{"product_id":"a-tree-in-the-woods-plato-and-the-ematomic-dilemma-by-waldo-e-forbes","title":"A Tree in the Woods: Plato and the Ematomic Dilemma by Waldo E. Forbes","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe eminent American philosopher Wilfrid Sellars once described the aim of philosophy as being to understand ‘how things hang together’ (abbreviated paraphrase). Forbes states two premises as a basis to separate out that which can be explained (following logically from the two premises) and that which can only be described, hence requiring premise rather than proof. He suggests that both premises are self-evident albeit unconventional; one describes observers and the other, the observed. The premises lead to placing all of the \"things\" of Sellars' into two non-overlapping classes, which Forbes calls \"objects\" and \"constructs.\" He then identifies certain factual phenomena, labeling them “ematomic\" gaps. Forbes’ interests lie in science and theology rather than philosophy, but the existent ematomic gaps have forced philosophers into creating other modalities as they try to make sense of humans and the world. The dilemma lies just below the surface in varying ways, and can be readily seen all the way from ancients such as Plato and Aristotle through Descartes, Kant and Hegel to more moderns such as Wittgenstein and Sellars. In Sellars’ precept, “how” can be understood in both a functional way and in a structural way. Most philosophers have devoted their attention to a functional “how” which is necessarily dependent on human capabilities; they have quite uniformly failed to consider that there might be a neglected structural “how,” the focus of Forbes’ book. Forbes shows how the ematomic gaps influence the current academic and political chasm which separates the devotees of \"natural selection\" from those of \"intelligent design.\" Also the chasm created by ematomic layers, allowing social media to drive us into a world where perception is the new reality, taking us back to the thinking of Plato. Actual facts and realities have become almost useless, impossible even to identify.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUsed hardcover in dust jacket, minor wear, binding tight, pages bright, a very nice copy!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Griffin's Roost Book \u0026 Yarn Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67747009233059,"sku":null,"price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/9670\/3395\/files\/76059745.jpg?v=1792609331","url":"https:\/\/griffinsroostbt.com\/products\/a-tree-in-the-woods-plato-and-the-ematomic-dilemma-by-waldo-e-forbes","provider":"Griffin's Roost Book \u0026 Yarn Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}