Traditional and Analytical Philosophy - 9780521125734

A major study of some of the central and abiding questions of metaphysics and the philosophy of language by one of the most eminent contemporary German philosophers. Originally published in 1976, it was first translated into English in 1982.

Ernst Tugendhat was trained in the Heideggerian modes of phenomenological and hermeneutical thinking. Yet increasingly he came to believe the most appropriate and fruitful approach to the deep problems posed there was from within the framework of analytical philosophy. This book grew out of that conviction, and in part to vindicate it to an audience with a similar philosophical background. As such it brought a new perspective to some of the rarely examined assumptions and methods of analysis.

For Professor Tugendhat does not offer a survey of analytical philosophy. Rather, he begins by showing how semantic analysis relates to such `traditional' conceptions of philosophy as Aristotle's and Kant's, and the manner in which it treats such `traditional' problems as Being and Consciousness. From these considerations he develops, through the greater part of the book, a systematic, thorough and original theory of reference, predication and individuation. In doing so he draws, on the insights of the Heideggerian tradition, making this a considerable example of the confluence of the two schools of thought. The result is a profound and clear-minded contribution to the discussion. Its scrupulous and many-faceted investigation of, among other topics, singular terms, predicates, objecthood and identification make it an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in the philosophy of language.