1.

1.    Because it is written at the level of an introduction for high 
school and college students, "A Somewhat Sceptical Philosophy" skirts 
by design much historical philosophy. It accepts and explains modern 
pragmatism based on recent American philosophical pragmatists 
from Quine to Rorty. Its powerful influence derives from combining this with 
to-day's view of twentieth-century science which is explained only so 
far as to appreciate its contribution to philosophy. 
It devotes considerable space to an inquiry into the pragmatic 
meanings of such important words as truth, reality and existence so 
that common ground is established for their use among conversants. 
It considers four frameworks within each of which the underlying 
assumptions for speech must be understood: these are the man-in-the-street, 
the scientist, the philosopher and the religious. It recognises the 
value of discipline and reliability as qualities for discourse which 
when present contribute to the settling of arguments and reconciliation 
of disputes within a community. More challenging of thought than dogmatic, 
it asks the reader to examine her own thinking in the light of 
what she reads here and, if she sees fit, to change.

2.   "A Somewhat Sceptical Philosophy" was written in Connecticut by a 
science teacher, composed as a book in Ireland, printed and bound in 
England, and published in Hong Kong. It is a sturdy paperback which in 
production has minimized costs while maintaining quality, taking every 
advantage of fabrication, communication and advertising that the 
Internet can provide. It is priced at $10 a copy plus $2 postage. The 
author hopes to recoup his financial investment but seeks no profit 
short of the movie and TV rights should they materialize during his 
lifetime. He asks only a minimum copyright, being more interested 
in dialogue than in dollars.

3.   "A somewhat Sceptical Philosophy" supposes that much traditional 
philosophy has been outdated and outflanked by a flourishing science 
and by the importance of American pragmatism, and that there is no need 
in an introduction to dwell at length on the historical philosophies 
that preceded the second half of the twentieth century. Science is 
examined at some length so as to understand its triumphs of reliability,  
usefulness and prediction, and especially its ability to account for 
change. Some important scientific theory is explained to an extent only 
that will support some philosophical conclusions. The limits and shortcomings 
of science are observed, especially in its tendency to overload such 
terms as truth, reality and existence, all of which are carefully 
examined for meaning. American pragmatism - largely as expounded by 
Richard Rorty - is explored and its tenets revealed and adopted. The 
approach is markedly a-religious although the underpinnings and effects 
of authoritative religions are commented upon at some length. The book 
shows many of the traditional questions and problems of philosophy 
to be less important to-day than in the past.

4.    "A Somewhat Sceptical Philosophy" was privately printed in 
the Fall of 1998. Its major purpose and claim to some originality lies 
in its association with and support of modern American pragmatism 
(Quine through Rorty) through an examination of what science says 
about the nature of our interactions with the world.
It is 240 pages and it has three purposes: firstly it is designed to 
be an introductory text in philosophy for seniors in high school and 
college freshmen, indeed for any thinkers who are beginning the search 
for their own answers to the so-called great questions of life. Some 
basic science is reviewed, some childhood learning examined and some 
conmmonly accepted foundations criticised before I discuss and examine 
some of the weighty words that are so freely used in such classes. 
Among these are truth, reality and existence. Armed with that useful and 
universal question,"How do you know?", I discover that they are 
remarkably lightweight in comparison to their influence in language, 
so we must be careful not to exceed our license in using them. I suggest 
four frameworks for understanding at different levels the relation of 
our language to the world.
The second purpose is to associate and support American pragmatism by 
means of a view of science which shows that our thoughts of what there 
is are formed from the dynamic flow of photons from the outside 
transposed at our sensitive surfaces into electrochemical signals in 
the nerves. It is from this sequence of events that we construct our 
appreciation and accounting of what we call the real world, 
of things, of stasis, space and time. I conclude that our intellectual 
furniture, consisting as it does of concepts and their relations, is 
our own creation and so subject to mistakes and to revision. It is 
from this point of understanding that we must go beyond science, and so 
beyond discipline and reliability, for our individual constructions of 
philosophical answers to the so-called great questions of life.
 
The third purpose is to suggest such a philosophy which is 
my own though it is in no way forced upon the reader: rather it is 
conceived as a challenge for the reader to adopt, modify or reject 
for him or herself. It is akin to that of Bertrand Russell in his 
"Free Man's Worship"

5.    The combination of science and pragmatism that result from their 
lengthy and sometimes critical examination in "A Somewhat Sceptical 
Philosophy" forms the basis for answers to the so-called Great 
Questions, "Who am I?", "Where am I?", "Where have I come from?" and 
"Where  am I going?", those that students love to ask and argue about. 
Much latitude and challenge is given to encourage their search for 
answers, while boundaries formed from prior assumptions are described 
and observed. A set of answers, the author's own, are exhibited for 
debate at the end of the book. It is his hope that a teacher may be 
challenged almost to the same extent as her students.

6.    Keith Palmer, born in the United States in 1930, was reared and
educated in England, attending Blundells School and Cambridge 
University. He served in peacetime in the British Army and Royal Air 
Force and later worked at rough but exciting outdoor occupations in 
Alberta, Canada, before deciding that for him science teaching was an 
irresistible way of life. The larger part of his career was spent at 
the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut. 
His interest in a philosophy of science  and its extraordinary story 
of "man-created reality" aroused an expanding curiosity . But it was 
the emergence of philosophy as a High School subject, together with 
the bandying about in class of important words little understood, which 
triggered this book. The word processor and the Internet spurred him on 
to the present effort and the resulting ideas developed slowly and - 
fortunately - were rewritten frequently. 
It is designed to be read by any thinker and especially by students in a first course in philosophy, 
aided by a teacher not unfriendly to science or pragmatism - or to 
argument.
Keith Palmer is retired and lives in Barkhamsted, Connecticut with his 
wife Ann. His companion and intellectual foil is his dog, Capella, 
whose mind - such as it is - figures in the book as a contrast to 
those of some of our more recent and better known thinkers.
Contact him at 530 East Hartland Road
Barkhamsted 
CT 06063 
USA
Phone (860) 379 0330
Or Email him

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