Abstract

This is an excellent, lively and thought provoking book. I should like to remark first how clear and readable it is. The ideas presented are intricate; they require the making of many distinctions and the canvassing of numerous alternative views. But Carruthers pursues matters in an orderly and well-paced way; he moves helpfully between sketching the large scale picture and filling in the detail; he takes care to signpost where he is and to make plain whether he considers the arguments he advances to be compelling or merely plausible. So at every point the reader knows what Carruthers is claiming, his reasons for it and where he hopes to go next. This is no mean achievement. It would be a fine thing if we could say the same for every philosophical book.