A. C. Grayling

Bio: A. C. Grayling is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Western philosophy & Modern philosophy. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 39 publications receiving 607 citations.

An introduction to philosophical logic

Abstract: Preface. 1. Philosophical Logic, the Philosophy of Logic, Philosophy and Logic. 2. The Proposition. 3. Necessity, Analyticity and the A Priori. 4. Existence, Presuppositions and Descriptions. 5. Identity. 6. Truth: The Pragmatic and Coherence Theories. 7. Truth: The Correspondence, Redundancy and Semantic Theories. 8. Meaning, Reference, Verification and Use. 9. Truth, Meaning, Realism and Anti-realism. 10. Some Consequences and Committments. Bibliography. Index

Philosophy: a Guide Through the Subject

Abstract: This is an introduction and guide through philosophy. It is intended to accompany a complete university course in philosphy, orientating, assisting, and stimulating the student at every stage. It comprises eleven extended essays, specially commissioned from leading philosophers. Each essay surveys a major area of the subject and offers an accessible but sophisticated account of the main debates. An extended introduction maps out the philosophical terrain and explains how the different subjects relate to each other. The first part of the book deals with the foundations of philosophical enquiry: epistemology; philosophical logic; methodology; metaphysics; and the philosophy of mind . The second part offers four historical chapters, two on ancient and two on modern philosophy, introducing great thinkers from the past, explaining and discussing their ideas, and showing the value of studying them today. The third part comprises two chapters devoted to questions of value, in ethics and aesthetics. Full annotated bibliographies are provided at the ends of chapters to serve as guides to further reading. This is real philosophy, not simplified philosophy: it will be accessible for the beginner but equally valuable for the third year student. Difficult and challenging questions are not shirked; the reader will be given a sense of involvement in the practise of philosophy today. This book is intended for all undergraduate students of philosophy (first-year to third-year) and their teachers. Also general readers and readers from other academic disciplines.

Among the dead cities: was the allied bombing of civilians in WWII a necessity or a crime?

Abstract: In the course of WWII, the air forces of Britain and the United States of America carried out a massive bombing offensive against the cities of Germany and Japan, ending with the destruction of Hamburg and Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Was it justified by the necessities of war? Or was it, in fact, a crime against humanity? This is now one of the last great remaining controversies of that time. And it matters, argues A. C. Grayling, 'that history is got right before it distorts into legend'. "Among the Dead Cities" is both a lucid and revealing work of modern history and an urgent moral investigation. Grayling asks what are the lessons that we can learn for today about how people should behave in a world of tension and moral confusion, of terriorism and bitter rivalries.

Good education in an age of measurement: on the need to reconnect with the question of purpose in education

Abstract: In this paper I argue that there is a need to reconnect with the question of purpose in education, particularly in the light of a recent tendency to focus discussions about education almost exclusively on the measurement and comparison of educational outcomes. I first discuss why the question of purpose should always have a place in our educational discussion. I then explore some reasons why this question seems to have disappeared from the educational agenda. The central part of the paper is a proposal for addressing the question of purpose in education—the question as to what constitutes good education—in a systematic manner. I argue that the question of purpose is a composite question and that in deliberating about the purpose of education we should make a distinction between three functions of education to which I refer as qualification, socialisation and subjectification. In the final section of the paper I provide examples of how this proposal can help in asking more precise questions about the purpose and direction of educational processes and practices.

The educational benefits claimed for physical education and school sport : an academic review.

Abstract: This academic review critically examines the theoretical and empirical bases of claims made for the educational benefits of physical education and school sport (PESS). An historical overview of the development of PESS points to the origins of claims made in four broad domains: physical, social, affective and cognitive. Analysis of the evidence suggests that PESS has the potential to make contributions to young people’s development in each of these domains. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, there is suggestive evidence of a distinctive role for PESS in the acquisition and development of children’s movement skills and physical competence. It can be argued that these are necessary, if not deterministic conditions of engagement in lifelong physical activity. In the social domain, there is sufficient evidence to support claims of positive benefits for young people. Importantly, benefits are mediated by environmental and contextual factors such as leadership, the involvement of young people in decision‐making, an emphas...

Doubt truth to be a liar

Abstract: I TRUTH 1 Aristotle on the Law of Non-Contradiction 2 Theories of Truth 3 Trivialism II NEGATION 4 Contradiction 5 Boolean Negation 6 Denial and Rejection III RATIONALITY 7 Rational Belief 8 Belief Revision 9 Consistency and the Empirical Sciences IV LOGIC 10 Logic and Revisability 11 Validity 12 Logical Pluralism

Agents, Structures and International Relations: Politics as Ontology

Abstract: The agent-structure problem is a much discussed issue in the field of international relations. In his comprehensive 2006 analysis of this problem, Colin Wight deconstructs the accounts of structure and agency embedded within differing IR theories and, on the basis of this analysis, explores the implications of ontology - the metaphysical study of existence and reality. Wight argues that there are many gaps in IR theory that can only be understood by focusing on the ontological differences that construct the theoretical landscape. By integrating the treatment of the agent-structure problem in IR theory with that in social theory, Wight makes a positive contribution to the problem as an issue of concern to the wider human sciences. At the most fundamental level politics is concerned with competing visions of how the world is and how it should be, thus politics is ontology.

Difficult Heritage: Negotiating the Nazi Past in Nuremberg and Beyond

Abstract: 1. Negotiating Difficult Heritage: Introduction 2. Building Heritage: Words in Stone? 3. Demolition, Cleansing and Moving On 4. Preservation, Profanation and Image-Management 5. Accompanied Witnessing: Education, Art and Alibis 6. Cosmopolitan Memory in the City of Human Rights 7. Negotiating on the Ground(s): Guided Tours of Nazi Heritage 8. Visting Difficult Heritage 9. Unsettling Difficult Heritage