Product Description 
Philip Kitcher's 
The Main Enterprise of the World offers a sweeping vision of the goals of education. Kitcher considers the ways in which schools and universities should advance their goals, explores the social changes required to make high-quality education available to all, and argues that 
these reforms are economically sustainable.\nKitcher build his arguments from three broad goals of education as an institution: career development and professionalization, civic participation, and human fulfilment. He shows that shifts in the workplace provide opportunities to focus on the latter two goals, and to liberate education from 
supposed economic constraints. By tying education to the strengthening of both individual lives and the foundations of democracy, he offers a humanistic rethinking of what education should try to achieve.\nDrawing on figures like Dewey, Mill, Atkinson, and others who have written deeply on education, both in theory and in practice, Kitcher offers an extensive reconsideration of how we might change our educational institutions to respond not just to the twenty-first century economy, but to the deeper 
need for lifelong human flourishing. 
The Main Enterprise of the World renews classical Pragmatism: with one eye on the ideal, and the other on the world, it presents a picture of education appropriate for our century.\nReview 
"A towering achievement, worthy of a place beside the classic works of John Dewey, J. S. Mill, and Rabindranath Tagore. Kitcher's radical and compelling idea is that contemporary societies have been designing education to suit jobs that currently exist, when instead we should be imagining an 
education system that serves the needs of personal fulfillment and interactive democratic citizenship, and designing other social institutions to support those goals. This is ideal theory in the very best sense: a clear-eyed road map of a difficult destination, together with practical proposals for 
reaching it, articulated with both clarity and an inclusive love of human beings." -- Martha C. Nussbaum, University of Chicago\n"Philosophy of education, so vital and so neglected, receives a shot in the arm from Philip Kitcher's foundational, radical, and absolutely essential 
The Main Enterprise of the World. It also invigorates political theory, ethics, and wide range of other questions, as education―the building of a 
person―takes its place at the centre of human life." -- Cheryl Misak, University of Toronto\n"A remarkable achievement that will attract the attention of philosophers of all stripes, including but not limited to philosophers of education, as well as economists, psychologists, and other social scientists and policy experts. Arguing for a radical reconceptualization of both educational 
practice and its philosophical, economic, and social underpinnings, Kitcher's Deweyan vision insists that educational activities must aim at the improvement of both individual and collective lives, and reconceives educational ideals as tools of diagnosis and improvement rather than utopian goals to 
be imperfectly approximated. Kitcher defends that vision artfully and brilliantly. His call for serious educational experimentation, and the several proposed experiments, are important and potentially game changing. 
The Main Enterprise of the World is a masterful book." -- Harvey Siegel, University 
of Miami\nAbout the Author \nPhilip Kitcher was born in 1947 in London (U.K.). He received his B.A. from Cambridge University and his Ph.D. from Princeton. He has taught at several American Universities, and is currently John Dewey Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, at Columbia. He is the author of books on topics ranging from 
the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of biology, the growth of science, the role of science in society, naturalistic ethics, pragmatism, Wagner's 
Ring, Joyce's 
Finnegans Wake, and Mann's 
Death in Venice. In 2019, he was awarded the Rescher Med

The Main Enterprise of the World: Rethinking Education (Walter A. Strauss Lectures in the Humanities)

Politics & Social Sciences

Kitcher, Philip

Philosophy

Oxford University Press

This book argues against the view that mathematical knowledge is a priori, contending that mathematics is an empirical science and develops historically, just as natural sciences do. Kitcher presents a complete, systematic, and richly detailed account of the nature of mathematical knowledge and its historical development, focusing on such neglected issues as how and why mathematical language changes, why certain questions assume overriding importance, and how standards of proof are modified.

The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge

Science & Math

Mathematics

This book argues against the view that mathematical knowledge is a priori, contending that mathematics is an empirical science and develops historically, just as natural sciences do. Kitcher presents a complete, systematic, and richly detailed account of the nature of mathematical knowledge and its historical development, focusing on such neglected issues as how and why mathematical language changes, why certain questions assume overriding importance, and how standards of proof are modified.

During the last three decades, reflections on the growth of scientific knowledge have inspired historians, sociologists, and some philosophers to contend that scientific objectivity is a myth. In this book, Kitcher attempts to resurrect the notions of objectivity and progress in science by identifying both the limitations of idealized treatments of growth of knowledge and the overreactions to philosophical idealizations. Recognizing that science is done not by logically omniscient subjects working in isolation, but by people with a variety of personal and social interests, who cooperate and compete with one another, he argues that, nonetheless, we may conceive the growth of science as a process in which both our vision of nature and our ways of learning more about nature improve. Offering a detailed picture of the advancement of science, he sets a new agenda for the philosophy of science and for other "science studies" disciplines.

The Advancement of Science: Science without Legend, Objectivity without Illusions

Religion & Spirituality

Hinduism

During the last three decades, reflections on the growth of scientific knowledge have inspired historians, sociologists, and some philosophers to contend that scientific objectivity is a myth. In this book, Kitcher attempts to resurrect the notions of objectivity and progress in science by identifying both the limitations of idealized treatments of growth of knowledge and the overreactions to philosophical idealizations. Recognizing that science is done not by logically omniscient subjects working in isolation, but by people with a variety of personal and social interests, who cooperate and compete with one another, he argues that, nonetheless, we may conceive the growth of science as a process in which both our vision of nature and our ways of learning more about nature improve. Offering a detailed picture of the advancement of science, he sets a new agenda for the philosophy of science and for other "science studies" disciplines.

Striving to boldly redirect the philosophy of science, this book by renowned philosopher Philip Kitcher examines the heated debate surrounding the role of science in shaping our lives. Kitcher explores the sharp divide between those who believe that the pursuit of scientific knowledge is always valuable and necessary--the purists--and those who believe that it invariably serves the interests of people in positions of power. In a daring turn, he rejects both perspectives, working out a more realistic image of the sciences--one that allows for the possibility of scientific truth, but nonetheless permits social consensus to determine which avenues to investigate. He then proposes a democratic and deliberative framework for responsible scientists to follow. Controversial, powerful, yet engaging, this volume will appeal to a wide range of readers. Kitcher's nuanced analysis and authorititative conclusion will interest countless scientists as well as all readers of science--scholars and laypersons alike.

Science, Truth, and Democracy (Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Science)

History & Philosophy

In Mendel's Mirror: Philosophical Reflections on Biology

Philip Kitcher is one of the leading figures in the philosophy of science today. Here he collects, for the first time, many of his published articles on the philosophy of biology, spanning from the mid-1980's to the present. The book's title refers to Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian monk who was one of the first scientists to develop a theory of heredity. Mendel's work has been deeply influential to our understanding of our selves and our world, just as the study of genetics today will have a profound and long-term impact on future scientific research. Kitcher's articles cover a broad range of topics with similar philosophical and social significance: sociobiology, evolutionary psychology, species, race, altrusim, genetic determinism, and the rebirth of creationism in Intelligent Design. Kitcher's work on the intersection of biology and the philosophy of science is both unprecedented and wide-ranging, and will appeal not only to philosophers of science, but to scholars and students across disciplines.

Biological Sciences

Philip Kitcher is one of the leading figures in the philosophy of science today. Here he collects, for the first time, many of his published articles on the philosophy of biology, spanning from the mid-1980's to the present. The book's title refers to Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian monk who was one of the first scientists to develop a theory of heredity. Mendel's work has been deeply influential to our understanding of our selves and our world, just as the study of genetics today will have a profound and long-term impact on future scientific research. Kitcher's articles cover a broad range of topics with similar philosophical and social significance: sociobiology, evolutionary psychology, species, race, altruism, genetic determinism, and the rebirth of creationism in Intelligent Design. Kitcher's work on the intersection of biology and the philosophy of science is both unprecedented and wide-ranging, and will appeal not only to philosophers of science, but to scholars and students across disciplines.

Striving to boldly redirect the philosophy of science, this book by renowned philosopher Philip Kitcher examines the heated debate surrounding the role of science in shaping our lives. Kitcher explores the sharp divide between those who believe that the pursuit of scientific knowledge is always valuable and necessary--the purists--and those who believe that it invariably serves the interests of people in positions of power. In a daring turn, he rejects both perspectives, working out a more realistic image of the sciences--one that allows for the possibility of scientific truth, but nonetheless permits social consensus to determine which avenues to investigate. He then proposes a democratic and deliberative framework for responsible scientists to follow. Controversial, powerful, yet engaging, this volume will appeal to a wide range of readers. Kitcher's nuanced analysis and authoritative conclusion will interest countless scientists as well as all readers of science--scholars and laypersons alike.

Few musical works loom as large in Western culture as Richard Wagner's four-part Ring of the Nibelung. In Finding an Ending, two eminent philosophers, Philip Kitcher and Richard Schacht, offer an illuminating look at this greatest of Wagner's achievements, focusing on its far-reaching and subtle exploration of problems of meanings and endings in this life and world. Kitcher and Schacht plunge the reader into the heart of Wagner's Ring, drawing out the philosophical and human significance of the text and the music. They show how different forms of love, freedom, heroism, authority, and judgment are explored and tested as it unfolds. As they journey across its sweeping musical-dramatic landscape, Kitcher and Schacht lead us to the central concern of the Ring--the problem of endowing life with genuine significance that can be enhanced rather than negated by its ending, if the right sort of ending can be found. The drama originates in Wotan's quest for a transformation of the primordial state of things into a world in which life can be lived more meaningfully. The authors trace the evolution of Wotan's efforts, the intricate problems he confronts, and his failures and defeats. But while the problem Wotan poses for himself proves to be insoluble as he conceives of it, they suggest that his very efforts and failures set the stage for the transformation of his problem, and for the only sort of resolution of it that may be humanly possible--to which it is not Siegfried but rather Brünnhilde who shows the way. The Ring's ending, with its passing of the gods above and destruction of the world below, might seem to be devastating; but Kitcher and Schacht see a kind of meaning in and through the ending revealed to us that is profoundly affirmative, and that has perhaps never been so powerfully and so beautifully expressed.

Finding an Ending: Reflections on Wagner's Ring

Arts & Photography

SCHACHT, RICHARD

Music

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kitcher, Philip. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Kitcher, Philip

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kitcher, Philip. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Main Enterprise of the World: Rethinking Education (Walter A. Strauss Lectures in the Humanities)

The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge

The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge

The Advancement of Science: Science without Legend, Objectivity without Illusions

The Advancement of Science: Science without Legend, Objectivity without Illusions

Science, Truth, and Democracy (Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Science)

In Mendel's Mirror: Philosophical Reflections on Biology

In Mendel's Mirror: Philosophical Reflections on Biology

Science, Truth, and Democracy (Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Science)

Finding an Ending: Reflections on Wagner's Ring