What is Philosophy? What are its goals, what does it aim at? And what are its methods, how should it proceed? Those are some of the most important questions of meta-philosophy.
In his book The Philosophy of Philosophy, first published in 2007, Timothy Williamson (*1955), one of the most distinguished and influential present-day philosophers, offers a comprehensive, balanced and fresh perspective on these questions.On the book’s cover we see a painting of a woman sitting in an armchair. According to Williamson philosophy can be done in an armchair – philosophers don’t have to engage in empirical experimentation –, but this does not mean that it is a purely a priori endeavour. Williamson argues against a philosophical exceptionalism: doing philosophy does not require any other capacities than those that we all apply in non-philosophical, everyday-life thinking, and there are no specifically philosophical methods that cannot be found in other disciplines. Williamson’s book comprises sophisticated technical arguments as well as more general considerations and provides a wealth of stimulating and sometimes provoking ideas for one’s own thinking about philosophy.
In the seminar we will restrict ourselves to reading and discussing selected parts, chapters and sections from Williamson’s initial book. There also exists a vastly expanded second edition of The Philosophy of Philosophy that contains among others reactions to the initial book by critics and subsequent rejoinders to those by Williamson himself. This additional material can serve as a starting point for potential term papers. (While the seminar itself will be conducted in English, term papers can be written in either English or German.)
Text: Williamson, T.: The Philosophy of Philosophy, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford 2007 (second, expanded edition 2021)
Montag
Zeit: 16.00 - 18.00 Uhr
Ort: Gebäude B3 1 - Seminarraum 2.17
- DozentIn: Helge Rückert