The Philosophy of F. P. Ramsey

F. P. Ramsey was a remarkably creative and subtle philosopher who in the briefest of academic careers (he died tragically in 1930 aged 26) made significant contributions to logic, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of language and decision theory. His few published papers reveal him to be a figure or comparable importance to Russell, Carnap and Wittgenstein in the history of analytical philosophy. This book is the first critical study of Ramsey\'s work, offering a thorough exposition and interpretation of his ideas, setting the ideas in their historical context, and assessing their significance for contemporary research. The study is intended to complement the reissue of Ramsey\'s papers edited by Professor Hugh Mellor.

Preface; Introduction; 1. Philosophy of probability; 2. Belief and truth; 3. Knowledge; 4. General propositions and causality; 5. Philosophy of science; 6. Logic and mathematics; 7. Ramsey’s theorem; 8. Universals; 9. Economics; 10. Bibliographical glimpses; Bibliography of F. P. Ramsey’s works; Index.

\'Sahlin has touched on all the bases not only providing us with an accurate exposition of Ramsey\'s ideas but with illuminating discussion of their significance.\'

-- Professor Isaac Levi, Columbia University