Peter Strawson (1919-2006) was one of the leading British philosophers of his generation and an influential figure in a golden age for British philosophy between 1950 and 1970. The Bounds of Sense is one of the most influential books ever written about Kant's philosophy, and is one of the key philosophical works of the late twentieth century. Whilst probably best known for its criticism of Kant's transcendental idealism, it is also famous for the highly original manner in which Strawson defended and developed some of Kant's fundamental insights into the nature of subjectivity, experience and knowledge - at a time when few philosphers were engaging with Kant's ideas. The book had a profound effect on the interpretation of Kant's philosophy when it was first published in 1966 and continues to influence discussion of Kant, the soundness of transcendental arguments, and debates in epistemology and metaphysics generally. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new foreword by Lucy Allais.

Sir Peter Strawson (1919–2006) was one of the leading British philosophers of his generation and an influential figure in a golden age for British philosophy between 1950 and 1970.

Individuals, his most important book, is a modern philosophical classic. Bold in scope and ambition, it presents Strawson’s now famous argument for descriptive metaphysics and his repudiation of revisionary metaphysics. Rather than setting out to replace our overall view of the world, in the manner of the great 'revisionary' philosophers of the past, Strawson sets himself the seemingly (but not actually) more modest task of simply describing it. The aim is nothing less than to lay bare the most basic structure of our thought—the most general features of the way in which we think about particular things. A landmark book in the philosophical world and above all analytical philosophy, it remains of vital importance today.

This Routledge Classics edition includes a substantial new Foreword by Michelle Montague, setting out some of Strawson's key themes and arguments. Also included is Strawson's essay 'Individuals'. Published thirty-five years after the book itself and until now not widely available, it sees Strawson summarizing and reflecting on some of the key arguments presented in his book of the same name.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Routledge Classics Edition Michelle Montague

Preface

Introduction

Part 1: Particulars

1. Bodies

2. Sounds

3. Persons

4. Monads

Part 2: Logical Subjects

5. Subject and Predicate (1): Two Criteria

6. Subject and Predicate (2): Logical Subjects and Particular Objects

7. Language without Particulars

8. Logical Subjects and Existence

Conclusion

Appendix: Individuals

Index

Peter Strawson (1919-2006) was one of the leading British philosophers of his generation and an influential figure in a golden age for British philosophy between 1950 and 1970. The Bounds of Sense is one of the most influential books ever written about Kant's philosophy, and is one of the key philosophical works of the late twentieth century. Whilst probably best known for its criticism of Kant's transcendental idealism, it is also famous for the highly original manner in which Strawson defended and developed some of Kant's fundamental insights into the nature of subjectivity, experience and knowledge - at a time when few philosphers were engaging with Kant's ideas. The book had a profound effect on the interpretation of Kant's philosophy when it was first published in 1966 and continues to influence discussion of Kant, the soundness of transcendental arguments, and debates in epistemology and metaphysics generally. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new foreword by Lucy Allais.