The Realm of Reason

by Christopher Peacocke

Overview

The Realm of Reason develops a new, general theory of what it is for a thinker to be entitled to form a given belief. The theory locates entitlement in the nexus of relations between truth, content, and understanding. Peacocke formulates three principles of rationalism that articulate this conception. The principles imply that all entitlement has a component that is justificationally independent of experience. The resulting position is thus a form of rationalism, generalized to all kinds of content.
To show how these principles are realized in specific domains, Peacocke applies the theory in detail to several classical problems of philosophy, including the nature of perceptual entitlement, induction, and the status of moral thought. These discussions involve an elaboration of the structure of entitlement in ways that have applications in many other areas of philosophy. He also relates the theory to classical and recent rationalist thought, and to current issues in the theory of meaning, reference and explanation. In the course of these discussions, he proposes a general theory of the a priori.
The focus of the work lies in the intersection of epistemology, metaphysics, and the theory of meaning, and will be of interest both to students and researchers in these areas, and to anyone concerned with the idea of rationality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199270729
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/29/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Christopher Peacocke is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Reasons and Sense1. Entitlement, Truth, and Content2. States, Contents, and the Nature of Entitlement3. Explaining Perceptual Entitlement4. Extensions and Consequences5. Induction6. A Priori Entitlement7. Moral Rationalism8. Moral Rationalism, Realism, and the Emotions9. Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

"Peacocke's best work is done in classifying the various types of rationalist position that are available, and motivating the kind of view he wants to defend...highly valuable to anyone wanting to draw a plausible rationalist picture."— Brian Weatherson, Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher