Limit this search to....

Chasing Reality: Strife Over Realism
Contributor(s): Bunge, Mario (Author)
ISBN: 1442628227     ISBN-13: 9781442628229
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
OUR PRICE:   $47.70  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: July 2014
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Philosophy | History & Surveys - General
Dewey: 149.2
LCCN: 2014395980
Series: Toronto Studies in Philosophy
Physical Information: 0.89" H x 5.96" W x 9.28" (1.27 lbs) 356 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

Chasing Reality deals with the controversies over the reality of the external world. Distinguished philosopher Mario Bunge offers an extended defence of realism, a critique of various forms of contemporary anti-realism, and a sketch of his own version of realism, namely hylorealism. Bunge examines the main varieties of antirealism - Berkeley's, Hume's, and Kant's; positivism, phenomenology, and constructivism - and argues that all of these in fact hinder scientific research.

Bunge's realist contention is that genuine explanations in the sciences appeal to causal laws and mechanisms that are not directly observable, rather than simply to empirical generalisations. Genuine science, in his view, is objective even when it deals with subjective phenomena such as feelings of fear. This work defends a realist view of universals, kinds, possibilities, and dispositions, while rejecting contemporary accounts of these that are couched in terms of modal logic and 'possible worlds.'


Contributor Bio(s): Bunge, Mario: - Mario Bunge is the Frothingham Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in the Department of Philosophy at McGill University.