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The Philosophy of Inquiry and Global Problems

The Intellectual Revolution Needed to Create a Better World

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  • © 2024

Overview

Authors:
  1. Nicholas Maxwell

    1. Science and Technology Studies, University College London, London, UK

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  • Suggests that a revolution in the universities is needed to help humanity create a genuinely civilized world

  • Argues for a new kind of science that improves its aims and methods as it proceeds

  • Shows that philosophy has a vital role to play in helping humanity deal successfully with the climate and nature crises

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
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  2. Bad Philosophy, the Climate Crisis, and Other Global Problems

    • Nicholas Maxwell
    Pages 1-46

  3. Bad Academic Philosophy Responsible for Global Problems

    • Nicholas Maxwell
    Pages 47-66

  4. The Post-Cartesian Blunder, and the Failure to Develop Philosophy as Critical Fundamentalism

    • Nicholas Maxwell
    Pages 67-108

  5. The Post-Newtonian Blunder, and the Failure to Develop Aim-Oriented Empiricism

    • Nicholas Maxwell
    Pages 109-136

  6. The Post-Enlightenment Blunder, and the Failure to Develop Academic Inquiry so as to Become Rationally Devoted to Helping Humanity Create a Civilized World

    • Nicholas Maxwell
    Pages 137-176

  7. What We Need to Do

    • Nicholas Maxwell
    Pages 177-202

  8. Appendix 1: How to Solve Hume’s Problem of Induction

    • Nicholas Maxwell
    Pages 203-244

  9. Appendix 2: How Aim-Oriented Empiricism Would Benefit Science

    • Nicholas Maxwell
    Pages 245-290

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 291-313
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Keywords

About this book

Universities have long been dominated by a philosophy of inquiry that may be called knowledge-inquiry. This holds that, in order to do justice to the basic humanitarian aim of helping to promote human welfare, academic inquiry must, in the first instance, seek knowledge and technological know-how. First, knowledge is to be acquired; once acquired, it can be applied to help promote human welfare. But this philosophy of knowledge-inquiry is an intellectual and humanitarian disaster. It violates three of the four most elementary rules of rational problem solving conceivable, and as a result fails to give priority to the task of helping humanity resolve those conflicts and problems of living, such as the climate and nature crises, that need to be resolved if we are to make progress to a better world – a world in which there is peace, democracy, justice, liberty, and sustainable prosperity, for all. Very few academics today are aware of this rationality scandal. We urgently need to bring about a revolution in universities around the world, wherever possible, so that academic inquiry puts all four rules of rational problem solving into practice, and becomes rationally devoted to helping humanity learn how to make progress towards a better world. Knowledge-inquiry needs to become wisdom-inquiry, rationally devoted to helping humanity create a wiser world.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Science and Technology Studies, University College London, London, UK

    Nicholas Maxwell

About the author

Nicholas Maxwell is Emeritus Reader at University College London. He has devoted much of his working life to arguing we need to bring about a revolution in academia so that it comes to seek and promote wisdom and does not just acquire and apply knowledge. He has published fifteen books on this theme.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Philosophy of Inquiry and Global Problems

  • Book Subtitle: The Intellectual Revolution Needed to Create a Better World

  • Authors: Nicholas Maxwell

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49491-8

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-49490-1Published: 31 January 2024

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-49493-2Due: 14 February 2025

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-49491-8Published: 30 January 2024

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIX, 313

  • Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Philosophy of Education, Social Philosophy, Epistemology, Philosophy of Science, Political Philosophy

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