World hypotheses: a study in evidence

In setting forth his root-metaphor theory and examining six such hypotheses-animism, mysticism, formism, mechanism, contextualism, and organicism-Pepper surveys the whole field of metaphysics. Because this book is an analytical study, it stresses issues rather than men. It seeks to exhibit the sources of these issues and to show that some are unnecessary; that the rest gather into clusters and are interconnected in systems corresponding closely to the traditional schools of philosophy. The virtue of the root-metaphor method is that it puts metaphysics on a purely factual basis and pushes philosophical issues back to the interpretation of evidence. This book was written primarily as a contribution to the field, but its plan excellently suits it for use as a text in courses in metaphysics, types of philosophical theory, or present tendencies in philosophy.

"Fourth printing 1961."

On cover: Prolegomena to systematic philosophy and a complete survey of metaphysics.

The Utter Skeptic -- Dogmatists -- Evidence and Corroboration -- Hypotheses -- Eclecticism Is Confusing -- Concepts Which Have Lost Contact -- A General View of the Hypotheses -- Formism -- Amalgamation of the Immanent and the Tran scendent Categories of Formism -- Concrete Existence -- Truth in Formism -- The Transition to Mechanism -- Mechanism -- The Mechanistic Root Metaphor -- The Mechanistic Categories -- Discrete Mechanism -- Consolidated Mechanism -- Secondary Categories -- Mechanistic Theory of Truth -- Contextualism -- Derivation of the Contextualistic Categories -- Quality -- Strands and context of texture -- References of Strands -- Individual Textures -- Operational Theory of Truth -- Organicism -- An Illustration -- Application of the Categories -- Time and truth -- Summary, criticisms and answers -- Review and conclusions -- The Criticisms -- The Answers