Experience and its Modes

This book is Michael Oakeshott's discussion of the relationships between the most important perspectives from which we experience the world.

Michael Oakeshott (Author)

9781107534186, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 October 2015

288 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.4 kg

'Mr Oakeshott's thesis … is so original, so important and so profound that criticism must be silent until his meaning has been long pondered … the chapter on history is the most penetrating analysis of historical thought that has ever been written … the whole book shows Mr Oakeshott to possess philosophical gifts of a very high order, coupled with an admirable command of language; his writing is as clear as his thought is profound, and all students of philosophy should be grateful to him for his brilliant contribution to philosophical literature.' R. G. Collingwood, The Cambridge Review

When it first appeared in 1933, Experience and its Modes was not considered a classic. But as philosophical fashion moved away from the analytic philosophy of the 1930s, this work began to seem ahead of its time. Arguing that experience is 'modal', in the sense that we always have a theoretical or practical perspective on the world, Michael Oakeshott explores the nature of philosophical experience and its relationship to three of the most important 'modes' of non-philosophical experience - science, history and practice - seeking to establish the autonomy and superiority of philosophy. In recognition of its enduring importance, this book is presented in a fresh series livery for a new generation of readers, featuring a specially commissioned preface written by Paul Franco.

Preface to this edition Paul Franco
Preface
1. Introduction
2. Experience and its modes
3. Historical experience
4. Scientific experience
5. Practical experience
6. Conclusion
Index.

Subject Areas: Philosophy: epistemology & theory of knowledge [HPK]