Toward a New Foundationalism: From Carnap to Kripke, and from Husserl to Sallis
This book addresses the breach within contemporary philosophy with a newly conceived foundationalism. It shows that dramatic discord has arisen between its two dominant branches. The Anglo-American branch generally takes its departure from logic and from natural science, while the Continental branch generally takes its departure from art and from the great traditional questions. However, they share this common negative feature: each side denies the view that philosophy issues from a central foundation. The book gives brief distillations of six major Anglo-American figures: Carnap, James, Quine, Davidson and Kripke; as well as six major Continental figures: Husserl (the only foundationalist), Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Derrida, Gadamer, and Sallis. In each, the author discovers a hidden foundation called ruling image that animates the philosopher’s thought.
Dr Bernard Freydberg has published nine books on various themes in Ancient and Continental Philosophy, and over 50 papers. His books include The Play of the Platonic Dialogues; Imagination in Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason; Philosophy and Comedy: Aristophanes, Eros and Logos; and David Hume, Platonic Philosopher, Continental Ancestor. He has been a frequent conference participant, and has taught at Slippery Rock University, USA, and at Koc University, Turkey.
“Freydberg’s tenth outing is one of his best, boldly advancing the provocative thesis that the analytic and continental camps are inadvertently held together not by any shared thesis, but by the various “ruling images” that govern what to them matters as philosophy. His writing is liberated and pithy, energetically dancing with wit and aplomb, yet simultaneously displaying the maturity of decades of reflection dedicated to philosophy’s quest for its own origins and possibilities.”
Jason M. Wirth
Seattle University
“Much like the “ruling images” on which this momentous book focuses, Freydberg gathers divergent philosophers and traditions together for a long overdue conversation. He finds common ground amidst the putative analytic and continental divide within philosophy and shows a way forward through images and the imagination. A terrific and important read!”
Sonja Tanner
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
“Over the last few decades Bernard Freydberg’s writings have shed important light on numerous figures in the history of philosophy, opening up new paths of scholarly work along the way. In this latest work, Toward a New Foundation for Philosophy, Freydberg takes on the anti-foundationalism so fashionable in 20th century and contemporary philosophy, arguing that the question of “foundation” can be rethought from the perspective of what he calls “ruling image.” Toward this end, Freydberg addresses an extraordinary range of thinkers—from analytic philosophers such as Carnap, Quine and Kripke, to Continental thinkers such as Nietzsche, Heidegger, Gadamer and others—demonstrating the “ruling image” that operates as a foundation of sorts across these divergent traditions of philosophy. With each thinker, Freydberg offers an incisive, and sometimes irreverent, take on the central philosophical issues. At the same time, the book weaves together scholarly rigor, attention to the original language of the relevant texts, but also a conversational/informal tone which works to engage and amuse the reader. The end-result is a stimulating and impressive work of philosophy.”
Robert Metcalf
Professor, University of Colorado at Denver
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