Realism And Pragmatic Epistemology

An examination of philosophical realism from the standpoint of pragmatic epistemology, Realism and Pragmatic Epistemology addresses the core idea of Rescher's work in epistemology: that functional and pragmatic concerns exert a controlling influence on the conduct of rational inquiry and on the ways in which we can and should regard its products.Pragmatism is widely regarded as a philosophical approach that stands at odds with realism, but Rescher takes a very different approach. He views pragmatism as a realistic position that can be developed from a pragmatic point of view, and utilizes a number of case studies to augment his position. Throughout, he shows how the pragmatic and purposive setting of our putative knowledge of the real world proves to be crucial for the constituting and also for the constitution of our knowledge.

"Rescher's new trilogy is not only informative, and elegantly crisp about the core problems of epistemic harmony, epistemic logic, and the thrust of pragmatic epistemology, it is systematically impressive and convincing on the basic positions advanced." - Robert Almeder, Georgia State University; "These books are welcome and important additions to an already impressive body of work." - Ernest Sosa, Brown University"

Nicholas Rescher is Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh and co-chairman of the Center for Philosophy of Science. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he has served as president of the E