Philosophical Clarifications Studies Illustrating the Methodology of
This book is an integrated series of philosophical investigations that offers significant new insights into key philosophical concerns ranging from methodological issues to substantive doctrines. Consisting of three sections, it first deals with the natur
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Philosophical Clarifications
Nicholas Rescher
Philosophical Clarifications Studies Illustrating the Methodology of Philosophical Elucidation
Nicholas Rescher Department of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA, USA
ISBN 978-3-030-15268-0 ISBN 978-3-030-15269-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15269-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2019934459 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
In a programmatic 1930s tract, the influential Austrian philosopher Moritz Schlick wrote that while both the scientist and the philosopher deal with our questions about the nature of things, “The difference between the task of the scientist and the task of the philosopher is that the scientists seeks the truth (the correct answers) and the philosophers attempts to clarify the meaning (of the questions).”1 But the obvious problem with this purported division of labor is that these two issues— truth and meaning—are inseparably interconnected. You cannot investigate the truth of a claim if you do not understand its meaning, and you cannot grasp its meaning if you do not endorse the truth of the claim’s underlying presumptions. (“What is the highest mountain in Nicaragua?” is a pointless query unless and until the existence of mountains in that country is an accepted truth.) Clarifying issue of meaning generally requires also addressing questions of truth—and conversely. The two just do not admit a surgical separation. It is, however, the matter of issue-clarification that is the foremost concern in the present book. In a f
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