More Precisely: The Math You Need to Do Philosophy - Softcover

Steinhart, Eric

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551119099 ISBN 13: 9781551119090

Publisher: Broadview Press, 2009

Synopsis

More Precisely provides a rigorous and engaging introduction to the mathematics necessary to do philosophy. It is impossible to fully understand much of the most important work in contemporary philosophy without a basic grasp of set theory, functions, probability, modality and infinity. Until now, this knowledge was difficult to acquire. Professors had to provide custom handouts to their classes, while students struggled through math texts searching for insight. More Precisely fills this key gap.

Eric Steinhart provides lucid explanations of the basic mathematical concepts and sets out most commonly used notational conventions. Furthermore, he demonstrates how mathematics applies to many fundamental issues in branches of philosophy such as metaphysics, philosophy of language, epistemology, and ethics.

About this title

About the Author

Eric Steinhart is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at William Paterson University. He is the author of On Nietzsche (Wadsworth 1999) and The Logic of Metaphor: Analogous Parts of Possible Worlds (Kluwer Academic 2001).

Review

“[More Precisely] addresses a need by giving an elementary presentation of a number of technical concepts used in philosophy, which previously were not collected together. It should be especially useful for students preparing for graduate work whose undergraduate training is likely to have skipped over at least some of the concepts that the book covers. The material in each chapter is presented in a very clear and engaging way, without presupposing any background beyond basic high school mathematics.” ― Susan Vineberg, Wayne State University

“This is the book I wish I had when I was learning philosophy. It does an excellent job introducing students to the formal tools that philosophers use in an accessible yet rigorous way. From set theory to possible words semantics to probability theory to the mathematics of infinity, all the key concepts are taught in a way that will provide students the foundation for being solid philosophers. Moreover, the concepts are taught in an engaging way, and frequent examples are given to explain why these formal notions are philosophically relevant. I’m going to ask all my incoming graduate students to read this book. And there’s enough material in here that most philosophy professors could learn something from the book as well.” ― Bradley Monton, University of Colorado, Boulder

“This is a splendid and innovative book. It explains accurately and accessibly a wide range of technical topics frequently drawn upon in philosophy. Wonderfully informative and clear, this book is a lifeline for students at undergraduate or graduate level.” ― Chris Daly, University of Manchester

“This is a great resource! Philosophers have always used the tools of mathematics to make their claims clearer and more precise, even more so since the end of the nineteenth century. Until now we haven’t had a systematic way to acquire those tools. Steinhart’s book remedies the situation, presenting the fundamental ideas thoroughly and comprehensively. Highly recommended for anyone getting into the serious study of philosophy.” ― Anthony Dardis, Hofstra University

Edition details

• Publisher: Broadview Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1551119099
• ISBN 13: 9781551119090
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 208