Overview

This book offers an original philosophical perspective on exemplarity. Inspired by Wittgenstein’s later work and Derrida’s theory of deconstruction, it argues that examples are not static entities but rather oscillate between singular and universal moments. There is a broad consensus that exemplary cases mediate between singular instances and universal concepts or norms. In the first part of the book, Mácha contends that there is a kind of différance between singular examples and general exemplars or paradigms. Every example is, in part, also an exemplar, and vice versa. Furthermore, he develops a paracomplete approach to the logic of exemplarity, which allows us to say of an exemplar of X neither that it is an X nor that it is not an X. This paradox is structurally isomorphic to Russell’s paradox and can be addressed in similar ways. In the second part of the book, Mácha presents four historical studies that exemplify the ideas developed in the first part. This part begins with Plato’s Forms, understood as standards/paradigms, before considering Kant’s theory of reflective judgment as a general epistemological account of exemplarity. This is then followed by analyses of Hegel’s conceptual moment of particularity and Kuhn’s concept of paradigm. The book concludes by discussing the speculative hypothesis that all our knowledge is based on paradigms, which, following the logic of exemplarity, are neither true nor false. The Philosophy of Exemplarity will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in philosophy of language, logic, history of philosophy, and literary theory.

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9781032289663

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Reviews

Macha has written an exemplary book about the nature of exemplarity. Drawing on Plato, Kant, Hegel, Wittgenstein, Kripke, Derrida, and Kuhn, he shows how ordinary individuals can come to play the role of exemplars and standards-and how exemplars and standards can lapse into being ordinary individuals. Andrew Cutrofello, Loyola University Chicago, USA Macha's insightful book takes up the significant question of what is called an 'example' and what functions as 'exemplary' or as a paradigm in our everyday practices, in the formation and institution of our values and norms, and in a contemporary reception of the history of philosophical appeals to these notions. Highly recommended for all those who are interested in what contemporary philosophy has to teach us about the meaning of our everyday language, life, and practices. Paul Livingston, University of New Mexico, USA

Author Information

Jakub Mácha is Professor at the Department of Philosophy, Masaryk University (Czech Republic). He has published on philosophy of language and classical German philosophy. His most recent book is Wittgenstein on Internal and External Relations: Tracing All the Connections (2015).

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