Description
Book SynopsisThe Essential Davidson compiles the most celebrated papers of one of the twentieth century''s greatest philosophers. It distils Donald Davidson''s seminal contributions to our understanding of ourselves, from three decades of essays, into one thematically organized collection. A new, specially written introduction by Ernie Lepore and Kirk Ludwig, two of the world''s leading authorities on his work, offers a guide through the ideas and arguments, shows how they interconnect, and reveals the systematic coherence of Davidson''s worldview.Davidson''s philosophical program is organized around two connected projects. The first is that of understanding the nature of human agency. The second is that of understanding the nature and function of language, and its relation to the world. Accordingly, the first part of the book presents Davidson''s investigation of reasons, causes, and intentions, which revolutionized the philosophy of action. This leads to his notable doctrine of anomalous monism,
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; PHILOSOPHY OF ACTION AND PSYCHOLOGY ; 1. Action, Reasons, and Causes (1963) ; 2. The Logical Form of Action Sentences (with Comments, Criticism, and Defense) (1967) ; 3. How is Weakness of the Will Possible? (1969) ; 4. Individuation of Events (1969) ; 5. Mental Events (1970) (with Emeroses by Other Names (1966)) ; 6. Intending (1978) ; 7. Paradoxes of Irrationality (1982) ; TRUTH, MEANING, AND INTERPRETATION ; 8. Truth and Meaning (1967) ; 9. On Saying That (1968) ; 10. Radical Interpretation (1973) ; 11. On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme (1974) ; 12. What Metaphors Mean (1978) ; 13. A Coherence Theory of Truth and Knowledge (1983); Afterthoughts (1987) ; 14. First Person Authority (1984) ; 15. A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs (1986)
