Description: Presents a synoptic, compact, and accessible exposition of this influential and interesting sector of twentieth-century American philosophy.
Brief description: Nicholas Rescher is University Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of more than one hundred books, including Epistemology: An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge; Realistic Pragmatism: An Introduction to Pragmatic Philosophy; Predicting the Future: An Introduction to the Theory of Forecasting; Process Metaphysics: An Introduction to Process Philosophy; and Dialectics: A Controversy-Oriented Approach to the Theory of Knowledge; all published by SUNY Press. Among his many achievements, he is former president of the American Philosophical Association and recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Prize for Humanistic Scholarship.
Review Quotes:
"In this book, one of the nation's most literate, prolific, and respected philosophers brings his considerable analytic skills to bear on process philosophy. It is over 30 years since a philosopher of such national and international stature has chosen to focus on the main issues of this extensive but neglected philosophical school. Earlier evaluations of process philosophy by Strawson, Rorty, and Grünbaum, moreover, were partial, selective, and often rested upon serious misunderstandings. By contrast, Rescher aims at a comprehensive, fair, and impartial treatment of the main problems in analytic metaphysics, including now-standard problems in logic, language, and epistemology, to which a process-oriented approach offers substantive insights. Rescher offers a calm, thoughtful, and open-minded analysis of problems such as personhood and personal identity, the status of universals and particulars, our understanding of nature and of biological and cultural evolution, and brief discussions of philosophical approaches to the nature of scientific inquiry itself and to theology that coordinate the insights of process philosophy and with the work of many leading contemporary anglo-American philosophers.
"This is a masterly treatment and a monumental achievement, resulting in an eminently readable introduction and survey for specialists and a useful and instructive outline for students." -- George R. Lucas, Jr., Georgetown University