Abstract

Margolis, having previously published analytical examinations of Fact and Existence and Values and Conduct, now holds up to inspection Knowledge and Existence. This work is subtitled An Introduction to Philosophical Problems, but it is an introduction in a special sense only. As the author himself states, "I have deliberately omitted nearly all mention of the views of particular philosophers." In other words, the text consists entirely of conceptual investigation, with no leavening of stories on how each puzzlement dealt with evolved historically as a puzzlement. This is all very well for trained philosophers, whose relish for the kind of sorting out here offered is already developed; for them, this is a rewarding introduction to one philosopher’s unraveling of the problems that have bewitched them. For beginners, however, it is too difficult. Margolis’s chapter headings are an exquisite tour de force, linking opposites, correlatives, and other conjunctives in the neat, spare duos that Margolis cherishes: Knowledge and Belief, Perception and Sensation, Doubt and Certainty, Existence and Reality, Identity and Individuation, Action and Event, Language and Truth, Mind and Body, and Facts and Values. The book contains no footnotes. A tightly written Epilogue of six pages serves as "a checklist of sorts," listing "some of the key views" that the author supports or rejects. The index is exemplary.—W. G.