Books

Concepts and Their Role in Knowledge offers scholarly analysis of key elements of Ayn Rand’s radically new approach to epistemology. The four essays, by contributors intimately familiar with this area of her work, discuss Rand’s theory of concepts—including its new account of abstraction and essence—and its central role in her epistemology; how that view leads to a distinctive conception of the justification of knowledge; her realist account of perceptual awareness and its role in the acquisition of knowledge; and finally, the implications of that theory for understanding the growth of scientific knowledge. The volume concludes with critical commentary on the essays by distinguished philosophers with differing philosophical viewpoints and the author’s responses to those commentaries.

In this unique work Nicholas Rescher tackles the major questions of philosophical inquiry, pondering the nature of truth and existence.

Epistemic Logic is part of an exciting new trilogy exploring the theory of knowledge by one of the world’s foremost philosophers. Together the books provide an integrated approach to the subject, but each also stands alone, and they can be read in any order.

Realism and Pragmatic Epistemology is part of an exciting new trilogy exploring the theory of knowledge by one of the world’s foremost philosophers. Together the books provide an integrated approach to the subject, but each also stands alone, and they can be read in any order.

Cognitive Harmony is part of an exciting new trilogy exploring the theory of knowledge by one of the world’s foremost philosophers. Together the books provide an integrated approach to the subject, but each also stands alone, and they can be read in any order.

A new analysis of the occurrence, causality, and consequences of error in human thought, action, and evaluation. Defines three main categories of error, and provides a historical perspective on error from Greek to modern philosophy.

Rescher presents a broad-ranging study that examines the manifestations, consequences, and occasional benefits of ignorance in areas of philosophy, scientific endeavor, and ordinary life.

The four main essays in this volume investigate new sectors of the theory of decision, preference, act-characteristics, and action analysis. These are complemented by appendices on a study of the logic of norms by Alan Ross Anderson, and Rescher provides an outline of the aspects of action.