Wilfrid Sellars

Philosophy Now

by Willem A. Devries

Wilfrid Sellars (1912-89) has been called "the most profound and systematic epistemological thinker of the twentieth century" (Robert Brandom). He was in many respects ahead of his time, and many of his innovations have become widely acknowledged, for example, his attack on the "myth of the given", his functionalist treatment of intentional states, his proposal that psychological concepts are like theoretical concepts, and his suggestion that attributions of knowledge locate the knower "in the logical space of reasons". However, while many philosophers have begun to acknowledge Sellars's inspiration in their work, their interpretation of his thought has not always been the most accurate. His writings are difficult. Individually, his essays are complex and sometimes rely on doctrines and arguments he put forward elsewhere. Each of his articles is deepened and strengthened by seeing it in its systematic context, but he never wrote a unified exposition of his system, which therefore has to be pieced together from numerous disparate sources. Willem deVries addresses these difficulties specifically and provides a careful reading and remarkable overview of Sellars's systematic philosophy that will become the standard point of reference for all philosophers seeking to understand Sellars's hugely significant body of work.

Genres: Philosophy

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[david]

Introducción utilísima a un filósofo más bien oscuro (el precio a pagar por llevar razón en todo).

[Antonia Faccini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es como un companion y uno muy bueno. Sellars a veces de verdad es incomprensible y cada aspecto de su filosofía está redondeado en este libro por deVries.

[Catholicus Magus · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important work written by one of Sellars' students which reveals both the sheer breadth, and the importance of one of analytic philosophy's most important writers. This work is clear, informative, precise and open to the possibility not only of considering Sellars in his respective taxonomic orientation (right-wing Sellarsians v. left-wing Sellarsians,) but also to those who may be of the Continental orientation or more positivist orientation. Some sections, such as Devries discussing Sellars' philosophy of mind or linguistic foundationalism, can be very complicated if one is not familiar in analytic evolution or even in the multiplicity of fields which Sellars discusses; undeniably, Sellars' approach to philosophy as a whole - attempting to pragmatically understand and take seriously the argumentation of different historical dichotomies and what each proffer as good inferences - is fruitful and important to philosophical inquiry. My own personal pursuit and interest in philosophy, interdisciplinary and intertraditional discussions which better solve problems or issues at hand, is mirrored remarkably well in the clarity of Devries exposition of the manifest and scientific image. Even if one is not interested in engaging with the analytic tradition down to the specificity of authors like Churchland or McDowell, one should at the very least know who Sellars is and what he roughly argues. I highly recommend this work on Sellars, and hope that the fruitfulness of his theory as made manifest in this work imparts the same clarity and renewed focus for you as it did for me.

[christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

*read only on chapters related to The Myth of the Given*

DeVries does a good job at establishing Sellars' position on The Myth of the Given and presents criticisms that relate directly to the influences that The Myth of Given had, including Sellars' own responses to those criticism. It's an important read for my research but DRY.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good way into Sellars by one of the leading lights in Sellarsian scholarship

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intro to Sellars. First chapter on his philosophy of language is good--explains dot quotation and nominalism about meaning.

[Shayan Hamraz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just chapter 5 has valuable points. Rest of the book is useless. Maher’s book is far better than this.