Baruch (Benedict de) Spinoza was born in Amsterdam in 1632. He belonged to the emigrant Jewish community. He was much influenced by the writings of Descartes. His unorthodox views led him to be excommunicated by the Jewish authorities in 1656. In the following years he devoted himself to his philosophical writings. He derived a modest income from grinding optical lenses. In 1673 he refused an invitation to become professor of philosophy at Heidelberg. Spinoza died at The Hague from consumption in (...) 1677. (shrink)

In a recent article in this journal, Roberts suggests a semantic method for distinguishing ambiguity and generality, a method which is intended to avoid the problems that others such as Zwicky and Sadock, Hintikka, and McCawley have found in making such a decision. Roberts claims that his test derives its validity from the observation that an ambiguous expression has a disjunction of meanings, whereas a general expression has but one meaning.

The logic of singular terms that refer to nothing, such as ‘Santa Claus,’ has been studied extensively under the heading of free logic. The present essay examines expressions whose reference is defective in a different way: they signify more than one entity. The bulk of the effort aims to develop an acceptable formal semantics based upon an intuitive idea introduced informally by Hartry Field and discussed by Joseph Camp; the basic strategy is to use supervaluations. This idea, as it stands, (...) encounters difficulties, but with suitable refinements it can be salvaged. Two other options for a formal semantics of multiply signifying terms are also presented, and I discuss the relative merits of the three semantics briefly. Finally, possible modifications to the standard logical regimentation of the notion of existence are considered. (shrink)

In a recent article in this journal, Roberts suggests a semantic method for distinguishing ambiguity and generality, a method which is intended to avoid the problems that others such as Zwicky and Sadock, Hintikka, and McCawley have found in making such a decision. Roberts claims that his test derives its validity from the observation that an ambiguous expression has a disjunction of meanings, whereas a general expression has but one meaning.

Originally published in 1937, this book provides a detailed discussion of the nature of Christian faith and belief in its relationship with the concept of redemption.

The question that this paper sets out to answer is: How do political processes within the firm structure corporate political strategy? In answering this question thepaper starts to address the research problem of the congruence between processes of consensus building and conflict resolution within the firm and on the other hand corporate attempts to influence political processes taking place outside the firm. The paper argues that power-dependence relations between firm-internal stakeholders are an explanatory factor in examining empirical variation in corporate (...) political behavior. (shrink)

Volume 12 of the Progress in Self Psychology series begins with reassessments of frustration and responsiveness, optimal and otherwise, by MacIsaac, Bacal and Thomson, the Shanes, and Doctors. The philosophical dimension of self psychology is addressed by Riker, who looks at Kohut's bipolar theory of the self, and Kriegman, who examines the subjectivism-objectivism dialectic in self psychology from the standpoint of evolutionary biology. Clinical studies focus on self- and mutual regulation in relation to therapeutic action, countertransference and the curative process, (...) and the consequences of the negative selfobject in early character formation. A separate section of child studies includes a case study exemplifying a self-psychological approach to child therapy and an examination of pathological adaptation to childhood parent loss. With a concluding section of richly varied studies in applied self psychology, _Basic Ideas Reconsidered_ promises to be basic reading for all students of contemporary self psychology. (shrink)

This article examines Nowacki’s novel version of the kalam cosmological argument (N-KCA), and finds it seriously flawed. The N-KCA purportedly shows the factual impossibility of a denumerably infinite set of coexisting concrete entities; and that there would be such a set were an infinite temporal series of events to obtain because each existing substance bears its own necessarily permanent temporal marks and those of its ancestors. Nowacki, professing the A-theory of time, nevertheless maintains that truth-makers of past-event propositions are not (...) tensed facts, according to some correspondence theory of truth, but rather the temporal marks borne by existing substances. (shrink)

Even if we recognize that the delta-lognormal model provides an excellent fit to a large variety of data, the question remains as to what we actually learn from such a model, which could be seen as merely another multiparameter account? Do we welcome such an encompassing account, or do we expect to learn more from the limitations that become apparent when applying dedicated models addressing specific classes of movements?

The parametric general systems theory is an adequate method of research in universalism. The article focuses on this theory and its formal apparatus—ternary description language. It shows the advantages of researching universalistic problems through the use of the systems method. Parametric systems theory can be helpful to universalism in acquiring the characteristics of a relatively rigorous scientific conception.

This book introduces American readers to a philosophical and spiritual exemplar of dialogue. The author presents a way of thinking about ourselves, the world, and our relationship to God that is neither dualistic nor monistic. The thinkers presented in this book focus on a radical departure from objectivism and subjectivism. Kierkegaard, Feuerbach, Herman Cohen, Ferdinand Ebner, Eugen Rosenstock, Franz Rosenzweig, and Martin Buber were all trying to find a way to allow a transaction between self, the world, and God without (...) foregoing either individuality or the experience of merging. (shrink)