ABSTRACT
In the volume of studies which forms the immediate background for this conference, 1 we read of “the oblivion into which the figure and thought of Brentano have fallen,” and of his current ‘invisibility’ (pp. xv, 9, etc.). I believe Brentano to be someone of great philosophical value in his own right. But it seems to me that the state of affairs thus described with reference to Brentano is much greater than Brentano, and is of profound significance for the understanding of philosophy as a practice and a field of inquiry. Brentano’s invisibility is chiefly a matter of what has come to be regarded as ‘good philosophical work’ in the course of the 20th Century. And this is especially true from the viewpoint of current North American Analytic philosophy, which I shall almost exclusively have in mind with my comments. If we are concerned about the fate of Brentano’s thought, it is essential to deal with prevailing assumptions about how philosophy is done and when it is well done.
