Knowledge of the External World

by Bruce Aune

Many philosophers believe that the traditional problem of our knowledge of the external world was dissolved by Wittgestein and others. They argue that it was not really a problem - just a linguistic `confusion' that did not actually require a solution. Bruce Aune argues that they are wrong. He casts doubt on the generally accepted reasons for putting the problem aside and proposes an entirely new approach. By considering the history of the problem from Descartes to Kant, Aune shows that analogous arguments create difficulties for the contemporary philosophical consensus. He makes it clear that the problem remains acute, particualarly for our understanding of scientific evidence. The solution he proposes draws upon contemporary philosophy of science and probability theory.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published June 27, 1991

Reviews

[Lorien Ochsmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very dense. If you’re the sort that wants to learn about the epistemological challenges of external world skepticism and you’re willing to put in a lot of effort to understanding worldly recounts of philosophical theory and history, this is a great book for you. If you, however, are looking for a way to disprove external world skepticism — to convince yourself that phenomenalism cannot be true (as I was starting this book) — this book sadly will not give you that.

Could’ve gone into more depth about logical positivism and logical empiricism, but overall is a good account of the history of external world skepticism and knowledge.