In 1972, philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn threw an ashtray at
Errol Morris. This book is the result. At the time, Morris was a
graduate student. Now we know him as one of the most celebrated and
restlessly probing filmmakers of our time, the creator of such
classics of documentary investigation as The Thin Blue Line and The
Fog of War. Kuhn, meanwhile, was--and, posthumously, remains--a
star in his field, the author of The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions, a landmark book that has sold well over a million
copies and introduced the concept of "paradigm shifts" to the
larger culture. And Morris thought the idea was bunk. The Ashtray
tells why--and in doing so, it makes a powerful case for Morris's
way of viewing the world, and the centrality to that view of a
fundamental conception of the necessity of truth. "For me," Morris
writes, "truth is about the relationship between language and the
world: a correspondence idea of truth." He has no patience for
philosophical systems that aim for internal coherence and disdain
the world itself. Morris is after bigger game: he wants to
establish as clearly as possible what we know and can say about the
world, reality, history, our actions and interactions. It's the
fundamental desire that animates his filmmaking, whether he's
probing Robert McNamara about Vietnam or the oddball owner of a pet
cemetery. Truth may be slippery, but that doesn't mean we have to
grease its path of escape through philosophical evasions. Rather,
Morris argues powerfully, it is our duty to do everything we can to
establish and support it. In a time when truth feels ever more
embattled, under siege from political lies and virtual lives alike,
The Ashtray is a bracing reminder of its value, delivered by a
figure who has, over decades, uniquely earned our trust through his
commitment to truth. No Morris fan should miss it.
General
Imprint: |
University of Chicago Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
May 2018 |
Authors: |
Errol Morris
|
Dimensions: |
254 x 203 x 21mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
|
Pages: |
192 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-226-92268-3 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-226-92268-5 |
Barcode: |
9780226922683 |
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