While Wilfrid Sellars¿ philosophy is often depicted in an ahistorical fashion this book
explores the consequences of placing his work in its historical context. In order to show how
Sellars¿ early publications depend on contextual factors Peter Olen reconstructs the
conceptions of language psychological and social explanation that dominated American
philosophy in the early 20th century. Because of Sellars¿ differing explanations of language
and behaviour Olen argues that many of Sellars¿ early commitments are incompatible with his
later works. In the course of doing so Olen highlights problematic tensions between Sellars¿
early and later conceptions of language meta-philosophy and normativity. Supplementing the
main text is a collection of previously unpublished archival material from Wilfrid Sellars
Gustav Bergmann Everett Hall and other early 20th century philosophers. This text will be a
useful resource to those with an interest in the history of American philosophy the history of
analytic philosophy Wilfrid Sellars¿ philosophy and the myriad issues surrounding normativity
and language.
