Truth and Truthfulness: An Essay in Genealogy
Bernard Williams$22.95(USD)
What does it mean to be truthful? What role does truth play in our lives? What do we lose if we reject truthfulness? No philosopher is better suited to answer these questions than Bernard Williams. Writing with his characteristic combination of passion and elegant simplicity, he explores the value of truth and finds it to be both less and more than we might imagine.
Modern culture exhibits two attitudes toward truth: suspicion of being deceived (no one wants to be fooled) and skepticism that objective truth exists at all (no one wants to be naive). This tension between a demand for truthfulness and the doubt that there is any truth to be found is not an abstract paradox. It has political consequences and signals a danger that our intellectual activities, particularly in the humanities, may tear themselves to pieces.
Williams's approach, in the tradition of Nietzsche's genealogy, blends philosophy, history, and a fictional account of how the human concern with truth might have arisen. Without denying that we should worry about the contingency of much that we take for granted, he defends truth as an intellectual objective and a cultural value. He identifies two basic virtues of truth, Accuracy and Sincerity, the first of which aims at finding out the truth and the second at telling it. He describes different psychological and social forms that these virtues have taken and asks what ideas can make best sense of them today.
Truth and Truthfulness presents a powerful challenge to the fashionable belief that truth has no value, but equally to the traditional faith that its value guarantees itself. Bernard Williams shows us that when we lose a sense of the value of truth, we lose a lot both politically and personally, and may well lose everything.
Journey Toward Freedom: The Story of Sojourner Truth
Jacqueline Bernard$16.95(USD)
First published in 1967 and based on extensive primary research, Jacqueline Bernard's widely praised biography of the remarkable woman known as Sojourner Truth is an important historical document, as compassionately told as it is engrossing to read. In the
New York Times Book Review, Richard Ellman wrote: "Quietly factual when it suits her story, but lyrical when the demand arises, Jacqueline Bernard has succeeded on nearly every account. A good popular history." Truth was born a slave in 1797, gained her freedom some 30 years later, and at the age of 46 began a new life, traveling the country to preach about God and crusade against slavery. Known for her wit, her songs, and her great common sense, she electrified audiences as she championed women's rights, prison reform, and better working conditions.
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Bernard Williams, Truth and Truthfulness: An Essay in Genealogy.(Reseña de libro): An article from: Crítica
Douglas McDermid$5.95(USD)
This digital document is an article from Crítica, published by UNAM, Instituto de Investigaciones Filosoficas on April 1, 2004. The length of the article is 3207 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation DetailsTitle: Bernard Williams, Truth and Truthfulness: An Essay in Genealogy.(Reseña de libro)
Author: Douglas McDermid
Publication: Crítica (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 2004
Publisher: UNAM, Instituto de Investigaciones Filosoficas
Volume: 36
Issue: 106
Page: 105(10)
Article Type: Reseña de libro
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