Letson’s text is a dense, richly worded exposition of three of perhaps the most engaging philosophers of contemporary philosophy: Rorty, Putnam, and Davidson.

This recent publication by professor Kai Nielsen may be best seen as a logical progression of thought that follows from his 1991 study, After the Demise of the Tradition: Rorty, Critical Theory, and the Fate of Philosophy, and from several articles since this publication. Described by Nielsen as a "metaphilosophical study", On Transforming Philosophy is his on-going treatment of how the aims of the traditional philosophical project have failed and how a transformed conception of philosophy should now focus on the (...) "problems of life." Although many philosophers may doubt that an inquiry of this nature is possible, Nielsen nonetheless sets out to dispel various traditional conceptions of the central task of philosophy. In its place he seeks to establish what he believes to be a more "humanly important" view of philosophy. (shrink)

Edited by James Sennett, this collection of articles by Alvin Plantinga is certainly deserving. The problem facing Sennett, however, is how to choose articles from an author whose writings span forty years of reflection. Fortunately, in Plantinga's after-word to this book, he approves of Sennett's choice. Plantinga states that the selection is a “snapshot” of his work thus far in the philosophy of religion, one that represents two major concerns: negative apologetics and the development of Christian philosophy.

This recent study on the ethics of human cloning is a lively exchange between two articulate and well informed opponents: Leon R. Kass and James Q. Wilson. Kass is the Addie Clark Harding Professor in the Committee on Social Thought and the College of the University of Chicago. Wilson is the James A. Collins Professor of Management and Public Policy Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles.