Explore the revival of Wilfrid Sellars through the eyes of contemporary Continental philosophers, including unexpected interest from Marxists. Discover his dual views on the manifest and scientific images of reality, pushing for a richer understanding of truth. Delve into how his insights inform our responses to climate change and social reform, advocating for a blend of philosophy and natural science. Unpack the 'myth of the given' and its implications for knowledge acquisition, revealing the complexity of intellectual challenges we face today.
Wilfrid Sellars' integration of the manifest and scientific images highlights the necessity of combining everyday experiences with scientific understanding for a complete view of reality.
His critique of foundationalism through the 'Myth of the Given' encourages a critical realist approach, fostering dialogue on epistemology and inspiring contemporary social reform movements.
Deep dives
The Legacy of Wilfred Sellers
Wilfred Sellers was a pivotal American philosopher whose work significantly shaped various philosophical disciplines throughout the 20th century. His contributions to the philosophy of language, science, and epistemology remain influential, particularly the concepts of the 'Manifest and Scientific Images' and the 'Myth of the Given.' Sellers synthesized ideas from disciplines such as logic and psychology, making his philosophy relevant to linguistics, sociology, and artificial intelligence. Despite being regarded mainly within academic circles, his thought serves as a bridge between analytic and continental philosophy, attracting scholars from both traditions.
The Manifest and Scientific Images
Sellers introduced the distinction between the manifest image and the scientific image, each representing different perspectives on reality. The manifest image encompasses our everyday experiences and social interactions, while the scientific image is shaped by the natural sciences. Sellers argued that both perspectives are necessary for a comprehensive understanding of reality, despite their apparent differences. This integration suggests that while scientific theories may describe how the world operates, our everyday experiences and interpretations also hold crucial significance.
Challenging Foundationalism
Sellers' critique of foundationalism, encapsulated in his concept of the 'Myth of the Given,' challenges the notion that sensory experiences can serve as a stable basis for knowledge. He posited that rather than relying on direct, pre-linguistic grounds for knowledge, we should embrace critical realism, which allows for the possibility of aligning our theories with reality through rigorous questioning and self-correction. This approach has implications not only for epistemology but also for social reform, as thinkers engage with Sellers' ideas to envision alternative structures for society and nature. His ideas are now inspiring contemporary philosophical movements, including xenofeminism, advocating for a dynamic understanding of nature and society.
The American thinker Wilfrid Sellars died in 1989, and has been remembered as a primarily analytic philosopher. But today, Sellars is being rediscovered by a new generation of Continental philosophers - and, perhaps surprisingly, Marxists. What do these thinkers find in Sellars, and how are his thoughts on science and knowledge being applied to questions of politics and society?
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