An introduction, designed for the lay reader, developing four central issues with as little technical language as possible.—S. A. E.

These essays do a rather thorough and sometimes exciting job of articulating the encounter between Christianity and contemporary philosophies of existence. Earle, representing the "opposition," puts the case for Nietzsche and Sartre quite convincingly. Edie's treatment of Heidegger might have been more subtle and suffers from the closeness with which Edie links Heidegger with Tillich. Wild's essays, without a doubt the most interesting but most perplexing in the collection, appear to be at once orthodox and revolutionary, with an overall Bultmannian (...) cast.—S. A. E. (shrink)

The choice of topics around which the readings are grouped is very good. Not only are the more technical and theoretical problems of ethics discussed, but classical sources are brought to bear on such concrete problems as capital punishment, birth control and divorce.—S. A. E.

This selection includes Spinoza's interpretation and comments on Descartes writings, together with Spinoza's Thoughts on Metaphysics. The translation reads easily and the introduction is genuinely useful.—S. A. E.

A chatty introduction to the problems of philosophy of religion. The book covers such topics as the origin of religion, arguments for the existence of God, fundamentalism, and immortality. Summary questions are included which are designed to stimulate discussion of the text.--S. A. E.

A well-edited compendium of some of the basic writings in the field. Included are passages from such thinkers as Augustine, Aquinas, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Royce, and Tennant, together with helpful philosophical introductions, bibliographical notes, and editorial footnotes designed especially for the student.--S. A. E.

This represents the first modern translation of any of the writings of von Humboldt and the only introduction to his works in English. Included are many of his reflections on history, religion and politics, the latter being of special interest. On the whole, the translation is readable and the problems discussed, though somewhat dated, are of interest to those concerned with the perennial problems of the philosophies of man and culture.—S. A E.

A continuation of some of the lines of thought developed in his earlier work, Concerning Human Understanding. Here Banerjee tries to make out a case for metaphysics by showing philosophy as an independent discipline concerned with the analysis of the human situation. Of special interest is the author's effort to understand language in terms of the person and his concern with the nature of man as a being who is with others. Many insights of phenomenological philosophy are mirrored in this (...) work, though in a different terminology.—S. A. E. (shrink)

The underlying assumption of this book is that "speeding up the process of securing maximal contributions from ethical theory for solving moral problems involves the fullest self-conscious focusing on method." With clarity and insight the author explores various ethical theories and their relationships to one another, trying always to bring about an understanding of what is truly at stake in various theoretical controversies and to relate ethical theory to the business of morality itself.—S. A. E.

The authors' intention is to explore themes of related interest to both psychological and ethical disciplines. Their treatment of the problems in the twilight zone between these disciplines is insightful. The underlying theme is that a psychology of personality fails to articulate its subject matter if it reduces the ought to the is but that a theory of the good must take cognizance of the manner in which the ought finds its roots in the is.—S. A. E.

Contains articles and excerpts from such writers as Urmson, Tomas, Stevenson, Ziff and Black, and offers an opportunity for the reader to assess the recent contributions of analysis to aesthetics.--S. A. E.

The main divisions of this collection are concerned with knowledge, rationalism and empiricism, truth, induction and perception. The selections tend toward the British tradition, though there are selections from such thinkers as Plato and Kant.—S. A. E.

In five brief chapters the author presents Unamuno's theories of language and truth, his epistemological views, and what the author terms his "Quixotic" existentialism. None of the problems alluded to are discussed in any depth, but the brevity of the book recommends it to those seeking an introduction to the main lines of Unamuno's thought.—S. A. E.

Gurwitsch's concern in this book is with the doing of phenomenology rather than the explication of what other phenomenologists have done. His analyses of Husserl's views, with whom he appears to be in close agreement, are in the service of the concrete phenomenological analyses Gurwitsch himself undertakes. His remarks on William James serve as a further corroboration of the interest practicing phenomenologists are taking in James' thought and the phenomenological strains which run through it. What emerges in Gurwitsch's own thought (...) is a view of consciousness and its objects which parallels in large measure Husserl's middle period investigations, in particular those appearing in the Ideen. Gurwitsch's work is to be praised as an attempt to introduce concrete and sometimes original phenomenological insights into the American philosophical scene.—S. A. E. (shrink)

The translation is a careful one and the introduction by Warner Wick will prove helpful to students beginning their study of Kant's ethical writings.—S. A. E.

Kwant carefully outlines what he takes to be Merleau-Ponty's most basic discovery, the body-subject, detailing the French philosopher's approach to this phenomenon. The author relates Merleau-Ponty to Marxism, phenomenology and Sartre, as well as to the sciences and scientism. The critical remarks offered at the end of the book are a bit sketchy, but on the whole Kwant shows himself to be a careful and faithful renderer of Merleau-Ponty's thought.—S. A. E.