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The 'Gettier Problem' has shaped most of the fundamental debates in epistemology for more than fifty years. Before Edmund Gettier published his famous 1963 paper (reprinted in this volume), it was generally presumed that knowledge was equivalent to true belief supported by adequate evidence. Gettier presented a powerful challenge to that presumption. This led to the development and refinement of many prominent epistemological theories: internalism, externalism, evidentialism, reliabilism, and virtue epistemology. The debate about the appropriate use of intuition as providing evidence in all areas of philosophy began as a debate about the epistemic status of the "Gettier intuition". The differing accounts of epistemic luck are all rooted in responses to the Gettier Problem. The discussions about the role of false beliefs in the production of knowledge are directly traceable to Gettier's paper, as are the debates between fallibilists and infallibilists. The "knowledge first" view was, in large part, provoked by the supposed failure of all solutions to the Gettier Problem. Indeed, it is fair to say that providing a satisfactory response to the Gettier Problem has become a litmus test of any adequate account of knowledge - even those accounts that hold that the Gettier Problem rests on mistakes of various sorts. This volume presents a collective examination by twenty-six experts, including some of the most influential philosophers of our time, of the various issues that arise from Gettier's challenge to the analysis of knowledge. Explaining Knowledge sets the agenda for future work on the central problem of epistemology.

Color/pattern: black Design details: ready to hang Measures 10in x 1.5in x 24in Canvas Wipe clean with dry cloth/duster Made in the USA

A collection of previous and new essays examining the comparative, historical, and quantitative aspects of economic growth, offering an analytical framework for causal analysis of growth performance, and discussion of investment and stock estimation, measurement of economic performance, the roots of economic backwardness, and the effect of social policy in capitalist countries. Draws on quantitative and qualitative evidence to analyze the economic performance of various nations, revealing why growth rates differ, why real income and productivity spreads are so wide, and why the pace of growth varies over time. No index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

This second edition of David-Hillel Ruben's influential and highly acclaimed book on the philosophy of explanation has been revised and expanded, and the author has made substantial changes in light of the extensive reviews the first edition received. Ruben's views on the place of laws in explanation has been refined and clarified. What is perhaps the central thesis of the book, his realist view of explanation, describing the way in which explanation depends on metaphysics, has been updated and extended and engages with some of the work in this area published since the book's first edition.

This is a bold and timely analysis of the conflict in Northern Ireland, offering a comprehensive, up-to-date and constructively critical evaluation of the massive outpouring of literature on the subject. John McGarry and Brendan O'Leary examine the most common explanations of the conflict - nationalist, unionist, Marxist, religious, cultural and economic - highlighting their shortcomings and placing Northern Ireland within a comparative context. Synthesizing their conclusions, the authors advance a realistic but imaginative prognosis for conflict-resolution in this most troubled region.

Built upon decades of experience at the frontiers of history and social science, Charles Tilly's newest book offers innovative methods and approaches that are applicable in a wide range of disciplines: politics, sociology, anthropology, history, economics, and more. The book covers approaches to analysis ranging from interpersonal exchanges to world-historical changes-economic, political, and social. He shows how a thoroughgoing relational account of social processes, coupled with the careful identification of causal mechanisms, illuminates variation and change in the ways people live at the small scale and the large.

Inequalities in educational opportunity have been a persistent feature of all school systems for generations, with conventional explanations of differences in educational attainment tending to be reduced to either quantitative or non-quantitative 'list' theories. In this groundbreaking book, Roy Nash argues that a realist framework for the sociological explanation of educational group differences can, and must be, constructed. A move to such an explanatory framework will allow us to take into account the social influences of early childhood development, the later emergence of social identities, and the nature of the social class impact of educational and career decision-making. By building on the critical analyses of the theories of Bourdieu, Boudon and Bernstein, this book makes a vital contribution to the current policy and theoretical debate about the causes of educational inequality.

How is it that people with different and often conflicting interests can band together, overcome coordination problems, and create stable institutions that regulate the interactions among members of the group? Explaining Social Institutions leads us significantly closer to understanding how such institutions come to be. Much of the work being done under the rubric of "new institutionalism" focuses on how institutions shape social, economic, and political outcomes. This emphasis on influence has provided students of economics, political science, and political economy with surprisingly little theory to account for the origins of such institutions. Yet without understanding how institutions form and consequently develop influence, much of the other work lacks context. The contributors fill this void by utilizing a variety of perspectives and theoretical approaches. The twin focus of these articles on the origins of institutions and the development of institutional influence yield innovative and suggestive outcomes. Topics range from the framing of the United States Constitution to debate over the Senate at the Federal Convention; from equilibrium and social institutions to democratic stability. Contributors include Randall Calvert, Jon Elster, Avner Greif, Jack Knight, Paul Milgrom, Douglass North, William Riker, Norman Schofield, Itai Sened, and Barry Weingast. Jack Knight is Assistant Professor of Political Science, Washington University, St. Louis. Itai Sened is Assistant Professor of Political Science, Tel Aviv University.

Normative ethical theories generally purport to be explanatory--to tell us not just what is good, or what conduct is right, but why. Drawing on both historical and contemporary approaches, Mark Schroeder offers a distinctive picture of how such explanations must work, and of the specific commitments that they incur. According to Schroeder, explanatory moral theories can be perfectly general only if they are reductive, offering accounts of what it is for something to be good, right, or what someone ought to do. So ambitious, highly general normative ethical theorizing is continuous with metaethical inquiry. Moreover, he argues that such explanatory theories face a special challenge in accounting for reasons or obligations that are universally shared, and develops an autonomy-based strategy for meeting this challenge, in the case of requirements of rationality.Explaining the Reasons We Share pulls together over a decade of work by one of the leading figures in contemporary metaethics. One new and ten previously published papers weave together treatments of reasons, reduction, supervenience, instrumental rationality, and legislation, to paint a sharp contrast between two plausible but competing pictures of the nature and limits of moral explanation--one from Cudworth and one indebted to Kant. A substantive new introduction provides a map to reading these essays as a unified argument, and qualifies their conclusions in light of Schroeder's current views. Along with its sister volume, Expressing Our Attitudes, this volume advances the theme that metaethical inquiry is continuous with other areas of philosophy.

This book contributes to emerging debates in political science and sociology on institutional change. Its introductory essay proposes a new framework for analyzing incremental change that is grounded in a power-distributional view of institutions and that emphasizes ongoing struggles within but also over prevailing institutional arrangements. Five empirical essays then bring the general theory to life by evaluating its causal propositions in the context of sustained analyses of specific instances of incremental change. These essays range widely across substantive topics and across times and places, including cases from the United States, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The book closes with a chapter reflecting on the possibilities for productive exchange in the analysis of change among scholars associated with different theoretical approaches to institutions.

This is the first edition; the second edition was published in December, 2011 and has seven new chapters and eight new appendices. I highly recommend you buy the second edition!Explaining Creativity is an accessible introduction to the latest scientific research on creativity. In the last 50 yearss, psychologists, anthropologists, and sociologists have increasingly studied creativity, and we now know more about creativity that at any point in history. Explaining Creativity considers not only arts like painting and writing, but also science, stage performance, and business innovation. Until about a decade ago, creativity researchers tended to focus on highly valued activities like fine art painting and Nobel prize winning science. Sawyer brings this research up to date by including movies, music videos, cartoons, videogames, hypertext fiction, and computer technology. For example, this is the first book on creativity to include studies of performance and improvisation. Sawyer draws on the latest research findings to show the importance of collaboration and context in all of these creative activities.Today's science of creativity is interdisciplinary; in addition to psychological studies of creativity, Explaining Creativity includes research by anthropologists on creativity in non-Western cultures, and research by sociologists about the situations, contexts, and networks of creative activity. Explaining Creativity brings these approaches together within the sociocultural approach to creativity pioneered by Howard Becker, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Howard Gardner. The sociocultural approach moves beyond the individual to consider the social and cultural contexts of creativity, emphasizing the role of collaboration and context in the creative process.

With a little preparation, any believer can confidently answer questions about God. It is not difficult to answer when seeking hearts want to know more about your beliefs. Explaining Your Faith is a guide to friendly, relaxed apologetics.Alister McGrath's brief, intelligible responses answer the questions most likely to be asked about your faith. Familiarized yourself with these brief answers. Repeat them in your own words. Think about why they are important. And file their main points away in your memory. McGrath gives tips for unforced sharing. He identifies what unbelievers are most interested in learning when they approach a Christian with their questions.A worthy apologist, he observes, is not trying to win argument wax eloquent, or get a commitment signed on the dotted line. The apologist's job is to nurture a positive feeling for the gospel that may require years to visibly bear fruit.First published in 1988, Explaining Your Faith has been updated and a new chapter added on gender roles.

A longtime classic in its first and second editions, Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations, 3rd edition presents substantially revised and new essays on traditional themes such as national security, corporatism, borderlands history, and international relations theory. The book also highlights such innovative conceptual approaches and analytical methods as computational analysis, symbolic borders, modernization and technopolitics, nationalism, non-state actors, domestic politics, exceptionalism, legal history, nation branding, gender, race, political economy, memory, psychology, emotions, and the senses. Each chapter is written by a highly respected scholar in the field, many of whom have risen to prominence since the second edition's publication. This collection is an indispensable volume for teachers and students in foreign relations history, international relations history, and political science. The essays are written in accessible, jargon-free prose, thus also making the book appropriate for general readers seeking an introduction to history and political science.

Explaining Language Change presents the first integrated theory of all aspects of language change which builds on the pioneering ideas of Richard Dawkins and David Hull in biology and philosophy of science.

This bestselling teacher resource and widely adopted text demonstrates the "whats," "whys," and "how-tos" of explicit reading instruction for struggling K–8 learners. The book describes 23 skills and strategies associated with vocabulary, comprehension, word recognition, and fluency. Ways to explain each skill or strategy are illustrated in real-world examples that teachers can use as starting points for their own lessons. Retaining the straight-talking style that made the prior edition so popular, the second edition has been revised and updated to reflect reader feedback and the latest research.

A collaboration between a philosopher and an international relations scholar, this work examines the philosophical issues that underlie the theory of international relations. Part I focuses on the dominant theories of Idealism, Realism, and Behavioralism, and Part II examines the international system, the state, bureaucracies, and the individual--four factors commonly assumed to account for international behavior. The authors conclude with a summary of the links between the two forms of analysis and an open-ended assessment of their relative merits which will stimulate further discussion.

This is a book for the complete layman. It follows the steps that were taken historically in going from the earliest questions about the nature of common substances to the large-scale liberation of atomic energy. The number of these steps is small and the ideas involved are simple. They can be described in all their essentials without assuming any knowledge of physics, chemistry and mathematics.

Offers an original and valuable insight into the construction of the Irish state after independence, and forces a reassessment of many conventional assumptions about the nature and supposed resilience of Irish democracy""-Peter Mair, University Leiden.

Tracing postmodernism from its roots in Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant to their development in thinkers such as Michel Foucault and Richard Rorty, philosopher Stephen Hicks provides a provocative account of why postmodernism has been the most vigorous intellectual movement of the late 20th century. Why do skeptical and relativistic arguments have such power in the contemporary intellectual world? Why do they have that power in the humanities but not in the sciences? Why has a significant portion of the political Left - the same Left that traditionally promoted reason, science, equality for all, and optimism - now switched to themes of anti-reason, anti-science, double standards, and cynicism? Explaining Postmodernism is intellectual history with a polemical twist, providing fresh insights into the debates underlying the furor over political correctness, multiculturalism, and the future of liberal democracy.

In this new edition of his critically acclaimed book, Jon Elster examines the nature of social behavior, proposing choice as the central concept of the social sciences. Extensively revised throughout, the book offers an overview of key explanatory mechanisms, drawing on many case studies and experiments to explore the nature of explanation in the social sciences; an analysis of the mental states - beliefs, desires, and emotions - that are precursors to action; a systematic comparison of rational-choice models of behavior with alternative accounts, and a review of mechanisms of social interaction ranging from strategic behavior to collective decision making. A wholly new chapter includes an exploration of classical moralists and Proust in charting mental mechanisms operating 'behind the back' of the agent, and a new conclusion points to the pitfalls and fallacies in current ways of doing social science, proposing guidelines for more modest and more robust procedures.