Description: At a time when the analytic/continental split dominates contemporary philosophy, this ambitious work offers a careful and clear-minded way to bridge that divide. Combining conceptual rigor and clarity of prose with historical erudition, A Thing of This World shows how one of the standard issues of analytic philosophy--realism and anti-realism--has also been at the heart of continental philosophy.
Using a framework derived from prominent analytic thinkers, Lee Braver traces the roots of anti-realism to Kant's idea that the mind actively organizes experience. He then shows in depth and in detail how this idea evolves through the works of Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Foucault, and Derrida. This narrative presents an illuminating account of thehistory of continental philosophy by explaining how these thinkers build on each other's attempts to develop new concepts of reality and truth in the wake of the rejection of realism. Braver demonstrates that the analytic and continental traditions have been discussing the same issues, albeit with different vocabularies, interests, and approaches.
By developing a commensurate vocabulary, his book promotes a dialogue between the two branches of philosophy in which each can begin to learn from the other.
Review Quotes: A Thing of This World is an impressive and valuable achievement. . . that could do a lot to help apnalytical and continental philosophers understand each other. Lee Braver shows an amazing overalla knowledge of the relevant primary and secondary sources, and his analyses of the philosophers he takes up. . . are admirably clear and free from jargon. His Heideggarian critique of Davidson on language, for example, casts new light on the approaches of both thinkers.--Hubert L. Dreyfus, professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley