The Logical Alien: Conant and His Critics

Is our logical form of thought merely one among many, or must it be the form of thought as such? From Kant to Wittgenstein, philosophers have wrestled with variants of this question. This volume brings together nine distinguished thinkers on the subject, including James Conant, author of the seminal paper “The Search for Logically Alien Thought.”

Table of Contents:
Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Epigraph Part I—The Bounds of Judgment Introduction to Part I: Basic Necessities (or: The Shape of Thought) The Search for Logically Alien Thought: Descartes, Kant, Frege, and the Tractatus What Descartes Ought to Have Thought about Modality Kant on Logic and the Laws of the Understanding Cartesian Skepticism, Kantian Skepticism, and Two Conceptions of Self-Consciousness Logical Aliens and the “Ground” of Logical Necessity Varieties of Alien Thought Wittgenstein on Using Language and Playing Chess: The Breakdown of an Analogy and Its Consequences Where Words Fail Alien Meaning and Alienated Meaning Part II—The Logical Alien Revisited: Afterthoughts and Responses Introduction to Part II: On How History of Philosophy Can Be Illuminating James Conant, Replies Section I: Who Is the Author of These Afterthoughts and Responses? Section II: A History of Philosophy That Challenges Contemporary Preconceptions? Section III: Some Aspects of Conant’s Version of the History Section IV: Theological Sources of Modern Conceptions of Logic& Section V: Leibnizian versus Kantian Conceptions of Logic&# Section VI: A Resolute Reading of Descartes Section VII: Reply to Moore: Descartes on the Relation of the Possible to the Actual Section VIII: Reply to Boyle: Kant on the Relation of a Rational Capacity to Its Acts Section IX: Reply to Hamawaki: On the Relation of Cartesian to Kantian Skepticism and the Relation of Consciousness to Self-Consciousness Section X: Reply to Hamawaki and Stroud on Transcendental Arguments, Idealism, and the Kantian Solution of the Problem of Philosophy Section XI: Reply to Stroud on Kant and Frege: On the Relation of Thought to Judgment Section XII: Reply to Sullivan: Frege on the Priority of Logic to Everything Section XIII: Reply to Gustafsson: Wittgenstein on the Relation of Sign to Symbol Section XIV: Reply to Travis: Wittgenstein on the Non-Relation of Thinking to Being Section XV: Reply to Benoist: Wittgenstein on the Relation of Language to Life Bibliography Index of Names Index of Subjects

Review :
This book is remarkable in its content, unique in its form, and innovative in its understanding of philosophical methodology. The essays in Part I provoke a lively dialogue. In his replies in Part II, Conant shows us the multiplicity of ways in which, in doing the history of philosophy, we blind ourselves to some philosophical possibility. In doing so, he enables us to see over and again a deep truth about the nature of philosophy and why it is difficult. The result is an exceptionally interesting and original work--one that is not so much an outstanding contribution to some 'field' within philosophy as a work capable of reshaping what one takes philosophy to be. -- Cora Diamond, author of Reading Wittgenstein with Anscombe, Going On to Ethics This extraordinary book constitutes nothing less than a philosophical engagement with the history of fundamental conceptions of logic from Descartes to Leibniz, through Kant and Frege, to early and later Wittgenstein--an engagement that explores different ways of conceiving this history, different ways of conceiving what logic is, what thought and judgment are, as well as what knowledge is and how it relates to thought and judgment. There is a distinctive form of philosophical self-engagement that characterizes Conant's remarkable 'Replies' in Part II. No reader can enter into this mode of self-engagement--this manner of working through layers of understanding and misunderstanding, layers of criticism and self-clarification--without herself becoming fruitfully entangled in the very kind of philosophical activity that these 'Replies' seek to exemplify. These pages are filled with nuances in conceptual clarification, a wealth of philosophical distinctions, and a level of rigor in philosophical reflection that is rarely found on our philosophical planet. This book will hold a singular place in the contemporary philosophical landscape. -- Andrea Kern, author of Sources of Knowledge A carefully written and cleverly argued exploration of both historical and contemporary issues in the philosophy of logic. -- Choice