The author shows Maritain's view of the place of political philosophy in the hierarchy of the speculative and practical sciences. Some criticisms of Maritain are also suggested, particularly in connection with democratic theory. --S. M. W.
This article compares James M. Buchanan's and John Rawls's theories of democratic governance. In particular it compares their positions on the characteristics of a legitimate social contract. Where Buchanan argues that additional police force can be used to quell political demonstrations, Rawls argues for a social contract that meets the difference principle.
As these opening quotes acknowledge, the Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD) represents a core puzzle within the formal mathematics of game theory.3 Its rise in conspicuity is evident figure 2.1 above demonstrating a relatively steady rise in incidences of the phrase’s usage between 1960 to 1995, with a stable presence persisting into the twenty first century. This famous two-person “game,” with a stock narrative cast in terms of two prisoners who each independently must choose whether to remain silent or speak, each advancing (...) self-interest at the expense of the other and thereby achieving a mutually suboptimal outcome, mires any social interaction it is applied to into perplexity. The logic of this game proves the inverse of Adam Smith’s invisible hand: individuals acting on self interest will achieve a mutually suboptimal outcome. However, as this chapter illuminates, the assumptions underlying game theory drive this conclusion. (shrink)
This essay represents a novel contribution to Nietzschean studies by combining an assessment of Friedrich Nietzsche’s challenging uses of “truth” and the “eternal return” with his insights drawn from Indian philosophies. Specifically, drawing on Martin Heidegger’s Nietzsche, I argue that Nietzsche’s critique of a static philosophy of being underpinning conceptual truth is best understood in line with the Theravada Buddhist critique of “self ” and “ego” as transitory. In conclusion, I find that Nietzsche’s “eternal return” can be understood as a (...) direct inversion of “nirvana”: Nietzsche celebrates profound attachment to each and every moment, independent from its pleasurable or distasteful registry. (shrink)
[full article, abstract in English; abstract in Lithuanian] Armstrong’s theory of laws and causation may be articulated as something like the following, which we may refer to as the received view: “Laws are intrinsic higher-order relations of ensuring between properties. The instantiation of laws is identical with singular causation. This identity is a posteriori.” Opponents and advocates of this view, believe that it may fairly and correctly be attributed to Armstrong. I do not deny it; instead I seek to reconsider (...) the received view, specifically by treating it as a part of Armstrong’s metaphysics. The main features that should concern us are truthmaker theory and the formal account of the constitutive parts of states of affairs. I also discuss Bird’s ultimate argument against Armstrong and show how its impact is weakened by this proper reading. (shrink)
The present work is volume II of the author's Gifford Lectures. MacMurray sustains and enriches the point of view that he presented in The Self as Agent, developing at length the implications of his insistence that the self must be understood primarily as an agent. The apprehension of the Other, the modes of morality, the nature of society and community, and the role of religion are examined. --S. M. W.
This fine new translation of Voltaire's Letters Concerning the English Nation supersedes other out-of-date translations. Although the format is attractive, the introduction is disappointingly brief and uninformative.--S. M. W.
Limited to a review of Kant's classification of imperatives, Morritz focuses on the hypothetical forms. He offers an emotivist interpretation of such characteristics of imperatives as "being commanded by reason." --S. M. W.
This paper critically engages Philip Mirowki's essay, "The scientific dimensions of social knowledge and their distant echoes in 20th-century American philosophy of science." It argues that although the cold war context of anti-democratic elitism best suited for making decisions about engaging in nuclear war may seem to be politically and ideologically motivated, in fact we need to carefully consider the arguments underlying the new rational choice based political philosophies of the post-WWII era typified by Arrow's impossibility theorem. A distrust of (...) democratic decision-making principles may be developed by social scientists whose leanings may be toward the left or right side of the spectrum of political practices. (shrink)
This is a controlled and enlightening study of the concept of method during the Renaissance. The text is rich in quotations, supplemented by very numerous footnotes. By dint of letting the evidence speak for itself, Gilbert succeeds in deepening the understanding of the Renaissance and consequently of the significance of the methodological innovations that followed it in the 17th century.--S. M. W.
This weighty volume, both literally and figuratively, is an illustrated collection of quatrains in the style and tone of Fitzgerald's Omar. Though Iranian, the author writes a fluent English.--S. M. F.
An essay in normative jurisprudence where the author is concerned with delineating and evaluating legal decision procedures. The appeal to precedent and equity are critically examined and found to be deficient. Wasserstrom proposes as an improvement a two-level decision procedure, which is like precedent in appealing to a rule of law as a necessary condition for deciding a case, and like equity "in that considerations of justice are directly relevant to the justification of any decision." He frankly admits that this (...) decision procedure is an improvement at the "price of becoming imprecise at certain crucial points." The discussion is informed throughout with an appreciation of both legal and philosophical treatments of the issues.--S. M. W. (shrink)
The third of three volumes that the author has devoted to the presentation and- development of his philosophy of the instant. In the present work, Life and Meaning, he examines the central and fundamental role of desire or "wanting" in human life. The author vigorously criticizes the rationalistic trend in philosophy which confuses life with thought, and which ignores or intellectualizes the role of desire. His account of the affective life will sometimes seem uncritical to the non-Latin reader.--S. M. W.
In this brief and readable survey of the Reformation in Scotland, Professor Renwick succeeds in supplying both a sketch of the pre-Reformation church in Scotland, and an account of the entanglements of blood, religion and politics involving the Scottish throne. Frankly written from the Protestant point of view, the author demonstrates restraint in his treatment of the role of Mary Stewart, and gives an interesting narrative of John Knox's part in bringing about the reformation of the church.--S. M. W.
A tough-minded, controversial autobiography by a disillusioned Viennese Catholic turned Hindu monk. Swami Agehananda Bharati is not the usual ethnophile. Indeed, his view that one must regard one's cultural heritage critically continues long after his conversion and provokes many an angry rebuke from his less questioning Hindu brothers. For Bharati, nothing is sacred a priori. Neither Ramakrishna, the nineteenth-century Bengali saint, nor Swami Vivekananda, his best known disciple, nor, for that matter, the Mahatma himself escapes critical re-evaluation. Yet Bharati's knowledge (...) of the Sanskrit texts, his familiarity with half a dozen modern Indian languages, and his years of itinerant teaching on the Indian sub-continent make his voice one to be reckoned with on the topic of contemporary Hindu life. One can no doubt imagine a more sympathetic passage to India, but there could hardly be one more stimulating.--S. M. F. (shrink)
In his second book on art, Weiss groups the nine basic arts into three triads in accordance with whether their characteristic products are created spaces--architecture, sculpture, painting; created time--musicry, story, poetry; or created movement --music, the theatre, the dance. The approach of any art to its undertaking and the nature of its achievement is distinctive; none duplicates the task, nor borrows the logic, of the others. Weiss also discusses some "compound arts," including photography and the movies. Through the vigor of (...) his language, and the sensitivity of his appraisals, he provokes fresh insight into both the specific arts and the entire artistic enterprise.--S. M. W. (shrink)
Fifteen concise, clearly written essays on the major concepts of Judaism, followed by a series of short "reflections" on such topics as True-Conscience, Conformity, and Hero-Worship. Rabbi Umen's viewpoint is patently that of Reform Judaism, and the more traditional positions receive short shrift at his hands. His chapters on the Jewish concepts of the Messiah and of Jesus are especially good and should prove of interest to Jew and non-Jew alike.--S. M. F.
The author's first-hand knowledge of phenomenology enables him to select advisedly from the vast stores of available material, and to present the thought of the major figures in the movement so that neither the differences nor dependencies are obscured. The history deals with both the French and German branches of phenomenology. There are also helpful examinations of contacts and affinities between the European phenomenologists and American philosophers such as James and Royce. Altogether a thorough and first rate piece of scholarship.--S. (...) M. W. (shrink)
A translation into French of a work originally published in Germany in 1931. The unity of Kant's thought is highlighted through an examination of the relation of the moral philosophy to Kant's general critical program. Krüger acknowledges a debt to Heidegger, while differing from the latter in his interpretation of Kant.--S. M. W.
The first volume of a yearbook to be published regularly by the Center of Humanistic Studies at the University of Nuevo Leon in Mexico. Devoted primarily to the publication of articles by members of the Center, the contents are arranged under five headings: Philosophy, Literature, History, Social Sciences, and Editorial Matter.--S. M. W.
This study is concerned with certainty and examines the work of Dewey for the light he sheds on this problem. Hart concentrates on the process of verification, the final stage of inquiry in Dewey's theory. He does this because he believes that, according to Dewey, through the process of verification we may attain "flexible" certainty. The first chapter discusses the background of the problem. The second chapter, "A Dewey Dictionary," contains passages selected from Dewey's works on about sixty topics which (...) Hart considers important for his later discussion. In the third chapter, a chronological account of the development of Dewey's theory of inquiry and his views on verification is meticulously presented. The fourth chapter is devoted to a systematic presentation of the place of verification in Dewey's philosophy. In the fifth chapter are the author's critical reflections: Hart holds that the basic principles of Dewey's theory cannot be justified but must be taken on faith. Here Hart does not seem sufficiently appreciative of Dewey's pragmatism. Dewey could answer: such principles are adopted because they are fruitful and will be maintained only so long as they continue to be fruitful. An epilogue concludes the study.—F. S. M. (shrink)
The article argues that Kant’s argument for ownership entails a standard of meaningful use by which property regimes can be evaluated: a regime must make it possible for usable objects to be meaningfully used. A particular form of fully communal ownership can satisfy this standard. Further, this form of communal ownership is compatible with Kantian freedom more broadly. I conclude that, if this is so, there is a great deal of space for further consideration of the rightfulness of diverse regimes (...) of ownership and exchange within a Kantian framework. (shrink)
Soviet attitude towards Bohr reflects changes in the ideological approach to science. During the last period before Stalin's death danov proclaimed the campaign against Western influence in Soviet philosophy and science. Nevertheless the physicist M. A. Markov tried to introduce complementarity as a materialistic interpretation of quantum-mechanics in 1948. He was officially condemned. This was followed by a period (1948-54) during which heavy attacks were made against the Copenhagen school. In 1958, after a personal exchange of thoughts with Bohr, academician (...) Fock declared complementarity and probability to be irreversible steps towards a new insight into physical reality, at the same time correcting some of Bohr's epistemological conceptions. (shrink)
A comprehensive study in the field of comparative religion with excellent historical analysis. The concluding sections of this volume contain interesting discussions of such topics as communism as a religion, Gandhi's religious philosophy and the relation of religion and psychotherapy. The sections dealing with Old Testament religion and Christianity are substantially the same as were found in Burtt's Types of Religious Philosophy. A fine bibliography is included.--M. S. S.
