Time arises in the theory of gravity through the semiclassical approximation of the gravitational part of the solution of the Wheeler-De Witt equation in the manner shown by Banks (SCAG). We generalize Banks' procedure by grafting a Born-Oppenheimer type approximation onto SCAG. This allows for the feedback of matter onto gravity, wherein the latter is driven by the (quantum) mean energy-momentum tensor of matter. The wave function is nonvanishing in classically forbidden configurations of gravity. In SCAG this is described by (...) the evolution of matter in imaginary time. This is interpreted as an inverse temperature, and the norm of the matter wave function, no longer conserved for these gravitational configurations, is a partition function. A simple cosmological model is worked out to illustrate these ideas. In this model it is shown that the temperature of the matter which emerges into the classically permitted region is the inverse bounce time of the bounce executed by the system in the forbidden region (behind the horizon).Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future. And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable.—T. S. Eliot, “Burnt Norton,”Four Quartets, 1943. (shrink)

Misophonia is a condition characterized by defensive motivational system emotional responding to repetitive and personally relevant sounds. Preliminary research suggests misophonia may be associated with a range of psychiatric disorders, including personality disorders. However, very little research has used clinician-rated psychometrically validated diagnostic interviews when assessing the relationship between misophonia and psychopathology. The purpose of this study was to extend the early research in this area by examining the relationship between symptoms of misophonia and psychiatric diagnoses in a sample of (...) community adults, using semi-structured diagnostic interviews. Results indicated higher misophonia symptoms were associated with more clinician-rated symptoms of personality disorders, but not other disorders. Anxiety partially mediated the relationship between personality disorder symptoms and misophonia. These results suggest misophonia may be associated with a range of psychiatric symptoms and highlight the role of anxiety in this poorly understood condition. (shrink)

İ‘câzü’l-Kur’ân literatürüne bakıldığında ilim adamlarının i‘câzın ne anlama geldiği, tehaddînin mâhiyeti ve bu olgunun ne şekilde tahakkuk ettiği konusunda birtakım çözüm yolları bulmaya çalıştıkları; bu konuyu nazm, fesâhat ve belâgatla ilişkilendirerek çok sayıda teori ortaya koydukları görülmektedir. Bu bağlamda Kur’ân metninin ne kadarının mu‘ciz olduğu, muârızlarına müteveccih tehaddînin asgari miktarı meselesinde serdedilen görüşlerden biri, Kur’ân’ın iç düzenin en küçük birimi olan âyetle tehaddîdir. İslâm düşünce tarihinin klasik ve modern dönemlerinde savunucusu bulunan bu yaklaşıma göre Kur’ân’ın en küçük birimi olan âyet (...) veya âyet eczâsı, mu‘ciz olmakta ve muarızlara bunlarla meydan okunmaktadır. Konuya ilişkin daha önce bir çalışmanın yapılmamış olmasından hareketle i‘câzü’l-Kur’ân literatürüne katkı sunmayı amaçlayan bu çalışmada, tehaddînin âyetle tahakkuk ettiğini belirten ilim adamlarının istidlâl yöntemleri önce deskriptif bir üslupla aktarılmakta, akabinde bunlar analitik bir bakış açısıyla irdelenmektedir. Son olarak da âyetle tehaddî teorisinin Kur’ân’ın bütünlüğüne riayet ilkesine uyup uymadığı test edilmekte ve bu bağlamda i‘câz olgusunun mâhiyeti incelenmektedir. Sonuç olarak mezkûr ilke esas alındığında fesâhat ve belâgat yönlerinin her âyette eşit düzeyde tahakkuk ettiğini söylemek mümkün gözükmemektedir. Zira Kur’ân’da iki harften ya da tek kelimeden oluşan âyetlerin tehaddîye veya mu‘cizeye konu olduğunu aklen ileri sürmek mümkün değildir. Bu durumda tehaddînin kısa veya uzun olmasına bakılmaksızın âyet veya âyet parçacıklarında değil de her bir sûrenin bütünlüğünde gerçekleştiğini savunmanın daha isabetli bir yaklaşım olduğu kanaatine ulaşılmaktadır. (shrink)

This is the text of The Lindley Lecture for 1975, given by R. M. Hare, a British philosopher.

The old question whether or no the doctrine of ‘intermediate mathematical objects’ ascribed to Plato by Aristotle is to be found in the Divided Line of Republic vi, has been recently raised again in a careful and lucid discussion by Mr. W. F. R. Hardie. I may clear the ground by saying at once that I agree with that part of Mr. Hardie's chapter which deals with those criticisms of the traditional view that have been put forward by Prof. Ferguson (...) and the late Prof. Stocks; nevertheless I do not believe that the objects of the third segment are intermediate between Forms and Sensibles: I propose to argue that they, like the objects of the highest segment, are Forms. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:CHRISTOLOGY IN POLITICAL AND LIBERATION THEOLOGY R. R. RENO Creighton University Omaha, Nebraska Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems ; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. (...) He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:11-16 SHARP IS THE SWORD of The Word of God: so proclaims a growing body of literature in political and liberation theology. Although this literature evidences a deep pluralism when describing wherein the sword is sharp and toward what it is aimed, the unifying claim is that Christianity has decisive political significance. And this significance takes an explicitly theoretical form. Unlike other politically directed theological programs (e.g., Reinhold Niebuhr, Walter Rauschenbush, Paul Lehmann), political and liberation theologies do not restrict the practical to a pre- or post-theoretical moment. The practical questions of liberation and justice are internal to explicitly theological reflection. The manner in which questions of liberation and justice are 291 292 R. R. RENO woven into the fabric of theology is manifold. Juan Luis Segundo, in Liberation of Theology, presents an account of theological method which is necessarily political.1 He attempts to show that, to the degree that it is faithful, theological reflection must be constituted by ideological critique and transformative social commitment. In a similar although more ambiguous way, Matthew Lamb's Solidarity with Victims seeks to build social and political issues into the ground floor of method.2 On a different front, Jiirgen Moltmann's Theology of Hope emphasizes the necessarily political dimension of eschatology.3 Quite far removed from the radicalism of most political and liberation theologies, but equally important and increasingly self-conscious of its theological context, the Roman Catholic human rights tradition can be seen as a political theology which chooses to operate within the context of a strong doctrine of creation.4 1 Juan Luis Segundo, Liberation of Theology. (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1976). 2 Lamb's program is more than a methodological proposal for theology in itself. He promotes an interesting mixture of critical theory and interdisciplinary study as a path for all inquiry. The result is a pastiche of Adorno and Lonergan. Lamb explains his interdiscipinary vision as follows : " Such a noetic praxis of theologizing would develop academically institutionalized ways of promoting an intellectual conversion (metanoia) whereby the suffering witness of the victims of history would challenge the systems and theories constitutive of our world experience " (Victims, p. 17). However, the critical element of this interdisciplinary "noetic praxis" which Lamb draws from Adorno's Negative Dialectics militates against this " institutionalized" use. At the deepest level Adorno questions the very possibility of a noetic practice which mediates the reality of experience, and he certainly rejects any institutional reification of the small insights which we might garner. For Adorno, critical thought cannot mediate the actual suffering of concrete individuals ; rather, its ultimate impotence in the face of such a reality mirrors the suffering of finite beings. Thought bears witness formally not materially. This basic feature of Adorno's thought runs counter to Lonergan's cognitive optimism, making Lamb's program interesting but implausible. Matthew Lamb, Solidarity with Victims (New York: Crossroad, 1982). SJiirgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope. (New York: Harper & Row, 1967). 4 David Hollenbach's Claims in Confiict (New York: Paulist Press, 1979) provides an example of a recent attempt to uncover the theological foundations for a theory of rights. Showing that the language of rights flows from a basic respect... (shrink)

The primary focus on fear, its nature and role, for a new philosophy for the 21st century, has been dubbed "philosophy of fearism" by Desh Subba and complemented by R. Michael Fisher in recent years. While still in its infancy as a social and pragmatic philosophy to counter the increasing danger of an Extreme Fear Age.... This paper looks at the evidence for this challenge and speculated what to expect in the near future. Dr. Noam Chomsky's work on fear and (...) terror is brought to the foreground of a fearanalysis.... (shrink)

A Brief Description of Neoplatonism R. Baine Harris Old Dominion University There are essentially three ways in which Neoplatonism may be considered to be ...

Thomas Hill Green was one of the most influential English thinkers of his time, and he made significant contributions to the development of political liberalism. Much of his career was spent at Balliol College, Oxford: having begun as a student of Jowett, he later acted effectively as his second-in-command at the college. Interested for his whole career in social questions, Green supported the temperance movement, the extension of the franchise, and the admission of women to university education. He became Whyte's (...) professor of moral philosophy at Oxford in 1878, and his lectures had a lasting influence on a generation of students. Much of Volume 1, edited by Green's pupil R. L. Nettleship and published in 1885, consists of Green's work on David Hume . In his essay, 'Introductions to Hume's Treatise of Human Nature' , Green gives a detailed critique of Hume's metaphysical thought. (shrink)

Thomas Hill Green was one of the most influential English thinkers of his time, and he made significant contributions to the development of political liberalism. Much of his career was spent at Balliol College, Oxford: having begun as a student of Benjamin Jowett, he later acted effectively as his second-in-command at the college. Interested for his whole career in social questions, Green worked on the commission which led to the Endowed Schools Act of 1869, and supported the temperance movement, the (...) extension of the franchise, and the admission of women to university education. He became Whyte's professor of moral philosophy at Oxford in 1878, and his lectures had a lasting influence on a generation of students of philosophy and political thought. This collection of Green's writings, published in three volumes from 1885 to 1888, was edited by R. L. Nettleship, one of his Balliol students. (shrink)

_History, the Human, and the World Between_ is a philosophical investigation of the human subject and its simultaneous implication in multiple and often contradictory ways of knowing. The eminent postcolonial theorist R. Radhakrishnan argues that human subjectivity is always constituted “between”: between subjective and objective, temporality and historicity, being and knowing, the ethical and the political, nature and culture, the one and the many, identity and difference, experience and system. In this major study, he suggests that a reconstituted phenomenology has (...) a crucial role to play in mediating between generic modes of knowledge production and an experiential return to life. Keenly appreciative of poststructuralist critiques of phenomenology, Radhakrishnan argues that there is still something profoundly vulnerable at stake in the practice of phenomenology. Radhakrishnan develops his rationale of the “between” through three linked essays where he locates the terms “world,” “history,” “human,” and “subject” between phenomenology and poststructuralism, and in the process sets forth a nuanced reading of the politics of a gendered postcolonial humanism. Critically juxtaposing the works of thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Adrienne Rich, Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, Michel Foucault, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Martin Heidegger, David Harvey, and Ranajit Guha, Radhakrishnan examines the relationship between systems of thought and their worldly situations. _History, the Human, and the World Between _is a powerful argument for a theoretical perspective that combines the existential urgency of phenomenology with the discursive rigor of poststructuralist practices. (shrink)

Comment l'intention apologétique de Blondel dans L’Action est-elle compatible avec le caractère philosophique de l’œuvre ? Comment éviter le soupçon de préjugé, de pétition de principes ? R. Virgoulay montre comment le projet mis en œuvre dans L’Action et défini dans la Lettre de 1896, ouvrait la philosophie à l'examen du problème religieux par la détermination a priori de la notion de surnaturel. Après avoir exposé « la méthode de L’Action » pour faire passer d'une conviction subjective, d'un témoignage vécu, (...) à une « science », c'est-à-dire à l'exposé qui conjugue nécessité et universalité, il s'attarde sur la cinquième partie de L’Action. Celle-ci, après l'élaboration des quatre autres parties, peut être alors une philosophie de la religion qui porte sur le contenu même du Christianisme, et pour laquelle la notion décisive est celle du surnaturel. Les questions que pose cette notion amènent l'auteur à comparer la problématique blondélienne à celle de Laberthonnière, comparaison qui manifeste la différence entre la démarche théologique de ce dernier et celle, philosophique, de Blondel. Alors que laberthonnière tente de justifier théologiquement l'entreprise philosophique de Blondel, la Lettre distingue rigoureusement la théologie de la philosophie. How is the apologetic intention of Blondel in Action compatible with the philosophical character of the work ? How can one avoid the suspicion of prejudice, of begging the question ? R. Virgoulay shows how the project put to work in Action and defined in the Lettre of 1896, opened philosophy to the examination of the religious problem by the a priori determination of the notion of the supernatural. After discussing « the method of Action » in order to move from a subjective conviction, from a lived witnessing, to a « science », that is to say, to an analyses that conjugate necessity and universality, the author concentrates on the fifth part of Action. This latter, after, the elaboration of the four other parts, could be, then, a philosophy of religion that carries to the very content of Christianity, and for which the decisive notion is that of the supernatural. The questions that this idea brings up led the author to compare Blondel’s field of inquiry to that of Laberthonnière, a comparison that, manifests the difference between a theological approach of the latter and that, philosophical, of Blondel. While Laberthonnière tries theologically to justify the philosophical enterprise of Blondel, the Lettre rigorously distinguishes theology from philosophy. (shrink)

A defence of the idea that there are sui generis duties of love: duties, that is, that we owe to people in virtue of standing in loving relationships with them. I contrast this non‐reductionist position with the widespread reductionist view that our duties to those we love all derive from more generic moral principles. The paper mounts a cumulative argument in favour of the non‐reductionist position, adducing a variety of considerations that together speak strongly in favour of adopting it. The (...) concluding section connects this debate with larger issues in moral theory concerning the general idea of obligation. (shrink)

We argue that thoughts are structures of concepts, and that concepts should be individuated by their origins, rather than in terms of their semantic or epistemic properties. Many features of cognition turn on the vehicles of content, thoughts, rather than on the nature of the contents they express. Originalism makes concepts available to explain, with no threat of circularity, puzzling cases concerning thought. In this paper, we mention Hesperus/Phosphorus puzzles, the Evans-Perry example of the ship seen through different windows, and (...) Mates cases, and we believe that there are many additional applications. (shrink)

Since the publication of Edmund Gettier's challenge to the traditional epistemological doctrine of knowledge as justified true belief, Roberts and Wood claim that epistemologists lapsed into despondency and are currently open to novel approaches. One such approach is virtue epistemology, which can be divided into virtues as proper functions or epistemic character traits. The authors propose a notion of regulative epistemology, as opposed to a strict analytic epistemology, based on intellectual virtues that function not as rules or even as skills (...) but as habits of the heart. To that end, they divide the task of clarifying and expounding their notion in the book's two parts.In the first part, Roberts and Wood examine various components that constitute their notion of regulative epistemology. The first are the epistemic goods or goals that drive the epistemic process. What is needed, claim Roberts and Wood, is an enriched notion of these goods rather than the restricted notion of justified true belief. Epistemic agents are more than calculating devices in that …. (shrink)

Hume scholarship has flourished during the past thirty-five years. In part this has been stimulated by a number of excellent full-scale studies of his philosophy and in part by the affinity of spirit between contemporary analytic philosophy and Hume's investigations. The author has collected a selection of some of the best short studies of Hume ranging over the problems of causation, induction, ethics and natural theology. A number of the articles treat similar problems from different perspectives. The total effect is (...) not only to further our understanding of Hume but also to help clarify central issues in contemporary philosophy. The anthology is one is a new series of Modern Studies in Philosophy under the general editorship of Amélie Rorty.—R. J. B. (shrink)

Karl R. Popper is an important philosopher of science of 20th Century and is known in this field through his theory of falsification. But the critical theory of rationality is indeed his basic theory and it can be seen in his whole idea. Critique of historicism also contains his views on the social and political philosophy in a systematic context in relation to them. Popper embodied his views about the historicism through human-centered thoughts of philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Marx (...) and Hegel who are effective system builders and he raised a number of criticism against the holistic structures. We discuss in this article Popper's critique of historicism, especially his critics related with Plato, Aristotle, Hegel and Marx. (shrink)

A revised and expanded version of studies by McKinsey, Winet and the authors, in axiomatic theories of value, together with a report of experiments designed to test the formal theories. This volume makes an important contribution to the theoretical and experimental investigation of values and decision-making, both of which subjects are still in their infancy. Experimental studies by Mosteller and Nogee and theoretical discussions of von Neumann and Morgenstern are criticized and improved. Ch. IV contains original suggestions for a theory (...) of utility involving incomparable values. -- A. R. A. (shrink)

A theistic study which rejects negative and purely analogical theology. An historical review of the traditional categories applied to the divine nature shows that God's perfection includes an infinity of possibles whose actualization is a matter of free but controlled selection. The argument does not always appear precise or inevitable, but it is suggestive.--A. R.

An analysis of the realism of M. Blondel, with an attempt to distinguish its traditional elements from its novel features. Blondel's emphasis on the inseparability of philosophy and action is argued to be the foundation of his return to Christian realism.--A. R.

A short study of the historical circumstances to which Marxism responded, and of the systematic character of its dialectic. The strength of Marxism the author finds to lie in its comprehensiveness, its weakness in the contradiction which arises from its espousal of humanitarian goals and its rejection of individual freedom.--A. R.

This voluminous treatise develops a "temporal" theory of knowledge out of the basic premisses of Sein und Zeit. It depends completely on Heidegger, aping his style as well as his terminology.--A. R.

An attempt to formulate a non-sectarian faith from a study of the elements entering into all creeds. The author makes an appeal for the effectiveness of religious belief in troubled times.--A. R.

Diagnosing the "breakdown of modern philosophy" as a result of a neglect of existence and metaphysics, leading to a radical separation of theory and practice, the author examines the attempts of existentialism to correct the shortcomings of post-Cartesian "intellectual subjectivity." The book begins with a short history of existentialism, following which are critical expositions of Jaspers, Sartre, Heidegger and Marcel. The range of topics considered--epistemology, ethics and ontology--prevents detailed discussion of any single problem, and both the exposition and the criticism (...) remain on a very general level. The final chapters of the book are devoted to correcting what the author considers the excesses of the existentialistic reaction to intellectualism by supplementing it with realism. Here, however, he promises more than he delivers. Though sometimes too facile, the book constitutes an important attempt to come to grips with existentialism by relating it to trends in traditional philosophy.--A. R. (shrink)

This monograph continues the author's investigations into connections between symbolic logic and modern algebraic structures. The results presented support the thesis that contemporary studies in symbolic logic have a direct and immediate relevance for many topics in mathematics.--A. R. A.

Miller has undertaken the difficult task of providing a new translation of Hegel's Wissenschaft der Logik sometimes referred to as Hegel's "Greater Logic." Part of the reason for the neglect of Hegel has been the unavailability of good translations. The "first generation" of Hegel translators heroically sought to create an English idiom for Hegel's terminology, but their results left much to be desired in accuracy, readability and intelligibility. Although this is a conservative translation which follows the conventions established by English (...) Hegelians nevertheless the translation is a big improvement over the earlier one by Johnston and Struthers. Since the passing of the English Hegelians, Hegel's Logic has been largely ignored by Anglo-Saxon philosophers. And for those who think that logic really is or ought to be what is found in contemporary symbolic or mathematical logic, Hegel's book will seem old-fashioned and outdated. Yet this book has exerted an enormous influence on both those who have seriously attacked it and those who have devotedly followed it--a group that includes Kierkegaard, Sartre, Heidegger, and the English idealists. The publication of this massive translation not only has historical value for making Hegel's thought more accessible, but it is still a rich source for the philosopher interested in Thought and Being.--R. J. B. (shrink)

A collection of popular and semi-technical philosophic essays written during the past twenty-five years, in which Hook defends an "experimental or pragmatic naturalism." A large part of the essays are concerned with defending naturalism against its critics and subjecting the recent revival of religion and theology to a devasting polemical attack. Hook's tough-minded intelligence is evident throughout, though he does little toward a careful explication of the knottier problems that cluster about naturalism.--R. J. B.

This autobiography is a sheer joy to read. It can be read solely for the biographical information it provides, especially of Sartre's childhood. But it combines the best of Sartre's philosophical and literary skills and is an example of what might be called "phenomenological biography." Sartre, in describing his youth, self-referentially exhibits in a vivid and concrete way the themes that have preoccupied him as an intellectual. The translation is good, although it is difficult to capture the spareness and directness (...) of the original French.—R. J. B. (shrink)

A highly readable translation with a helpful Introduction and Bibliography. The editor's notes are pertinent without obstructing the reader.--D. R.

A series of talks on some aspects of experimental psychology by various authors, originally broadcast over the B. B. C. in 1954. A good semi-popular presentation.--D. R.

A sympathetic and knowledgeable discussion of Freud in relation to literature and the present state of our culture. The crisis to which the title refers concerns the "progressive deterioration of accurate knowledge of the self and of the right relation between the self and the culture." Freud's contribution to our understanding of the self in culture is deftly outlined, and it is suggested that his theories of culture are not so fantastic as has often been supposed.--D. R.

Viewing Husserl's posthumous works in the light of their evolution, Pedroli considers his transcendental phenomenology and his efforts towards the foundation of philosophy as a rigorous science. An ample bibliography is appended. --R. D. G.

A comprehensive and lucidly written account of Origen's life and thought, relating Origen's writings to his active role in the Christian community, as well as to the religious and philosophic thought of his time. The book's main thesis is that Origen's thought cannot be reduced either to biblical theology or to neo-platonic speculation, but must be understood as an effort to make Christian faith intelligible and systematic.--R. H.

An interesting book, offering a forceful criticism of some classical and modern traditions in philosophy, especially of speculative idealism, phenomenology, and existentialism. The argument is not so much an attack on the explicit theories of these traditions as it is a criticism of their underlying assumptions about the purpose and limits of philosophizing itself. For the author this purpose has been and must always be the clarification of "confusions," as against the discovery of ultimate truths about reality.--R. H.

This is the first comprehensive study of Schrödinger's scientific and philosophical writings. The task requires a person trained thoroughly in physical science and yet capable of appreciating the sometimes puzzling philosophical ideas Schrödinger put forward. Professor Scott, a physicist, is remarkably successful at communicating both the physical and the philosophical ideas. After a brief summary of Schrödinger's diverse writings, he divides the writings into four groups which are treated in separate chapters. The first group, including very early papers, deals with (...) Schrödinger's work on Statistical Mechanics, and statistical theories in general. The second covers the crucial development of Wave Mechanics. The third concerns Schrödinger's interpretation of quantum mechanics and the important departures from the prevailing views of the Copenhagen school. Finally the fourth group contains Schrödinger's views on life and the self. The author shows that Schrödinger was led to his doctrine of identity by reflecting on the paradox of freedom and determinism. His study "What is Life?" convinced him that living systems are governed by the law of causality but he also believed that men were free. The doctrine of identity was his solution to the paradox. Scott is critical of this solution and a number of other doctrines of Schrödinger. The book is clearly written throughout and is a good introduction to Schrödinger's thought.--R. H. K. (shrink)

For a helpful presentation of the various views on probability and inductive logic as well as a thorough survey of the present literature on these topics, one could hardly do better than this work. Kyburg presents, in separate chapters, classical, frequency, logical, subjectivist and epistemological theories of probability, referring to major classical and contemporary works where each of these views is defended. He presents the common criticisms of each view as well as some criticisms of his own and brings out (...) what he takes to be of value in each view. These chapters are preceded by a brief but clear presentation of the probability calculus and a chapter on informal interpretations of probability in ordinary language. A descriptive bibliography follows each chapter in which Kyburg comments on the leading works in each area. The same format applies to his discussion of inductive logic in part II. Inductive inference is discussed in ordinary language and in formal contexts. Statistical inference, confirmation theories, acceptance theories, and demonstrative induction are discussed in separate chapters. There are also discussions of the role of simplicity in inductive inference and the problem of justifying induction. Exercises are added to each chapter and the work might serve well as a text in this field. A forty-eight page bibliography at the end of the book is another one of its assets.--R. H. K. (shrink)

A free and lucid translation of Scheler's first mature work on social and ethical theory. It represents an imaginative reinterpretation of Nietzsche's concept of "ressentiment," the structural key to the phenomenon of "slave morality." Generously sprinkled with apt illustrations, Ressentiment is a sustained attack on the notions of "work" and the "universal love of mankind" as ultimate sources of value. Such ressentiment-laden social tendencies are seen to form the faulty cornerstone of modern morality, both bourgeois and socialist.--K. R. D.

In this book, a Woodbridge Lecture, Professor Dennes assesses the formulations of naturalism given by such philosophers as John Dewey and J. E. Woodbridge, and finds them open to certain fundamental circularities of argument. The critique centers its attention on the questions of meaning and morals, and in each area seeks to lay bare the 'restriction metaphysics' to which naturalistic explanation is inevitably tied down.--K. R. D.

Pitcher has taken upon himself the task of refining and defending the thesis that sense perception is the acquiring of true beliefs concerning particular facts about one's environment, by means of the senses. The book is divided into four parts, the first part being a critical treatment of the sense-data theories via an examination of several of the major arguments traditionally forwarded in defense of the view. The theory advocated by the author is presented in the second part, where the (...) view is first stated in unpolished form and gradually refined and qualified as problems and objections are dealt with. Any philosophical theory of perception, the author maintains, is related to the empirical sciences in that its task is to render intelligible the facts about perception, as uncovered by the relevant sciences. Thus, in the third part of the book, some recent experiments in the psychology of perception are discussed in relation to the theory of perception held by the author. In the final part of the book, Pitcher discusses color perception, since the perception of colors seems, at first glance, to present a problem for his theory. If a dispositional analysis is given for perceptual belief, what behavior is peculiar to the perception of a color? An interesting discussion of the primary-secondary quality contrast follows Pitcher's solution to this problem. Though the author does not claim originality for the theory of perception he offers, there is still much to be said for his treatment of the materials presented.--R. L. M. (shrink)

In this doctoral dissertation for the Free University at Amsterdam, the author presents Croce's early aesthetic works in the light of his life and of his general philosophical development. He concludes his "academic test" with some critical observations.--R. D. G.

An analysis of two-person communication, in terms of symbolic logic. The author presents methods for evaluating message-sequences in terms of their informativeness with respect to questions representing the interests of the receiver. Philosophers will find in this book theoretical counterparts to a number of familiar notions: e.g., meaning, controversy, and dialectic. This study is an important first step in the logical explication of a large class of difficult problems.--R. H. T.

In these two Bode Memorial lectures, the author grapples with the problem of formulating general principles for education in a democratic society of separate and radically different individuals--how to achieve a proper balance of unity and variety. He concludes that "our principles are to be viewed as more or less impressionistic ideals which we should seek to realize in concrete living as best we can."--R. T.

A well-written introductory and historical survey of the dialogue between Christianity and philosophy, with primary emphasis on the early Fathers, Augustine and Aquinas. Although the preface suggests that the dialogue is a continuing one, many of the essays treat it as ending with Aquinas. One wishes that more account had been taken of modern criticism of the early theological development and of modern Biblical theology. The last two chapters do this and are helped by it.—R. J. W.

Normal texts and courses in logic are usually so preoccupied with the teaching of techniques that there is little opportunity to discuss some of the interesting and provocative issues in logical theory and the philosophy of logic. This book of readings is designed to supplement a course in symbolic logic. While there are few surprises or novelties here, there is a helpful selection from the writings of Frege, Russell, Strawson, Quine, Carnap, Von Wright, and others. The short introductions to the (...) various selections by the editors are all too brief.—R. J. B. (shrink)

This seventh John Dewey Lecture brings together the existentialist concern for "the meaning of life" with the analytical interest in precision in linguistic meanings. The treatment is provocative, though schematic. A brief analysis of "the meaning of life" is given, and then applied to education with considerable insight.—R. J. W.

This book has the virtue of sketching what might seem the implications of a Gricean theory of meaning. Mr. Landsman explicitly accepts the psychologism of Grice’s approach: the attempt to explain linguistic meaning by nonlinguistic, psychological notions, i.e., speaker’s intention that hearers have certain beliefs, etc. What turns out universal are actions, of which linguistic actions are a non-basic kind. Landsman is to be complimented for emphasizing that a Gricean account is psychologistic and that it loosely implies non-linguistic universals of (...) action, which are to provide the principles of individuation for beliefs, intentions, propositions, sayings, etc., which are the "connate accusatives," or adverbials, of action universals. He does not, I think, do much to rid Grice’s account of its fundamental difficulty: viz., that what is to do the explaining seems less clear and less well individuated than what it is to explain. It does not help much to write: "I do not wish to deny that, as a matter of fact, people often think in words. This means that a factual condition of having certain thoughts is the mastery of speech. Linguistic conventions thus may constitute causal conditions of certain intentional states. What I am claiming is that the notion of a convention does not enter into our concept of an intentional state." It is not sufficiently clear what the difference between mere "causal conditions" and "logical conditions" is supposed to be. Some might say that the notion of thought presupposes the notion of logic and that logic, unless we are to mix it with empirical psychology and talk of "laws of thought," presupposes the notion of language. Unfortunately, Landsman has little to say about the criticisms that have been made of Grice’s theory, mentioning Ziff’s criticisms in a brief aside and not so much as mentioning John Searle’s attempt to improve Grice’s theory of meaning. Also Landsman has nothing to say about recent and closely related work in linguistic theory: e.g., 1) though Landsman maintains that all ordinary speakings are performative actions, he has nothing to say about whether or not there is any relevance, and if so what, in J. R. Ross’ fairly recent claims to the effect that all sentences, in their syntactic deep structure, begin with a general performative verb coupled with the speaker’s pronoun; 2) much of what Landsman says relates to the distinction between the pragmatics and semantics of language, and to the success of Davidsonians and "generative semanticists" in their equation of deep syntax and logical form, but Landsman does not explain what his position comes to in such terms, nor does he explain why he does not have to explain. These last points are more a plea for catholicism in talking about meaning than a criticism of Landsman’s able exposition. The second half of this book consists largely of two papers: on the indeterminancy of translation and on abstract particulars and passages from The Problem of Universals, which Landsman edited.—R. B. (shrink)