ABSTRACT
Does philosophy have a method? Or several? Or many? Chapter 10 addresses these questions. It first spells out the connection between the question of philosophical method and the controverted issue of philosophical progress. It argues that philosophy employs a single overarching method that both permits progress yet can fail to produce progress for clearly identifiable reasons. The chapter then surveys recent philosophical literature on method, arguing that many philosophical methods are covert applications of this single method. It describes six applications of this method that are alethic: they aim at truth. It also details six applications that are hybrid: they aim at truth for the sake of some further end. Finally, the chapter illustrates how this method might be yoked to comparative decision theory to facilitate philosophical progress.
