On Truth and Meaning: Language, Logic And The Grounds Of Belief (Athlone Contemporary European Thinkers S.) - Softcover

'...Norris engages in a series of closely argues, though not overly technical, reflections on the debate between various aspects of epistemological realism and anti-realism.' Mark Vernon, TLS--Sanford Lakoff "Tls " "Norris continues the complex bridge-building project of his four previous books ("Hillary Putnam, " CH, Mar'03, 40-3942; "Against Relativism", CH, Apr'98, 35-4452; "Reclaiming Truth", CH, May'97, 34-5019; and "Truth and the Ethnic of Criticism", May'95, 32-5013) to defend a "normatively adequate" realist account of knowledge, rational explanation, and reference. Chapter 1 reviews debates over psychologism from Frege to Quine and Dummett, then offers an alternative, normatively adequate naturalized epistemology inspired by Philip Kitcher. Chapter 2 continues a similar line of realist argument in light of debates by Quine, Davidson, and Mcdowell over the "three dogmas" of empiricism. Chapters 3 and 4 develop Norris's position with particular reference to scientific knowledge and natural-language interpretation. Chapter 5 turns to Continental thinkers from Sartre to Derrida for overlooked insights on how to understand the question of doxastic responsibility. Finally, in chapter 6 Norris brings his realist arguments to bear against Kripke's reading of Wittgenstein on following a rule and its resultant communitarian account of knowledge. This chapter includes discussions of replies to Kripke by Wright Tennant, and McDowell. Though not a book for beginners, this study, with its impressive scope, will help greatly advanced students and scholars interested in the variety of so-called analytic and Continental traditions".""--Sanford Lakoff