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The Failures of Philosophy: A Historical Essay
The first book to address the historical failures of philosophy―and what we can learn from them
Philosophers are generally unaware of the failures of philosophy, recognizing only the failures of particular theories, which are then remedied with other theories. But, taking the long view, philosophy has actually collapsed several times, been abandoned, sometimes for centuries, and been replaced by something quite different. When it has been revived it has been with new aims that are often accompanied by implausible attempts to establish continuity with a perennial philosophical tradition. What do these failures tell us?
The Failures of Philosophy presents a historical investigation of philosophy in the West, from the perspective of its most significant attempts to provide an account of the good life, to establish philosophy as a discipline that can stand in judgment over other forms of thought, to set up philosophy as a theory of everything, and to construe it as a discipline that rationalizes the empirical and mathematical sciences. Stephen Gaukroger argues that these failures reveal more about philosophical inquiry and its ultimate point than its successes ever could. These failures illustrate how and why philosophical inquiry has been conceived and reconceived, why philosophy has been thought to bring distinctive skills to certain questions, and much more.
An important and original account of philosophy’s serial breakdowns, The Failures of Philosophy ultimately shows how these shortcomings paradoxically reveal what matters most about the field.
Philosophers are generally unaware of the failures of philosophy, recognizing only the failures of particular theories, which are then remedied with other theories. But, taking the long view, philosophy has actually collapsed several times, been abandoned, sometimes for centuries, and been replaced by something quite different. When it has been revived it has been with new aims that are often accompanied by implausible attempts to establish continuity with a perennial philosophical tradition. What do these failures tell us?
The Failures of Philosophy presents a historical investigation of philosophy in the West, from the perspective of its most significant attempts to provide an account of the good life, to establish philosophy as a discipline that can stand in judgment over other forms of thought, to set up philosophy as a theory of everything, and to construe it as a discipline that rationalizes the empirical and mathematical sciences. Stephen Gaukroger argues that these failures reveal more about philosophical inquiry and its ultimate point than its successes ever could. These failures illustrate how and why philosophical inquiry has been conceived and reconceived, why philosophy has been thought to bring distinctive skills to certain questions, and much more.
An important and original account of philosophy’s serial breakdowns, The Failures of Philosophy ultimately shows how these shortcomings paradoxically reveal what matters most about the field.
- GenresPhilosophyHistoryEssays
316 pages, Hardcover
First published November 3, 2020
15 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Gaukroger
69 books27 followersStephen Gaukroger is a British philosopher and intellectual historian. He is Professor of History of Philosophy and History of Science at the University of Sydney. Recently he also took up a position as Professor of Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen.
He received his BA (hons) in philosophy, with congratulatory first class honours, from the University of London in 1974, and his PhD, in history and philosophy of science, from the University of Cambridge in 1977. He was a Research Fellow at Clare Hall Cambridge, and then at the University of Melbourne, before joining the Philosophy Department at Sydney in 1981. In 2011, he moved to the Unit for History and Philosophy of Science. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities, a Corresponding Member of l’Académie Internationale d’Histoire des Sciences, and in 2003 was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal for contributions to history of philosophy and history of science. He is presently Professor of History of Philosophy and History of Science, and ARC Professorial Fellow. His work has been translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Serbian.
He received his BA (hons) in philosophy, with congratulatory first class honours, from the University of London in 1974, and his PhD, in history and philosophy of science, from the University of Cambridge in 1977. He was a Research Fellow at Clare Hall Cambridge, and then at the University of Melbourne, before joining the Philosophy Department at Sydney in 1981. In 2011, he moved to the Unit for History and Philosophy of Science. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities, a Corresponding Member of l’Académie Internationale d’Histoire des Sciences, and in 2003 was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal for contributions to history of philosophy and history of science. He is presently Professor of History of Philosophy and History of Science, and ARC Professorial Fellow. His work has been translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Serbian.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 16, 2022
Challenging
Gaukroger has written a deeply challenging book on Western philosophies various aims and how second order inquiry either failed or was replaced by another social thought-formation. Very helpful but one probably needs a significant education in the history of both science and philosophy to get all of Gaukroger's argument.
Gaukroger has written a deeply challenging book on Western philosophies various aims and how second order inquiry either failed or was replaced by another social thought-formation. Very helpful but one probably needs a significant education in the history of both science and philosophy to get all of Gaukroger's argument.
October 19, 2024
This book is exceptional. It is completely different from what I thought the content would be (!!!). But this is a book that shows how science has replaced philosophy, and discussions of epistemology have replaced philosophy.
The 'long decline' of philosophy is tracked in this book. It is brilliant. The writing is immaculate. The argument is well structured and so convincing.
For those of us interested in epistemology, methodology and ontology -this is a ripper of a book. For those of us attempting to understand the phrase 'believe the science' - an analysis is offered here...
I am about to read it a second time. Like. Now. Absolutely brilliant.
The 'long decline' of philosophy is tracked in this book. It is brilliant. The writing is immaculate. The argument is well structured and so convincing.
For those of us interested in epistemology, methodology and ontology -this is a ripper of a book. For those of us attempting to understand the phrase 'believe the science' - an analysis is offered here...
I am about to read it a second time. Like. Now. Absolutely brilliant.
March 12, 2022
A brilliant essay, although not the huge, detailed study one has expected from Gaukroger's multivolume series on science and philosophy. Still, some of the early treatment of cunning (metis) etc. was engaging, informative, and heuristic.
July 9, 2024
Overall a good read. Doesn't go as hard into the paint as I'd have liked, but am better for reading
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews