Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Donald Davidson is one of the most important and influential philosophers of the second half of the twentieth century. He has never attempted a systematic exposition of his philosophical program, so there is no single place a student, interpreter, or critic can seek its official formulation. His published essays, taken together, form a mosaic that must be viewed all at once in order to discern an overall pattern. In addition, they sometimes exhibit an enigmatic quality, with subtleties, complexities, and cross-references that often cannot be entirely appreciated except in conjunction with each other. All of this can render access to his thought not just difficult but at times frustrating, despite its obvious importance. In an effort to help a novice or even someone already stumped, the following major themes in Davidson's philosophy will be summarized: (1) Reasons and Causes, (2) Events and Causation, (3) Anomalous Monism, (4) Theory of Meaning and Compositionality, (5) Radical Interpretation, (6) Adverbial Modification, (7) The Method of Truth in Metaphysics, (8) Against Facts, (9) Truth and Correspondence, (10) Animal Thought, (11) Alternative Conceptual Schemes, (12) Anti-skepticism, (13) Anti-Cartesianism and First Person Authority, (14) The Rejection of Empiricism. Though this list is not exhaustive, it identifies broad themes that structure Davidson's project. Of course, nothing ... log in or subscribe to read full text