Of reality : the purposes of philosophy / Gianni Vattimo ; translated by Robert T. Valgenti.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A defense of the critical faculties that keep us from settling for the status quo. Drawing on Nietzsche and Heidegger, Vattimo develops a philosophy to combat the newest enemy of freedom and democracy: complacency toward reality. Resistance to reality becomes our best hope for countering the ongoing indifference to our fate.

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Library Journal Review

Is reality a bad thing? Vattimo (emeritus philosophy, Univ. of Turin; A Farewell to Truth) argues that at best the idea of a fixed reality is inaccessible and unnecessary. Taking reality seriously, however, privileges certain interpretations as foundational and consequently is oppressive. The book is composed of Vattimo's 1998 Leuven and 2010 Gifford Lectures, followed by a series of appendixes. This may seem to make for a fractured anthology, yet it flows smoothly. Vattimo's initial touchstone is Friedrich Nietzsche's aphorism, "There are no facts, only interpretations-And is this too an interpretation?" This leads into Martin Heidegger's idea of dasein, followed by Vattimo's synthesis "weak thought," a sort of nihilism. To oversimplify matters, Vattimo takes Heidegger's modification of Edmund Husserl and relieves it of any fixed ontology. Vattimo then continues with a critique of epistemological foundationalism-starting with Alfred Tarski's principle that "P" is true if and only if P. In presenting his thesis, Vattimo ably takes on both continental and analytical tradition, including standard arguments against nihilism. The appendixes are indispensable in unpacking the two densely argued lecture series. VERDICT An engaging and refreshing read for any serious student of philosophy, regardless of one's approach.-James Wetherbee, Wingate Univ. Libs., NC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Of Reality: The Purposes of Philosophy offers two sets of lectures given by philosopher Gianni Vattimo (emer., Univ. of Turin, Italy). The lectures in the first set were delivered at Univ. of Glasgow in 2009-10, as part of the famous Gifford Lectures series; the second set of lectures was delivered in 1998 at Univ. of Leuven, Belgium. Throughout these lectures Vattimo explores questions of ethics and objectivism, and the relation between the two. He argues that accepting an objectivist thesis about the world is ethically suspect (because it leads to violence) and philosophically stifling (because it causes one to stop inquiring). Echoing Nietzsche, Vattimo contends that reality is itself a construct representative of one's desires and interpretations, and as such is ultimately driven by greed and egoistic desires. He explores the relationship between antiobjectivism (which must itself be an interpretation not based on an objective fact about the world) and the analytic debates regarding the myth of the given; the current temptation to realism; and ethics, violence, and evil. Intended for professional philosophers, this volume will be valuable to those doing research on questions of reality and the problems of conceptual realism. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, professionals. --Andrew Jaeger, Benedictine College