The Cambridge Companion to Common-Sense Philosophy

Description

Common-sense philosophy is important because it maintains that we can know many things about the world, about ourselves, about morality, and even about things of a metaphysical nature. The tenets of common-sense philosophy, while in some sense obvious and unsurprising, give rise to powerful arguments that can shed light on fundamental philosophical issues, including the perennial problem of scepticism and the emerging challenge of scientism. This Companion offers an exploration of common-sense philosophy in its many forms, tracing its development as a concept and considering the roles it has been assigned to play throughout the history of philosophy. Containing fifteen newly commissioned chapters from leading experts in the history of philosophy, epistemology, the philosophy of science, moral philosophy and metaphysics, the volume will be an essential guide for students and scholars hoping to gain a greater understanding of the value and enduring appeal of common-sense philosophy.

Rik Peels is Associate Professor of Philosophy, Theology and Religion at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. He is the author of many books on epistemology and ethics, including Responsible Belief: A Theory in Ethics and Epistemology (2017), and is the editor of Perspectives on Ignorance from Moral and Social Philosophy (2017) and The Epistemic Dimensions of Ignorance (with Martijn Blaauw, 2017). Rene van Woudenberg is Professor of Philosophy at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and Director of the university's Abraham Kuyper Center for Science and the Big Questions. He is the co-editor, with Rik Peels and Jeroen de Ridder, of Scientism: Prospects and Problems (2018) and Scientific Challenges to Common Sense Philosophy (2020).