Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Penguin Books (1996), Edition: Reprint
Description
Roger Scruton is one of the most widely respected philosophers of our time, whose often provocative views never fail to stimulate debate. In Modern Philosophy he turns his attention to the whole of the field, from the philosophy of logic to aesthetics, and in so doing provides us with an essential and comprehensive guide to modern thinking. Considered by many to be the best philosophical primer since Bertrand Russell's THE PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY, this book is a must for both the student and the general reader.
User reviews
LibraryThing member neurodrew
The jacket copy on this book places it with the neo-conservative movement starting with Margaret Thatcher. I suppose that Roger Scruton has the reputation of being a conservative philosopher. He certainly does not like Sartre, Derrida and the deconstructivists, and is firmly within the tradition of
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British logical positivists, spending many pages on Wittgenstein. He is very clear, and a very good writer, however, and I spent many enjoyable evenings with this book, thinking hard about epistemology, logic, and the language analysis of Wittgenstein. The book begins with Descarte and the fundamental problem of knowing that the world is real. Speaking of the argument against the existence of a private language, Scruton quotes Wittgenstein: "It makes sense to say about other people that they doubt whether I am in pain, but not to express a doubt about being in pain myself". Kant is a favorite of Scruton, especially for his Prologmena to Morals and Critique of Practical Reason. Kant's theory of categorical imperatives is questioned, however, by modern logic philosophers. I was motivated to read more philosophy, but decided to take some time away from the subject. Show Less
LibraryThing member mykl-s
Modern Philosophy: An Introduction and Survey by Roger Scruton (1996)