Decline and Fall

Abstract

A very learned philosopher once said to me that he was puzzled by the fact that arguments which seemed absolutely compelling to one generation of philosophers were often found utterly unconvincing by another. It was clear that he did not think it sufficient explanation to talk about, for example, the problems posed by translation, by meaning shifts, by obscurity and so on. This short, and admittedly inconclusive, concluding chapter begins from the sense that we should take this puzzlement seriously. Those who are already convinced that we should not, who think perhaps that philosophy is decided on the arguments alone, at least in their own case, are advised to read no further.