Description and Evaluation of Nicholas Rescher's Critique of Extreme Specialization in Philosophy

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
A. Ebrahimzadeh
A. Jamshidpour
H. Valeh
Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Letters and Human sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
10.58209/jpt.4.1.41
Abstract
Specialization and turning away from macro systematizations in philosophy can be commonly seen as relatively common practices of analytic philosophers. However, the contemporary philosopher Nicholas Rescher, as one of the exceptions to this tradition, is not only alien to this pattern but even considers it a methodological flaw. This article deals with the philosophical foundations of this point of view, the philosophical methodology derived from it, and its strategic methods by researching Rescher's works. Relying on his epistemological foundations (especially coherentism), Rescher believes that we should solve philosophical problems with a holistic approach and by considering the entire field of philosophy. Although Rescher's type of systemization is safe from some criticisms due to not neglecting the details of the system components, it still needs to be corrected or completed from a methodological perspective. One of the most important gaps in this point of view is the lack of a regulated model in managing the balance between comprehensiveness and specialization, as well as in determining the boundaries of maximality of the system.

Keywords

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