A new annual lecture series at Villanova University is inaugurated with this attractive study. The lecture takes up a thesis originally proposed in Gilson's Gifford Lectures, that Christianity is the ultimate inspiration for certain key philosophical doctrines of the Western tradition. Gilson suggested 'freedom' and 'creation'; later Lowith and Cullman suggested 'history.' Henry finds in Christian doctrine and specifically in Augustine's writings the fountainhead for the concept of 'personality.' Scholarly and persuasive. --D. D. O.

In what is probably the most unwieldy volume of essays ever published, 50 contemporary authors address themselves to aspects of a theme whose generality invites an indefinite number of specifications: Being and Meaning. The closest thing to a perceptible trend in these various essays is the marked influence of Husserl and Heidegger. Authors from many countries have contributed, but with six exceptions their work is presented in German translation.--D. D. O.

This is a sober, balanced, well-written re-examination of the problems posed by the rules governing the 'privilege against self-incrimination.' The special merit of the study is its careful distinction of cases. The author shows that the meaning and justification for the privilege vary when claimed by a suspect, an accused, or a witness. Further distinctions are required when the privilege is invoked in preliminary investigations of a congressional committee seeking background data for new legislation. The existing rules and practices are (...) subjected to close, well-documented scrutiny issuing in suggestions for reform in each of the distinguished cases.--D. D. O. (shrink)

This is the first book-length treatment in English of Bultmann's theology. The intention, achievements and consequences of his attempt to 'de-mythologize' the Christian scriptures are evaluated in detail, and his borrowings from Heidegger are closely examined. The book centers on Bultmann's contention that the traditional statement of the Christian message is incompatible with modern scientific and philosophical thought. The presentation, while highly critical of the results, seems both fair and well-founded, thus providing a good introduction to a viewpoint which has (...) stirred up one of the greatest controversies since the beginnings of the 'Higher Criticism.' An important book.--D. D. O. (shrink)

A selection from the voluminous journals of S. K., grouped under topical headings rather than chronologically. Though there is some overlapping with the already published Journal selections, the present volume, in the main, offers a useful complement. A good translation.--D. D. O.

Thomistic ethics has sometimes been accused of being excessively rationalistic, impersonal, and a priori. This study attempts to provide textual support from Aquinas for an interpretation which stresses the primacy of conscience, individual responsibility, and the central importance of the virtue of prudence. The doctrine seems timely and suggestive, but the author's decision to write in scholastic jargon limits the effectiveness of this book for the uninitiated.--D. D. O.

A very felicitous translation of a work of major importance for science and philosophy. The book attempts to provide a coherent vision of the process of evolution starting from the formation of our planet through the emergence of life, and later, thought, to an imagined end state or Omega Point. The book is rich in imaginative theories about the various transitions of evolution but its greatest merit is in providing an overall pattern of high plausibility rendering the past more intelligible (...) and the future, in some measure, predictable. The central concept of the book seems to be that the energy present in each element of the universe is divided into two distinct components: a 'tangential' energy which links the element with all others of the same order of complexity and a 'radial' energy which draws the element towards ever greater complexity and centricity. The elaboration of the concept of 'radial' energy gives this book its great originality.--D. D. O. (shrink)

In this paper edition of what is still the most useful introduction to Sartre's philosophy in English, the author has made minor revisions in the text, expanded the bibliography and provided a link between his citations from the French edition of L'Etre et le Néant and the recent English translation by Hazel Barnes.--D. D. O.

Miss Stambaugh argues that the fundamental paradox on which Nietzsche's philosophy seems to rest--the doctrine of eternal recurrence and the doctrine of the will to power--can be mitigated, or at least clarified, by an understanding of Nietzsche's theory of time. This line of investigation results in a re-interpretation of the basic categories of Nietsche's philosophy.--D. D. O.

The text of a Seminarübung held in 1940 is here published for the first time together with an Italian translation. This is another of Heidegger's creative interpretations of Greek philosophy. The topic is Book II, Chapter 1 of the Physics, three pages in which Aristotle explains the various meanings of nature. Heidegger finds grounds in this text for his doctrine that truth is not an idea or a property of propositions, but the self-revelation of "nature".--D. D. O.

A collection of essays, addresses and occasional pieces written over the past fifteen years by Prof. Weischedel, a pupil of Heidegger. The pieces are grouped in four categories: history of philosophy, problems of metaphysics, contemporary art and contemporary ethico-political problems. There is some interesting material, but the book suffers from the defects of what C. S. Peirce called 'the pitchfork method of book-making.'--D. D. O.

On Dharma as depicted in Mahābhārata, Hindu classical epic.

Die Publikation enthält Beiträge zu theoretischen, lexikographischen und didaktischen Fragen von Kollokationen. Im Fokus stehen Kriterien der Delimitation der Mehrworteinheiten und die Fragen der didaktischen Relevanz von Kollokationen, ihrer Ermittlung und Vermittlung für die FS-Lerner. Die Beiträge zeigen die Notwendigkeit einer korpuslinguistischen methodischen und praktischen Grundkompetenz in der fremdsprachenphilologischen Ausbildung. In den didaktisch ausgerichteten Beiträgen wird analysiert, ob und in welcher Weise Kollokationen in den Lehrplänen behandelt werden und welche Bedeutung Kollokationen in nationalen und europäischen Dokumenten haben.

The problem the author sets himself in this historico-critical study of the post-Kantian development of the a priori is: Can one understand the nature of the a priori as part of the explanation of knowledge, without assigning it exclusively to the subject and without radically identifying the a priori and the a posteriori? Dufrenne thinks this can be done by retaining a dualism of subject and object. Well-written and scholarly. An index would have been helpful.--D. D. O.

The first in a new series of Catholic textbooks, this offers a masterly presentation of the essentials of Thomistic metaphysics. The book is written with Gilson's characteristic clarity and style and may probably be regarded as a definitive statement of his two familiar theses about Thomism: the centrality of the act of existence, and the necessity of following the structure of the Summa Theologica in a systematic presentation of St. Thomas' metaphysics. --D. D. O.

The second half of Husserl's university lectures of 1923-24 are given, along with supplementary materials from Husserl's Nachlaß which the editor adds in an attempt to clarify the obscurities and bewildering jumps of the lectures. To this are appended variant readings from 3 mss, all presented with the painstaking care usually reserved for biblical scholarship. Departing from his earlier contention that the Cartesian is a unique way to Transcendental Phenomenology, Husserl explores other means for eliminating contingency, and thereby achieving an (...) apodictic starting point for philosophy as a strict science: 1) the development of a phenomenological psychology, 2) a criticism of the positive sciences, and 3) the demonstration that positive ontologies require an absolute and universal ontology. But in granting that there might be other ways to Transcendental Phenomenology Husserl implicitly suggests the impossibility of an apodictic starting point.--D. D. O. (shrink)

There is only one philosophical periodical in the Soviet Union, "Voprosy Filosofii." This unusual book translates the table of contents from all numbers of this magazine in the years 1947-56. Significant articles from each number are also represented either in quotation or paraphrase. The result is a representative survey of recent trends in Soviet philosophy.--D. D. O.

Christian philosophy has remained an unrealized possibility, according to Wild, because Christian Faith has hitherto, for the most part, been combined only with Greek Rationalism and the long Western tradition of abstract and objectivist thought. A New Christian Philosophy, using the method of phenomenological analysis of the Lebenswelt is developed in the areas of ethics and social philosophy. An ethics of self-realization is rejected in favor of self-transcendence. The book is carefully argued and Wild attempts to answer the objections which (...) will surely be raised: that this philosophy is irrational, subjective, and a surrender of the autonomy of reason. The book deserves a careful study by anyone interested in a new approach to the old problem of relating reason and faith.--D. D. O. (shrink)

Centennial lectures delivered in New Haven by four Yale philosophers. Prof. Hendel's essay locates Dewey in the philosophical tradition and clarifies his brand of empiricism. Prof. Lawrence distinguishes fact from fiction in Dewey's philosophy of education. The essays of Professors Bernstein and Smith develop central but often neglected theses of Dewey's speculative thought. An attractive volume which advances the creative thoughts of the man it honors.--D. D. O.

The second edition of this well-known work differs from the first in several respects. A short laudatory foreword by H. J. Paton has been added, and the bibliography brought up to date. Professor Schilpp adds as an appendix a previously printed journal article, "On the Nature of the Ethical Problem."--D. D. O.

"Whereas two influential contemporary theories, Logical Positivism and Mythologism, regard poetry as mere emotive utterance and as the expression of a privileged and unique knowledge, a "symbolic expression of reality, a specific and original form of life," the author considers it the vehicle of a poetic truth which is more than emotional utterance while not being an esoteric revelation. Poetic truth is the correspondence of the finished work to the poet's intent, a truth of making rather than of knowing.--D. D. (...) O. (shrink)

A collection of recent essays published previously in various journals. The collection forms a continuous discussion of closely related problems. The conclusion of the first and key essay is that "the content of every awareness is propositional." This thesis is expanded and defended in subsequent essays by comparisons with some doctrines of other philosophers. Fresh in style, careful and original in thought.--D. D. O.

Do both man and nature undergo essential change through time such that a time-transcendent metaphysical knowledge becomes impossible? Labeling this the problem of historicity, Fackenheim attempts to show that the answer one gives to this question is not an empirical generalization but a metaphysical thesis which rests on certain assumptions and categories. These rule out historicism or skepticism; and consequently enable one to counter the most serious challenge to metaphysical knowledge. A probing, scholarly, and tightly argued essay.--D. D. O.

A representative selection from Dewey's writings together with a lengthy and useful introduction, well-tailored to the needs of university students. All but one of the selections were written after 1925; together they present a clear picture of Dewey's philosophy in its maturest form. The editor has designed his collection to refute decisively all aspects of the 'Dewey Legend' of anti-intellectualism. But the chief aim of the selections is to document Dewey's comprehensive theory of experience and nature, which has been neglected (...) in favor of his educational and social philosophy.--D. D. O. (shrink)

A brave and ambitious attempt to provide a synthesis of two recurrent motifs in modern philosophy: the critical and the speculative. The author draws upon a wide knowledge of the classical tradition and contemporary literature, although only the German sources. He attempts to ground the systematic unity of philosophy and all its special disciplines on the principle of reflection, which he treats somewhat in the manner of Husserl. An index would have been useful.--D. D. O.

A collection of masterly 20th century commentaries on the ancient and medieval philosophers. Many of the pieces have become classics in their own right, such as the essays by Jaeger, Cornford, Crombie and Gilson, here bound together for the first time. Key doctrines in the major figures from Xenophanes to Cajetan are critically studied. This is a novel and valuable source book.--D. D. O.

One of three tribute volumes marking the 75th birthday of an outstanding teacher, historian, and philosopher. Twenty former students present their teacher with a collection of essays which reflect both his own broad interests and the influence of his voluminous writing. There are essays interpreting various philosophical and historical problems of the Middle Ages, an important interpretation of Heraclitus, investigations of Heidegger and certain American Empiricists. The bulk of the book, however, deals with the area in which Gilson is an (...) acknowledged master: the systematic study of Thomas Aquinas and his relevance for contemporary philosophy.--D. D. O. (shrink)

In contrast to many other scholarly continental works, Bochenski's monumental survey waited only five years for its English translation. The translator has made some minor emendations and has appended a few pages concerning Abélard's contribution to logic. A great contribution to the scholarship of this exciting field. -D. D. O.

Selections from all three Critiques and the Metaphysical Foundations of Morals presented in a clear, fresh idiom, considerably revised and edited. Continuity is assured by frequent editorial introductions and comments. Inevitably there will be questions about the pieces chosen or omitted, but there should be no quarrel with the outstanding translation. --D. D. O.

Cullman, a distinguished Swiss Protestant theologian, presents a practical proposal for realizing Christian solidarity. He concedes, first, that opposing views on the concept of the Church make actual church unity humanly impossible for contemporary Protestants and Catholics. He proposes that a collection be taken up among Protestant churches for the Catholic poor and among Catholic churches for the Protestant poor. An adaptation of Paul's suggestion, this "exchange" offering would, he hopes, foster an atmosphere in which theological debate could flourish. -D. (...) D. O. (shrink)

The musings of a retired engineer on the meaning of life. Mr. Pryor offers us a remedy for the troubles of this life, one which will also enable us to specify what sort of future existence we want to have. What is this modest physic? Treatment by hypnosis!--D. D. O.

This is the third volume in a series of university lectures at Freiburg published by the author, a long-time assistant and interpreter of Husserl. The lectures are a sustained effort to rethink, amend, and develop themes first discussed by Husserl and Heidegger. In this volume Fink offers a new interpretation of the problems of nothingness and the totality of being. He seeks to avoid the tendency to reify the notion of totality; such reification the author argues is the besetting sin (...) of previous philosophies of being.--D. D. O. (shrink)

In spite of the current revival of interest in Husserl, this is only the second major English translation--after an interval of 25 years. The text is well-chosen since it exhibits Husserl at the height of his career and offers the only concise treatment of the major themes of Transcendental Phenomenology. Prof. Cairns, Husserl's own choice for translator, has produced a very careful, though perhaps over-literal version.--D. D. O.

A brief but informative introduction to the work of Alfred Weber. The author seeks to show why scholars like Timascheff and Sigmund Neumann rank Alfred Weber in the company of his more famous brother Max, and with Simmel, Rickert, Dilthey, and Scheler in the field of historical sociology. The work includes a systematic presentation of Weber's conception of 'historicocultural sociology'.--D. D. O.

This book, first published in 1933 but prevented from distribution in Nazi Germany, serves as an introduction to a German philosopher who, together with Martin Buber, attempted to rethink the central motifs of existentialist philosophy from the perspective of Jewish faith and tradition. The author provides an outline of the over-all content of this philosophy. In particular she stresses Rosenzweig's debt to the later Schelling and the main themes of his major work, The Star of Salvation.--D. D. O.

Anthropology must be centered not on human reason, freedom, or Existenz, but on the reciprocal relation of individual men to human culture. The comparative study of cultures must be considered the foundations of the whole edifice of human knowledge. Consequently, the task of synthesis and integration in the university, formerly assigned to the philosopher, should be assigned to the cultural anthropologist. --D. D. O.

Thirty distinguished American philosophers and scientists have contributed pieces ranging form two to twenty pages, summing up their contributions to the third annual New York University Institute of Philosophy. Topics discussed are grouped under three heads: The Mind-Body Problem; The Brain and the Machine; and Concept-Formation. The discussion is lively and controversial, although not very consecutive. Very up-to-date on American research in cybernetics, but surprisingly unaware of contemporary European work in the areas discussed, e.g., the writings of the Phenomenologists and (...) Piaget.--D. D. O. (shrink)

The text of this new edition of Scheler's pioneer work in the sociology of knowledge has been corrected in a few places. There are also about 50 additional pages drawn from Scheler's relicta which throw new light on the themes of the original study. The most interesting of these additions are the pages which spell out the differences between Scheler's phenomenological approach to problems about values and the positivistic approach of Max Weber.--D. D. O.

A lively and fascinating study-in-miniature of the Catholic experiment with Humanism at the dawn of the Renaissance. This illuminating book is only secondarily about Erasmus, whose theology is sketched in broad strokes. More valuable are Bouyer's ability to capture the spirit of the age and his unusual talent for brief, striking portraits of its leadings figures.--D. D. O.

In honor of Husserl's 100th birthday, an impressive roster of 25 former students and close friends contribute essays to this volume. There are some interesting personal reminiscenses, but most deal with problems in Husserl's philosophy. It is something of a mystery that nearly all the contributors ignore or reject what Husserl considered the most important and fundamental aspect of his philosophy--its transcendental dimension. Moreover, it is confusing to find included in the volume quotations from Husserl condemning as total misunderstandings the (...) very omission or modifications which his students are introducing. The essays themselves are sufficient witness to the seminal importance of Husserl's philosophy, as well as to the difficulties and obscurities remaining in it.--D. D. O. (shrink)

Taking into account the recent publications of many hitherto unknown works of Husserl, this short introduction aims to present Husserl's philosophizing as an organic system, which the author dubs, not inappropriately, Transcendental Positivism, since he stresses Husserl's attempt to provide a strict foundation for the sciences. The book is systematic and carefully written. It was designed to meet the needs of university students and may be recommended to them as a generally reliable guide, although necessarily not as definitive interpretation.--D. D. (...) O. (shrink)

Only minor changes have been introduced in the second edition of this widely used introductory text. The number and the quality of the exercises have been considerably improved, a few obscure points clarified, and some superfluous paragraphs omitted. The discussion of induction remains the weakest part of the book, and one is disappointed at the continued omission of any proof technique or any reference to the concept of a deductive system.--.

A diagonal version of the strong reflection principle is introduced, along with fragments of this principle associated with arbitrary forcing classes. The relationships between the resulting principles and related principles, such as the corresponding forcing axioms and the corresponding fragments of the strong reflection principle, are analyzed, and consequences are presented. Some of these consequences are “exact” versions of diagonal stationary reflection principles of sets of ordinals. We also separate some of these diagonal strong reflection principles from related axioms.