the history of philosophy by ac grayling

Science is the surest way to knowledge about the universe and has much to say about traditionally philosophical concerns, but this does not mean that philosophy is dead: on the contrary, areas outside of science, such as ethics, still require the philosophical touch, and science itself is at its best when working in partnership with the concerns and methods of philosophical questioning (until quite recently natural philosophy meant what we now call science). Philosophical debates on concepts in ethics, morality, epistemology, methodology, politics, aesthetics and even science are still important, for it is through philosophical conversation that progress has been made in these fields and it is through philosophy that clarity in concepts is achieved and relevant questions are asked. Grayling’s book shows us the enduring value and relevance of philosophy-so, while I agree with Hawking and Mlodinow on the importance of science in answering questions, I reject their view that philosophy has nothing left to say.Īs Grayling points out, modern science is a result of philosophy asking the right questions about metaphysics and epistemology, and philosophy also contributed to the creation of the social sciences and cognitive science. Grayling’s new book The History of Philosophy? The answer is an unequivocal no. Have I, then, just wasted a great deal of my time in reading A.

Philosophy has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics.”

They pose some of the big questions about the universe and existence and dismissively write: “Traditionally these are questions for philosophy, but philosophy is dead. In Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow’s The Grand Design, the authors take aim at that most seemingly irrelevant of fields: philosophy.

The history of philosophy by ac grayling