Transcending Postmodernism

Contemporary philosophy is torn between a reliance on the pragmatic meanings of designated objects and a foundation based on formal theory. This book shows that philosophical knowledge, which no more has a terminal state than an infinite set has a last term, advances when the dialectical relationship between the two approaches is synthesized. The choice of designations is intimately related to theory and the form of theory is intimately related to the character of designated objects. The intimate dialectical relationship between theory and meaning is explored in detail in the area of international theory. The recent emphasis on realism rests on a regressive misunderstanding of the dialectical relationship between theory and practice that loses Newton's acute understanding of it, an understanding that underlies the great advances of physics, and that is lost in the contemporary social sciences.

Foreword; Patrick A. Heelan Preface; Morton Kaplan The Unknown Kaplan: Synoptic Knowledge After Postmodernism; Inanna Hamati-Ataya PART I: A WORLD VIEW 1. The Operations of Mind that Produce Language 2. Human Reason and a Common World View: Why Wittgenstein and Rawls are Both Wrong 3. Evolving Human Nature and Multistable Justice PART II: ANALYTICS 4. Meaning and Logic 5. The Nature of Reality as Illuminated by Quantum Physics PART III: SYSTEMS 6. Theories, General Theories, Systems Theories, and Language Games 7. Misinterpretations of International Systems Theory 8. Realism and Theory PART IV: APPLICATIONS 9. The Retrogressive Impact of Contemporary Realism on International Theory 10. Tribe and Scalia on the Constitution: A Third View 11. The Market and Liberal Democracy Bibliography Index