Thoughts on Truth - Philosophy

Darren Staloff's lecture

He is a neo-pragmatist. The three works Staloff wants to cover are: 1) Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature; 2) Consequences of Pragmatism; 3) Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity

His main influences: Quine, Willfred Sellars, Donald Davidson

Two main positions: Naturalism and Democracy, and he is aware of their contingencies

1. Critique of traditional practice of philosophy; modern philosophy is characterized by representationalism and correspondence theory. The problem is rationalists and empiricists open the door to skepticism because it becomes impossible to prove our ideas correspond with the world (Kant). Kant made epistemology first philosophy and primary and shifted focus to analyzing "conceptual schemes" and mark the range of them. Hegel showed the malleability of conceptual schemes. Philosphy of language is trying to do the same thing that Descartes and Kant did but using language instead of ideas. He claims what unites all these philosophies and ancient philosophy is an attempt at metacultural criticism, "God's eye view", the philosopher is a high cultural critic, since Kant philosophy sees itself as the ultimate archetechtonic cultural role and ultimate authority. He says a truly secular culture should not have an archetechtonic discipline, living under God's shadow. He says we should have free play in discourse.

2. Is the alternative to #1.

3. moral ethic, "edifying discourses"