The Claim of Reason: Wittgenstein, Skepticism, Morality, and Tragedy [Paperback]

This handsome new edition of Stanley Cavell's landmark text, first published 20 years ago, provides a new preface that discusses the reception and influence of his work, which occupies a unique niche between philosophy and literary studies.PART ONEWittgenstein and the Concept of Human KnowledgeI. Criteria and JudgmentII. Criteria and SkepticismIII. Austin and ExamplesIV. What a Thing Is (Called)V. Natural and ConventionalPART TWOSkepticism and the Existence of the WorldVI. The Quest of Traditional Epistemology: OpeningVII. Excursus on Wittgenstein's Vision of LanguageVIII. The Quest of Traditional Epistemology: ClosingPART THREEKnowledge and the Concept of MoralityIX. Knowledge and the Basis of MoralityX. An Absence of MoralityXI. Rules and ReasonsXII. The Autonomy of MoralsPART FOURSkepticism and the Problem of OthersXIII. Between Acknowledgment and Avoidance An altogether remarkable work of American philosophy...that occupies the buffer zone between poetry and philosophy in a unique--and perhaps uniquely American way. --Critical Inquiry

An intensely personal and uniquely provocative book. Stanley Cavell is a philosophical original. --Review of Metaphysics