting.

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June 5, 2008

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Simon Blackburn provides interesting insights into the philosophical problem of truth. While many would like the issue of truth to be an easily resolved question via some simplisitic answer, Blackburn points that while a parsimonious answer might be advantageous as in the case of minimalism or deflationism or even quietism, the issue of truth still continues to persist.

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N. M. Wood

Very balanced approach to such a complex issue

December 2, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

With the issue of truth, it is all too easy to allow our sympathies towards one side or the other on the nature of truth to ignore the real argument on the other side of the issue. Simon Blackburn does an excellent job digging deep into the position of relativism as well as the usual complaints from "foundationalist" philosophers against relativism. If you are interested in seeing what both sides have to offer intellectually, this is an exceptional guide.

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January 4, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Exactly what I wanted. I buy books for instructors who forgot to order on time or ones that are out of print.

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J. Ganim

The theistic or religious view Blackburn interacts with seem to ...

April 20, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The theistic or religious view Blackburn interacts with seems to be unrepresentative of theistic philosophers. It seems to be the defeat of a straw-man which is unrepresentative of the actual substance that you often find in theistic philosophers. I would encourage the inquisitive reader to investigate stronger theistic positions such as you will find among the philosopher Dr. William Lane Craig, Dr. Alvin Plantinga, and Dr. Peter Van Inwagen. As a theist myself, I found myself ashamed of the position Blackburn was arguing against and so I quite understand why he would find it inadequate. However, I don't think it is representative of the theistic position.

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Phineas R. Fiske

Too heavy for plain folk

March 17, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If you are interested in delving deeply into the philosophical complexities of the concept of truth, you may well benefit from this book. If you are merely a thoughtful person interested in knowing when you can tell if something is indeed true, I'd advise looking elsewhere.

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