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Tim Williamson reviews Philip Kitcher’s /What’s the Use of Philosophy?/ [pdf] (ox.ac.uk)
4 points by eynsham on Jan 21, 2024 | hide | past | favorite | 3 comments


I would love to see about a 5-page overview in which analytic philosophy is contrasted with Continental philosophy (is it still called that?), and where exactly logical positivism fits into that. Or maybe a tree diagram or flow chart would be better. Williamson is a well-qualified academic writing for his peers, I understand that. But in addition to making philosophy more practical, it would help if there were brief introductions that were accessible to the lay person.


> 5-page overview…

The IEP’s entry on metaphilosophy does not explicitly compare or contrast analytic and continental philosophy, but is a start: https://iep.utm.edu/con-meta/.

> where exactly logical positivism fits into that

Logical positivism is fairly straightforwardly in the analytic tradition.

> accessible to the lay person

Williamson’s more technical work (e.g., /Vagueness/) is not terribly accessible, but this book review is fairly accessible, in the same way as, e.g., a moderately well-read philosopher can read lengthy book reviews in history journals.


Thanks for your response. The IEP article is especially helpful.




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