What Philosophy Can Do

In What Philosophy Can Do, Gary Gutting leaves the ivory tower to tackle difficult questions in everyday life and shows how philosophy can be used as a method for interrogating our worldand one another. He looks at why todays political debates are so polarised, why scientific research on happiness does not make us happier and whether there are convincing reasons to believeor not believein God. Gutting takes the most powerfuland divisiveforces in our society: politics, science, religion, art and capitalismand applies a philosophers scalpel to reveal thoughtful ways to look at vexing issues. He introduces readers to analytical tools, from inductive and deductive logic to the principle of charity, that they can apply to news events and policy debates. Gutting underlines philosophys great promise for enriching public discussions about the most important issues in human life.