Chrissie Taylor

The essays in this volume explore current work in central areas of philosophy, work unified by attention to salient questions of human action and human agency. They ask what it is for humans to act knowledgeably, to use language, to be friends, to act heroically, to be mortally fortunate, and to produce as well as to appreciate art. The volume is dedicated to J. O. Urmson, in recognition of his inspirational contributions to these areas. All the essays but one have been specially written for this volume.

While claiming to refute locke's theory of abstract ideas, Berkeley himself accepts a form of abstractionism. Locke's account of abstraction is indeterminate between two doctrines: 1) abstract ideas are representations of paradigm instances of kinds, 2) abstract ideas are schematic representations of the defining features of kinds. Berkeley's arguments are directed exclusively against 2, And refute only a specific version of it, Which there is no reason to ascribe to locke; berkeley himself accepts abstract ideas of the former type. Locke's theory suffers from circularity and redundancy, Berkeley's from conflation of thought with imagination

Almost uniquely for someone whose thought has been so influential, Socrates wrote nothing himself, and our knowledge of his philosophical opinions and method is derived mainly from the engaging and infuriating figure who appears in Plato's dialogues. The philosophy of Socrates and Plato is therefore closely interconnected, and the most powerful elements of Plato's mature thought form the basis of an interpretation of knowledge, reality, and morality which is still held and debated by philosophers today. Aristotle's approach to these and other issues is in many ways directly opposed to that of Plato, and has been no less influential.