Analytic Philosophy in America: And Other Historical and Contemporary Essays

Inthiscollectionofrecentandunpublishedessays,leadinganalyticphilosopherScottSoamestracesmilestonesinhisfieldfromitsbeginningsinBritainandGermanyinthelatenineteenthandearlytwentiethcentury,throughitssubsequentgrowthintheUnitedStates,uptoitspresentastheworld'smostvigorousphilosophicaltradition.ThecentralessaychronicleshowanalyticphilosophydevelopedintheUnitedStatesoutofAmericanpragmatism,theimpactofEuropeanvisitorsandimmigrants,themidcenturytransformationoftheHarvardphilosophydepartment,andtherapidspreadoftheanalyticapproachthatfollowed.Anotheressayexplainsthemethodologyguidinganalyticphilosophy,fromthelogicismofFregeandRussellthroughWittgenstein'slinguisticturnandCarnap'svisionofreplacingmetaphysicswithphilosophyofscience.Furtheressaysreviewadvancesinlogicandthephilosophyofmathematicsthatlaidthefoundationforarigorous,scientificstudyoflanguage,meaning,andinformation.OtheressaysdiscussW.V.O.Quine,DavidK.Lewis,SaulKripke,theFrege-Russellanalysisofquantification,Russell'sattempttoeliminatesetswithhis"noclasstheory,"andtheQuine-Carnapdisputeovermeaningandontology.Thecollectionthenturnstotopicsatthefrontierofphilosophyoflanguage.Thefinalessays,combiningphilosophyoflanguageandlaw,advanceasophisticatedoriginalisttheoryofinterpretationandapplyittoU.S.constitutionalrulingsaboutdueprocess.