Nicholas Rescher

Epistemology: an Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge (Suny Series in Philosophy) Nicholas Rescher

A comprehensive introduction to the theory of knowledge.

Guided by the founding ideas of American pragmatism, Epistemology provides a clear example of the basic concepts involved in knowledge acquisition and explains the principles at work in the development of rational inquiry. It examines how these principles analyze the course of scientific progress and how the development of scientific inquiry inevitably encounters certain natural disasters. At the center of the book's deliberations there lies not only the potential for scientific progress but also the limit of science as well. This comprehensive introduction to the theory of knowledge addresses a myriad of topics, including the critique of skepticism, the nature of rationality, the possibility of science for extraterrestrial intelligences, and the prospect of insoluble issues in science.

"This book covers a wide span of issues in epistemology and encapsulates complex debates with lucidity. It lives up to its goal of organizing research in contemporary theory of knowledge into a 'single systematic whole.'" ? Vrinda Dalmiya, University of Hawaii at Manoa