{"title":"Richard A Watson","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"solipsism-the-ultimate-empirical-theory-of-human-existence-book-richard-a-watson-9781587315893","title":"Solipsism  The Ultimate Empirical Theory of Human Existence","description":"Solipsism is the ultimate empirical theory of human existence. It is the metaphysical position that there is only one self-conscious person in the universe, i.e., the present selfconscious being reading these paragraphs.     A weaker version is the position that one can know for certain that there is only one conscious person in the universe, oneself. The present study is the only book-length examination of solipsism. It treats the origin of solipsism in the works of St. Augustine and René Descartes as well as all serious attempts to refute the thesis of solipsism. Such attempts were made primarily by British empiricists, specifically by George Santayana. Santayana concludes that solipsism cannot be refuted.     Watson also concludes that solipsism cannot be refuted. He examines attempts by Descartes, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, British Idealists, Logical Positivists, Sense Datum Philosophers, and in particular Nelson Goodman and Gilbert Ryle (they are just pathetic).     The spector haunting Modern Philosophy is not the Ghost in the Machine; it is solipsism. Watson argues that the foundations of Western Philosophy are solipsistic, and that all the major figures recognize this and know that solipsism cannot be refuted, but nevertheless continue by ignoring it, by pretending that it cannot be taken seriously, by offering inadequate solutions, and by treating solipsism as a joke.     Watson’s book is the only study of solipsism by a professional philosopher, other than Santayana, in which solipsism is taken seriously as a threat to Modern Philosophy","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49711112945937,"sku":"GOR010215138","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51504133013777,"sku":"NIN9781587315893","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53103507931409,"sku":"CIN1587315890VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1587315890.jpg?v=1750926450"},{"product_id":"writing-philosophy-book-richard-a-watson-9780809318100","title":"Writing Philosophy","description":"Richard A. (\"Red\") Watson has published fiction, general nonfiction, and scholarly books. His essay \"On the Zeedijk,\" about Descartes in Holland and first published in The Georgia Review, was the lead essay in The Pushcart Prize XV, 1990–1991: Best of the Small Presses. Red knows writing.  He also knows academe and has written Writing Philosophy as a kind of survival manual for undergraduates, graduate students, and junior faculty members in philosophy. Also helpful to those in the humanities and the social sciences, the book is a guide to the professional writing and publishing that are essential to an active participation in the conversation and discussion that constitute these professional fields. To the extent that publication is the crucial factor in tenure decisions, it will help the beginning scholar meet tenure criteria.  Despite the importance of the oral tradition in philosophy and the influence of the dialogue, many philosophical points are so intricate and complex that they can be advanced, followed, and criticized only if they are written as stepwise arguments for study and contemplation at length and at leisure. Watson provides a set of basic principles and a plan for writing argumentative papers of 1,500 to 15,000 words (3 to 30 printed pages) and books containing a sequence of sustained arguments of 70,000 to 150,000 words (200 to 300 printed pages).  Because the first book of most professional philosophers is a revised dissertation, Watson presents a plan for writing that dissertation in such a way that its chapters will serve as publishable articles and the dissertation itself will need very little rewriting as a book. His discussion of the principles of reason, clarity, and argument ranges from such topics as dangling participles and the proper usage of ellipses to matters of categorization and univocity.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49872717709585,"sku":"CIN0809318105G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50368700776721,"sku":"CIN0809318105VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0809318105.jpg?v=1761990443"},{"product_id":"philosopher-s-demise-book-richard-a-watson-9780826210036","title":"The Philosopher's Demise","description":"Richard Watson, an American academic, provides an account of his experiences in France. Although he had never learned to speak French, he was invited to present a paper in Paris in French.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50364683747601,"sku":"CIN0826210031VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0826210031.jpg?v=1751170332"},{"product_id":"presidential-vetoes-and-public-policy-book-richard-a-watson-9780700606207","title":"Presidential Vetoes and Public Policy","description":"A study of the actual effect of the use of the veto, focusing on those elements of the policy-making process that influence presidential decisions on vetoes. Watson's analysis of presidential vetoes ranges from Franklin Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52120208736529,"sku":"NLS9780700606207","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780700606207.jpg?v=1763220810"},{"product_id":"presidential-contest-book-richard-a-watson-9780471879077","title":"The Presidential Contest","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52652830327057,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52652830589201,"sku":"CIN047187907XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780471879077.jpg?v=1762200831"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-richard-a-watson.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}