Friday, April 16, 2021

Review of Modern Philosophy, an Introduction by A.R. Lacey

This review was written by Eugene Kernes

Book can be found in:
Genre = Philosophy

Short Description

Elaborate Description

Philosophies raison d’etre is to think.  To train how to think.  The method of philosophy is reflection.  An a priori account of expectations, as the conclusions arise before experience.  Thinking which questions need be resolved.  Philosophical resolutions create fields of study outside of philosophy, making philosophy appear to not have any resolutions.  Philosophy does not have any particular problems that are under observation, as it is the process in which knowledge progresses.  What is needed are not facts, for knowing facts does not entail its appropriate application.  What is needed is how to think about appropriate application to knowledge.  The author uses a logic approach to teach how to think using the base of communication, the way we use language to discuss everything.

The writing is a bit convoluted and many examples are not very interesting.  As the approach of this book is via the use of language, the author uses sentences to see how their meaning changes based on the way in which it is viewed.  What is missing from the sentences is the context they are in, making much of what is being discussed not very practical.  There are references to how others view a particular explanation to a problem, but they are out of context making it difficult to understand what the author is reflecting to.  To understand much of the book requires background knowledge about the philosophy of language.  

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book
•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?
•What does philosophy study? 
•What is the methodology of philosophy?
•How does language explain how topics are approached? 

Book Details
Edition ISBN:  0710009356
Pages to read:   221
Publication:     1982
1st Edition:      1982
Format:           Paperback

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    1
Content          1
Overall           1