Points of View

A. W. Moore argues in this bold, unusual, and ambitious book that it is possible to think about the world from no point of view. His argument involves discussion of a very wide range of fundamental philosophical issues, including the nature of persons, the subject-matter of mathematics, realism and anti-realism, value, the inexpressible, and God. The result is a powerful critique of our own finitude. A. W. Moore argues in this bold and ambitious book that it is possible to think about the world 'from no point of view'. He examines this idea, explains its significance, and considers reasons for thinking that such a thing is not possible. In particular, drawing on the work of Kant and Wittgenstein, he considers transcendental idealism. This leads to the heart of his project: a study of ineffability and nonsense. His fundamental idea is that transcendental idealism is nonsense resulting from the attempt to express certain inexpressible insights. This idea is applied to a wide range of fundamental philosophical issues, including the nature of persons, the subject-matter of mathematics, anti-realism, value, and God; Moore's original approach forges unexpected connections between the various questions he addresses.