What's the Use of Philosophy?

Philip Kitcher has taught for nearly half a century at several American Universities, most recently at Columbia University in the City of New York. His work has been honored with a number of awards, including the Rescher Medal for systematic philosophy, and the Hempel Award for lifetime achievement in the Philosophy of Science. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Member of the American Philosophical Society, a Fellow of the British Academy, and an Honorary Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge.

• Preface Chapter 1 - Philosophy Inside Out Chapter 2 - "So Who Is Your Audience?" Chapter 3 - Pathology Report Chapter 4 - The Whole Function of Philosophy Chapter 5 - Letter to Some Young Philosophers References

With an inimitable combination of sharpness, generosity, elegance and wit, Kitcher diagnoses the malaise that many philosophers have long felt about our profession but have been unable to articulate with such breadth and clarity. Perhaps no one has the skills or the standing that Kitcher possesses to do so ... The book pulls no punches in showing how far contemporary philosophy has diverged from its original goals ... Yet Kitcher does not merely lament the ways in which philosophy has abandoned its traditional roles. With characteristic and sympathetic understanding, Kitcher provides a genealogy which shows how so many of philosophy's virtues have turned into flaws ... This will be read by every disaffected philosopher, and may convince many outside it to take the promise of philosophy seriously again. An extraordinary and much-needed book.