Philosophy in Crisis

by Mario Bunge

"Is philosophy dead? Some philosophers have declared it so, and judging by some of the mental acrobatics now fashionable in postmodernist circles a reasonable person might have to agree. Such an obituary is premature, contends noted philosopher Mario Bunge, for people will continue to philosophize as long as they ask fundamental questions about the world and our place in it. What appears to be true is that academic philosophy is in crisis. In recent times there have been few new philosophical ideas that could help ordinary people to understand their world, the nature and content of knowledge, or human action. Worse, some philosophers have actively contributed to this decadence by turning away from deep problems, comprehensive systems, and even reason itself." "Though recognizing the moribund state of current academic philosophy, in which insulated academics speak only to one another, Bunge feels that this is a crisis from which the discipline can and will recover. To overcome the impas