A textbook intended largely for beginning students in ethics. In a very interesting concluding chapter, Prof. Garnett presents and justifies his own view of the meaning of ethical terms and of the nature of moral principles. One section of the book is as unusual as it is valuable: it contains collections of opinions on such practical problems as marriage and the family, right of property, and war.--J. A. B.

A sensitive and intelligent inquiry into the nature of mysticism, with special emphasis upon the question as to whether mystical experience is subjective only, or can reasonably be said to refer to an objective reality. There are also careful and valuable discussions of the relation of mysticism to religion and ethics, and of its implications for logic, language, and a theory of immortality.--J. A. B.

An attempt to develop a method for the social sciences based upon a "field theory" of "logico-functional integration of elements" as opposed to older thoroughly monistic or pluralistic approaches. Professor Lins' emphasis upon the unity of the sciences, and his insistence that they use similar methods for the solution of similar problems, produce a rather artificial dialectic in his treatment of the social sciences, and allow him to draw rather trivial conclusions. --J. A. B.

A single lecture setting forth the authors's view of excellence as "creative insecurity."--J. A. B.

According to Thalheimer the proper method of metaphysics is first to define clearly "existence" or "reality," and then to test all the things one can think of against this definition. One can thus come to a decision as to whether or not these things exist. It is in this sense that his metaphysics is "existential." "In the tradition of the Seventeenth Century system builders," this work develops a thesis stated in the author's published doctoral dissertation of 1920. --J. A. B.

A re-evaluation of the function of the proofs of God's existence in Thomistic metaphysics. O'Brien's purpose is to "remove the debris of historical and individual deviations on the question of God's existence and rediscover the metaphysical approach indicated by St. Thomas himself."--J. A. B.

"This book presents a theory of the nature of things," and counsel in respect of the practical objectives of men. The former marks no advance over the Milesian Pre-Socratics; the latter lacks even the merit of being grounded in a "hard-headed" materialism. --J. A. B.

The purpose of this pamphlet is to formulate the problems of, and to stimulate thought and discussion on, the concept of the public interest. The authors present a number of common and current theories on the nature of public interest, its relation to earlier, similar ideas, and its significance as a part of political theory.--J. A. B.

The author argues that only the Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy of act and potency can adequately account for the data of modern atomic physics.--J. A. B.

Solmsen presents an interesting discussion of Aristotle's physical theory. He considers each topic, such as genesis, time, the infinite, in terms of Aristotle's similarities and differences with Pre-Socratic and Platonic thought. His results are piece-meal because "Aristotle himself does not investigate each topic of his physical system with his mind focused on a final synthesis of all major conclusions."--J. A. B.

A very brief, uncritical and rather gossipy presentation of the views of Romero on the nature of philosophy, man, spirit and culture.--J. A. B.

An extraordinarily stimulating work, in which Prof. Conger presents his "hypothesis of epitomization." According to this theory the natural world is divided into three basic realms which are ordered in a number of complex ways. Logical and mathematical entities form realms also, and are epitomized by a "chronogeometric" realm which provides a relational system that constitutes the "milieu" of the natural world.--J. A. B.

This book contains ten excellent essays on symbolism, its nature and function in art, society, religion, science, and psychoanalysis. Six of the essays were originally in 1958 in a special issue of "Daedalus"; of the remainder there is a selection from Whitehead's Symbolism: Its Meaning and Effect, and three original contributions of value, of which Erich Kahler's essay on "The Nature of Symbolism" is outstanding.--J. A. B.

Five interesting essays on problems associated with "teaching values" in colleges, by educators in various fields. The discussions arise from an awareness of a crisis of values in our time, and are intended to formulate explicitly the responsibility of higher education in respect of this crisis. The question as to whether virtue should be taught is discussed and affirmatively answered; the remainder of the volume is concerned with presenting findings as to whether virtue can be taught, and if so, how (...) it can be taught. The genuinely Socratic question, i.e., what is virtue?, is perhaps understandably avoided, but its avoidance must render these other discussions highly tentative.--J. A. B. (shrink)

For Miss Sewell our apprehension of the world is basically through myth. Art, language, and even mathematics, rightly understood, are kinds of myth. This book centers upon those poets and biologists who share common goals by virtue of their use of the primary form of myth, i.e., "world-language." The major part of this book deals in these terms with such thinkers as Bacon, Linnaeus, and Rilke.--J. A. B.

An attempt to set forth a single principle, i.e., truth, as a standard of value in terms of which all problems may be dealt with. The book provides an excellent negative illustration of the value of a thorough grasp of traditional philosophy. --J. A. B.

The Past Masters Søren Kierkegaard : Samlede Vårker database is based on the third edition of Kierkegaard's complete works in Danish, and has been edited by Professor Alistair McKinnon of McGill University.

A comprehensive study of Plato's last and most difficult work. Professor Morrow's theme is that in the Laws Plato is applying his basic principles to the precise historical conditions of his time, out of consuming interest in the moral and political development of mankind. The concept of the "mixture" or "mean," as developed in the Politicus and Philebus, is treated as the key to the philosophical interpretation of the Laws, law itself being the "limit"; human nature, the natural environment, and (...) existing laws and customs, the "unlimited." Prof. Morrow places the weight of his interpretation on the latter, since a determination of the actual character of Greek institutions, as Plato knew, seems essential to a correct analysis of the "composite" institutions we find in the Laws.--. (shrink)

Following a distinction of the sciences into exact and inexact, based on the kinds of methods and reasoning processes involved in explanation and prediction, the authors briefly develop the peculiar method of the inexact branch, with special emphasis on the systematic use of experts in the formation of limited scientific generalizations, and on the use of simulated experiments.-- J. A. B.

A cutting-edge survey of contemporary thought at the intersection of science and Christianity. Provides a cutting-edge survey of the central ideas at play at the intersection of science and Christianity through 54 original articles by world-leading scholars and rising stars in the discipline Focuses on Christianity's interaction with Science to offer a fine-grained analysis of issues such as multiverse theories in cosmology, convergence in evolution, Intelligent Design, natural theology, human consciousness, artificial intelligence, free will, miracles, and the Trinity, amongst many (...) others Addresses major historical developments in the relationship between science and Christianity, including Christian patristics, the scientific revolution, the reception of Darwin, and twentieth century fundamentalism Divided into 9 Parts: Historical Episodes; Methodology; Natural Theology; Cosmology & Physics; Evolution; The Human Sciences; Christian Bioethics; Metaphysical Implications; The Mind; Theology; and Significant Figures of the 20th Century Includes diverse perspectives and broadens the conversation from the Anglocentric tradition. (shrink)

Aim: Patients with advanced cancer need information about end-of-life treatment options in order to make informed decisions. Clinicians vary in the frequency with which they initiate these discussions.Patients and methods: As part of a long-term longitudinal study, patients with an expected 2-year survival of less than 50% who had advanced gastrointestinal or lung cancer or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis were interviewed. Each patient’s medical record was reviewed at enrollment and at 3 months for evidence of the discussion of patient wishes concerning (...) ventilator support, artificial nutrition and hydration , resuscitation and hospice care. A Kaplan–Meier analysis was also performed and 2-year survival calculated.Results: 60 cancer and 32 ALS patients were enrolled. ALS patients were more likely than cancer patients to have evidence of discussion about their wishes for ventilator support , ANH , DNR and hospice care . At 6 months, 91% of ALS patients were alive compared with 62% of cancer patients; at 2 years, 63% of ALS patients were alive compared with 23% of cancer patients .Conclusions: Cancer patients were less likely than ALS patients to have had documented advanced care planning discussions despite worse survival. This may reflect perceptions that ALS has a more predictable course, that advanced cancer has a greater number of treatment options, or differing views about hope. Nevertheless, cancer patients may be less adequately prepared for end-of-life decision-making. (shrink)

Androgens (testosterone), acting via the androgen receptor (AR) a nuclear transcription factor, regulate male sexual development and body composition. In addition, AR expression plays an important role in the proliferation of human prostate cancer and confers a better prognosis in breast cancer. AR mRNA stability is central to the regulation of AR expression in prostate and breast cancer cells, and recent studies have demonstrated binding by members of the ELAV/Hu and poly(C) RNA‐binding protein families to a highly conserved UC‐rich element (...) in the 3′‐untranslated region of AR mRNA, with functional impact on AR protein expression. Remarkably, a CAG trinucleotide repeat in exon 1 of the AR, the length of which has been linked to prostate cancer survival, is also a target for multiple RNA‐binding proteins from a variety of human and murine tissues. In this review, we will detail the current knowledge of the mechanisms involved in regulating AR mRNA stability, the nature, potential role and structural biology of several novel AR mRNA–protein interactions, and the implications for novel therapeutics in human prostate cancer. BioEssays 26:672–682, 2004. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

The intellectual origins of molecular biology are usually traced back to the 1930s. By contrast, molecular biology acquired a social reality only around 1960. To understand how it came to designate a community of researchers and a professional identity, I examine the creation of the first institutes of molecular biology, which took place around 1960, in four European countries: Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Switzerland. This paper shows how the creation of these institutes was linked to the results of (...) post-war economic reconstruction. Then, it compares how the promoters of these different institutional projects delimited the goals of their discipline, reflected on its history, and suggested how research should be organised. I show how they carefully positioned their new discipline within the emerging national science policy discourse of the 1950s, and aligned it with the current vision of scientific modernity. In particular, I discuss how they articulated the meaning of molecular biology with respect to five common themes: the role of physics in the atomic age, the relations between fundamental research and medical applications, the 'Americanisation' of scientific research, the value of science in the reconstruction of national identities, and the drive towards interdisciplinary research. This paper thus demonstrates that beyond the local and national accounts there is a European history of molecular biology. (shrink)

[opening paragraph]: Our sense of free will depends upon a balance between reliability and flexibility in relation to cause-and-effect. Without the former, all outcomes would be arbitrary; without the latter, all outcomes would be predetermined. In neither case would there be any way of putting one's will into effect. So much is clear, yet establishing that precarious balance has proved so difficult that Kant himself declared ‘freedom of the will’ to be one of only three metaphysical problems which lie beyond (...) the powers of the human intellect . Western debate on this topic reflects a complex ethical and religious inheritance. Insights from Greek philosophy and Hebrew scripture were combined and filtered through Christian and Jewish traditions which developed in late antiquity and through the middle ages. These formed the context for the Enlightenment, whose dominant thinkers in turn provide the backdrop against which today's scholars act and react. (shrink)

The paper discusses regularisation of dualities. A given duality between (concrete) categories, e.g. a variety of algebras and a category of representation spaces, is lifted to a duality between the respective categories of semilattice representations in the category of algebras and the category of spaces. In particular, this gives duality for the regularisation of an irregular variety that has a duality. If the type of the variety includes constants, then the regularisation depends critically on the location or absence of constants (...) within the defining identities. The role of schizophrenic objects is discussed, and a number of applications are given. Among these applications are different forms of regularisation of Priestley, Stone and Pontryagin dualities. (shrink)