Robert Brandom

Robert Brandom is one of the most significant philosophers writing today, yet paradoxically philosophers have found it difficult to get to grips with the details and implications of his work. This book aims to facilitate critical engagement with Brandoms ideas by providing an accessible overview of Brandoms project and the context for an initial assessment. Jeremy Wanderers examination focuses on Brandoms inferentialist conception of rationality, and the core part of this conception that aims to specify the structure that a set of performances within a social practice must have for the participants to count as sapient beings by virtue of their participation in the practice, and for the performances within the practice to have objective semantic content by virtue of their featuring within the practice. Wanderers exploration of these two goals forms the structure to the book. Part I provides a structural model of linguistic practice and considers various groups of potential participants in terms of their relationships to this practice. Part II examines the meaning of the performances that are caught up in this gameplaying practice. Brandoms approach to semantics is outlined and the challenge such an approach has in allowing for a representational dimension of language and thought is explored. Wanderer offers readers a valuable framework for understanding the Brandomian system and helps situate Brandoms systematic theorizing within contemporary Anglo-American philosophy. The book will be a sought after aid to reading Brandom for advanced students and philosophers engaging with his challenging body of work.