Engagement and Metaphysical Dissatisfaction: Modality and Value

Barry Stroud examines the relationship between human engagement with the world and metaphysical dissatisfaction in this philosophical work. His investigation centers on how we understand necessity and possibility, and what role these modal concepts play in our comprehension of reality. The book analyzes various philosophical positions about modality and value, with particular focus on Hume's arguments and their modern interpretations. Through a series of connected essays, Stroud explores why humans persistently seek metaphysical understanding despite repeated frustrations in this pursuit. The text moves through examinations of necessity in nature, causation, and the foundations of logic and mathematics. Stroud considers how these concepts relate to human practices and beliefs about knowledge and truth. This work speaks to fundamental questions about human nature and our drive to understand reality beyond immediate experience. The tension between our practical engagement with the world and our metaphysical yearnings emerges as a central theme in philosophical inquiry.

There are limited public reader reviews available for this academic philosophy text. Readers noted the book presents complex arguments about modal claims and value with rigor and care. Philosophy students appreciated Stroud's clear writing style and systematic breakdown of difficult metaphysical concepts. Some readers found the book's scope too narrow and technical. A few reviews mentioned the text requires significant background knowledge in philosophy to fully engage with the material. Available ratings: Goodreads: No ratings Amazon: No customer reviews Google Books: No reader reviews Note: This book appears to be primarily read in academic settings rather than by general audiences, which explains the lack of public reviews. The assessment is based on limited available academic reader responses and course reading lists where the text appears.

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🔹 Barry Stroud challenges the longstanding philosophical tradition of treating modal claims (about what must be or could be) as separate from value claims, arguing instead that they are fundamentally interconnected. 🔹 The book represents the culmination of Stroud's thinking on these topics over more than 40 years at UC Berkeley, where he was a renowned professor of philosophy from 1961 until his death in 2019. 🔹 Stroud examines how our inevitable engagement with modal and value judgments in everyday life conflicts with our inability to fully justify these judgments philosophically - what he calls our "metaphysical dissatisfaction." 🔹 The work builds on ideas from Kant and Hume while challenging both empiricist and rationalist traditions in philosophy, suggesting a new way to understand the relationship between necessity and human values. 🔹 Though published in 2011, the book's central arguments have become increasingly relevant to contemporary debates about moral realism and the foundations of ethics in an age of moral uncertainty.