What Philosophy Can Do

"A brilliant demonstration of what philosophy can do and how it is essential to human integrity and identity."—Simon Critchley, coeditor of The Stone Reader How can we have meaningful debates with political opponents? How can we distinguish reliable science from over-hyped media reports? How can we talk sensibly about God? In What Philosophy Can Do, Gary Gutting takes a philosopher's scalpel to modern life's biggest questions and the most powerful forces in our society—politics, science, religion, education, and capitalism—to show how we can improve our discussions of contentious contemporary issues. Gutting introduces readers to powerful analytic tools in the philosopher's arsenal that they can use to make new sense of current debates. One such tool is a crucial distinction between inductive and deductive reasoning that explains why both sides on a disputed issue often are sure they have compelling cases for their views. Another... In 'What philosophy can do', Gary Gutting leaves the ivory tower to tackle difficult questions in everyday life and shows how philosophy can be used as a method for interrogating our world-and one another. He looks at why today's political debates are so polarised, why scientific research on happiness does not make us happier and whether there are convincing reasons to believe-or not believe-in God. Gutting takes the most powerful-and divisive-forces in our society: politics, science, religion, art and capitalism-and applies a philosopher's scalpel to reveal thoughtful ways to look at vexing issues. He introduces readers to analytical tools, from inductive and deductive logic to the principle of charity, that they can apply to news events and policy debates. Gutting underlines philosophy's great promise for enriching public discussions about the most important issues in human life "A brilliant demonstration of what philosophy can do and how it is essential to human integrity and identity." —Simon Critchley, coeditor of The Stone Reader In What Philosophy Can Do, Gary Gutting takes a philosopher’s scalpel to modern life’s biggest questions and the most powerful forces in our society—politics, science, religion, education, and capitalism. Along the way, he introduces readers to powerful philosophical tools, from inductive and deductive logic to the Principle of Charity, which they can use to make better sense of current debates. Interweaving his discussion of contemporary issues with philosophical concepts from Aristotle to Michel Foucault and John Rawls, Gutting shows how philosophy can enrich public discussions about our most urgent issues. Discusses How A Philosopher's Critical Thinking Skills Can Be Useful In Contemporary Life, Including Politics, Science, Religion, Education, And Capitalism. How To Argue About Politics -- Science: A Consumer's Guide -- Philosophy And The Limits Of Science -- The New Atheists -- Religious Agnosticism -- Happiness, Work, And Capitalism -- Education In A Capitalist Society -- Thinking About Art -- Can We Stop Fighting About Abortion? -- What Philosophy Can Do. Gary Gutting. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A leading philosopher brings the tools of his trade to contentious contemporary debates.