On Dharma as depicted in Mahābhārata, Hindu classical epic.

Freedom and moral responsibility have one foot in the practical realm of human affairs and the other in the esoteric realm of fundamental metaphysics—or so we believe. This has been denied, especially in the metaphysics-bashing era occupying the first two-thirds or so of the twentieth century, traces of which linger in the present day. But the reasons for this denial seem to us quite implausible. Certainly, the argument for the general bankruptcy of metaphysics has been soundly discredited. Arguments from Strawson (...) and others that our moral practices are too deeply embedded in human life to rest on anything as tenuous as a metaphysical doctrine far from the thoughts of ordinary people would seem to prove too much: we can easily imagine fantastic scenarios far from the thoughts of ordinary people—involving, say, alien manipulation or massive deception—that, if true, would clearly undermine claims to freedom and responsibility. For still other philosophers, the separation of the moral life from (some) metaphysical issues is prescriptive, not descriptive: it is a recommendation that we revise ordinary moral thought by severing its allegedly problematic links to metaphysics. (Some philosophers appear to hover undecided between such a prescriptive project and a Strawsonian descriptive claim.) We suspect that the prospects of retaining the binding force of ordinary moral thought, were such a reconceived moral practice widely embraced, are bleak. A transition to something closer to moral nihilism seems at least as likely. In any case, our interest here is in descriptive metaphysics, not revisionary. -/- To say as we do that freedom and moral responsibility have a partly metaphysical character is not to suggest that they can be had only if some highly specific version of a particular metaphysical framework is correct. Instead, we suggest in what follows, it is a broadly neo-Humean metaphysics that is not hospitable to freedom (for reasons distinctive to the metaphysics), while a broadly neo-Aristotelian metaphysics is. But we also think (and it is the main aim of our paper to show) that different versions of the neo- Aristotelian metaphysics lead to rather different metaphysical accounts of free and responsible action. Specifically, we will argue that (1) the most satisfactory account of human freedom within the broadly neo-Aristotelian metaphysics is agent-causal, but that (2) two different versions of the general metaphysics will lead to important differences in the agent-causal account of freedom. Adjust the details of your general metaphysics, and the details of your account of freedom are transformed in significant ways. Action theory cannot properly be pursued in isolation from general metaphysics. (shrink)

Recently I reported in this journal1 how it became necessary for a judge to settle a dispute between the pharmaceutical industry and certain Dutch pharmacists. It considered the question of whether a pharmacist is permitted, without prior consultation, to give a patient a generic drug instead of the patent drug mentioned on the prescription.Another dispute has now arisen after the pharmaceutical industry discovered that healthcare insurers were paying general practitioners a bonus if they prescribed generic drugs, such as simvastatin or (...) omeprazol (which reduces the …. (shrink)

D.O. Thomas; VI*—The Duty to Trust, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 79, Issue 1, 1 June 1979, Pages 89–102, https://doi.org/10.1093/aristotelian.

D. O. Thomas; XIII—Obedience to Conscience, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 64, Issue 1, 1 June 1964, Pages 243–258, https://doi.org/10.1093/ari.

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.

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.

Reprints some well-known articles, some new translations and some hitherto unprinted articles by F. H. Parker and Y. Simon. In all, 22 contemporary authors are presented in a way which manages to cover most of the problems in epistemology. The selection tends to favor realism, but other views are ably represented by such authors as Perry, Wisdom, Lewis and Cassirer. This book could be used as a text in courses on knowledge theory or as an introduction to contemporary philosophy.-- 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 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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

A tribute volume for the Dewey centennial by prominent Roman Catholic philosophers and educationalists. There are eight essays critically, but sympathetically, evaluating Dewey's thought in the areas of education, political theory, technology, theory of knowledge and metaphysics. The historical and intellectual context of his thought is outlined and an authoritative report on his influence in China is given. The essays are of consistently high quality, throwing fresh light on many obscure points in the Dewey authorship.--D. D. O.

In an abbreviated version, the authors offer the essentials of propositional logic including the notion of a logistic system, quantification inclusive of n-placed predicates, and a brief treatment of classes. In general, the notation is that of the Principia. Suitable for an introductory course, provided the instructor can assist the student to bridge the gap between intuition and formalization.--D. D. O.

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.

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)

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.

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)

Five essays in French, one in German and three in English, honoring the Polish scholar, Roman Ingarden. The essays offer criticisms or develop Husserl, or apply his methods to problems in philosophy, literary criticism, and psychology. --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)