Of Problematology – Philosophy, Science & Language (Emersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith) - Hardcover

Meyer, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226521508 ISBN 13: 9780226521503

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1996

Synopsis

This text offers a new beginning for philosophy rooted in a theory of questioning which the author calls "problematology." He argues that a new beginning is necessary in order to resituate philosophy, science and linguistic analysis. For Meyer, philosophy does not solve problems or give answers but instead shows how propositions are related to a whole field of questions that give them meaning. Reason is identified not with answers but with the question-answer process. Meyer pursues this theory of reason and meaning in a critique of Western philosophy from Socrates, Plato and Aristotle through Heidegger, Wittgenstein and Foucault. He provides an analysis of Descartes' notion of radical doubt and demonstrates its implications for the subsequent philosophical tradition. Meyer argues that recent work in rhetoric points toward a theory of radical questioning and claims that the methods of rhetoric and argumentation must be turned back on philosophy itself in order to recover the original significance of metaphysics as the science of ultimate questions.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Michel Meyer offers a new beginning for philosophy rooted in a theory of questioning that he calls "problematology". Meyer argues that a new beginning is necessary in order to resituate philosophy, science, and linguistic analysis, and he proposes a global view of rationality by returning to the nature of questioning itself. For Meyer, philosophy does not solve problems or give answers but instead shows how propositions are related to a whole field of questions that give them meaning. Reason is identified not with answers but with the question-answer process. This new theory of reason and meaning is pursued in a critique of Western philosophy from Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle through Heidegger, Wittgenstein, and Foucault. Meyer provides a detailed analysis of Descartes' notion of radical doubt and demonstrates its implications for the subsequent philosophical tradition that ignored the questioning process while pursuing an unshakable foundation for knowledge. He argues that recent work in rhetoric points toward a theory of radical questioning and claims that the methods of rhetoric and argumentation must be turned back on philosophy itself in order to recover the original significance of metaphysics as the science of ultimate questions.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226521508
• ISBN 13: 9780226521503
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 328