Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century, Volume 1: The Dawn of Analysis

This is a major, wide-ranging history of analytic philosophy since 1900, told by one of the tradition's leading contemporary figures. Despite its centrality to philosophy in the English-speaking world, the analytic tradition in philosophy has had very few synthetic histories. This will be the benchmark against which all future accounts will be measured. The first volume takes the story from 1900 to mid-century. The second brings the history up to date.

About the Author :
Scott Soames is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. His other books include Reference and Description (Princeton), Beyond Rigidity, and Understanding Truth.

Review :
"I know of no sustained philosophical work that is as clear, deep, and incisive as these two volumes. There are several other excellent books on twentieth-century analytic philosophy, but Soames's is likely to become the standard. His ability to reconstruct arguments, to fill in inchoate arguments, and to detect what may have motivated or underlain some philosopher's position is amazing.... These are superb volumes by a superb philosopher." - A. P. Martinich, Journal of the History of Philosophy "The writing and the organization are admirably clear and straightforward, exhibiting many of the virtues Soames claims for the tradition as a whole.... It is hard to imagine another work being produced which would deliver so much solid information on this dense and difficult subject matter in such easy form." - Charles T. Mathewes, Virginia Quarterly Review "Because of its combination of sympathetic, illuminating exposition of the central doctrines and arguments of the analytic tradition and the hard-nosed critical evaluation to which they are subjected, this will surely be the standard history of analytic philosophy for many years to come." - Choice "A history of analytic philosophy and an excellent piece of analytic philosophy in its own right." - Kit Fine, New York University "There is no other work on the history of twentieth-century analytic philosophy that matches it in its scope, depth, and elegance." - Ali Kazmi, University of Calgary"