The Realm of Reason develops a new, general theory of what it is for a thinker to be entitled to form a given belief. The theory locates entitlement in the nexus of relations between truth, content, and understanding. Peacocke formulates three principles of rationalism that articulate this conception. The principles imply that all entitlement has a component that is justificationally independent of experience. The resulting position is thus a form of rationalism, generalized to all kinds of content. To show how these principles are realized in specific domains, Peacocke applies the theory in detail to several classical problems of philosophy, including the nature of perceptual entitlement, induction, and the status of moral thought. These discussions involve an elaboration of the structure of entitlement in ways that have applications in many other areas of philosophy. He also relates the theory to classical and recent rationalist thought, and to current issues in the theory of meaning, reference and explanation. In the course of these discussions, he proposes a general theory of the a priori. The focus of the work lies in the intersection of epistemology, metaphysics, and the theory of meaning, and will be of interest both to students and researchers in these areas, and to anyone concerned with the idea of rationality.

About the Author
Christopher Peacocke is Professor of Philosophy at New York University, having previously been Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at Oxford. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.

Reviews
The sheer wealth of connections and observations made throughout this book make it interesting even beyond its bold central aim: to renew rationalism. * Philip Meadows, Philosophical Writings Journal *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199270729
Author Christopher Peacocke
Format Hardback
Page Count 296
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 563g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 160mm * 20mm