Synopsis
Forthright and wryly humorous, philosopher Susan Haack deploys her penetrating analytic skills on some of the most highly charged cultural and social debates of recent years. Relativism, multiculturalism, feminism, affirmative action, pragmatisms old and new, science, literature, the future of the academy and of philosophy itself—all come under her keen scrutiny in Manifesto of a Passionate Moderate.
"The virtue of Haack's book, and I mean virtue in the ethical sense, is that it embodies the attitude that it exalts. . . Haack's voice is urbane, sensible, passionate—the voice of philosophy that matters. How good to hear it again."—Jonathan Rauch, Reason
"A tough mind, confident of its power, making an art of logic . . . a cool mastery."—Paul R. Gross, Wilson Quarterly
"Few people are better able to defend the notion of truth, and in strong, clear prose, than Susan Haack . . . a philosopher of great distinction."—Hugh Lloyd-Jones, National Review
"If you relish acute observation and straight talk, this is a book to read."—Key Reporter (Phi Beta Kappa)
"Everywhere in this book there is the refreshing breeze of common sense, patiently but inexorably blowing."—Roger Kimball, Times Literary Supplement
"A refreshing alternative to the extremism that characterizes so much rhetoric today."—Kirkus Reviews
Reviews
Haack (philosophy, Univ. of Miami; Deviant Logic, Fuzzy Logic: Beyond the Formalism, LJ 10/1/96) offers 11 essays that neatly demonstrate the multilayered truth of this collection's title. In a cleverly worded dialog between Charles Peirce and Richard Rorty, in a blistering strip search of the variant meanings and intentions behind "multiculturalism," and in several examinations of what it means to be a feminist as well as a female academic, Haack writes for an audience that shares her patience with ideas that run contrary to clearly felt personal opinion. Known for her critical research into the nature of inquiry and logic, Haack puts a welcome British spin on the very American school of pragmatism. Affordable and accessible, this collection belongs in both academic and public libraries where educated browsers will enjoy disagreeingAas well as admitting agreementAwith the author.AFrancisca Goldsmith, Berkeley P.L., CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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