'Philosophy Talk' website publishes essay by UNE professor David Livingstone Smith
David Livingstone Smith, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, wrote an essay, titled “Truth and Progress in Philosophy,” that was published on June 6 on the Philosophy Talk website.
In the essay, Smith discusses philosophical disagreement and how this issue is related to the question of whether or not philosophy has made progress over the centuries. He clarifies, however, that progress in philosophy is not tantamount to progress toward truth. He states: “The question of whether philosophy has progressed can only be answered by answering a deeper question. What’s the goal of philosophy? What are we after – or rather, what should we be after – when we’re doing philosophy? Whatever the answer to this question is, it’s not the pursuit of truth.”
He explains that in his opinion, “philosophy is in the options business rather than the truth business. Its job is to show that there are many ways of addressing a problem, and to spell out the implications of these alternatives.”
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