Grand theories and everyday beliefs : science, philosophy, and their histories / Wallace Matson.

Grand theories and everyday beliefs : science, philosophy, and their histories / Wallace Matson.

9780199812691 (alk. paper)
0199812691 (alk. paper)

Oxford, N.Y. : Oxford University Press, 2011.

English

xiv, 223 pages ; 25 cm

BD161 .M36 2011

190

In Grand Theories and Everyday Beliefs, a distinguished philosopher offers a novel view of how humans became rational beings. Wallace Matson anchors his sweeping narrative to his core theme of "high" and "low" beliefs. As he defines them, low beliefs are tied to everyday matters and practical experience. High beliefs are abstract and theoretical, making sense of disparate things and promoting solidarity or fostering hope and courage. Matson's book uses these two forms of belief to tell this unusually broad-ranging story about the history of philosophy and the origins and developmetn of science.
Against the widespread opinion that modern philosophy has slowly but completely emancipated itself from bondage to theology, he shows how remnants from the medieval 'interlude' still lurk unnoticed in the purportedly neutral notions of logical possibility, possible worlds, and laws as commands, to the detriment of the natural harmony between science and philosophy, including ethics. Accessibly written, this is a book for all who are interested in the foundations of 21st century thought and who wonder where the cracks might be."--pub. desc.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-214) and index.

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