Emphasizing Hume's claim of a gulf between the rational bases of religion and its empirical, historical origins, the Introduction holds that the History marks the beginning of the philosophy of religion. --J. E. B.

An introductory study of some basic problems in political theory, including discussions of the state, sovereignty, liberty, nationalism, political parties, and democracy. The writing is clear and non-technical. The most interesting sections are those dealing with democracy, in which special attention is given to the historical roots of that concept.--J. E. B.

Articles by Castelli, Dempf, de Corte, del Noce, Garin, Gigon, Gouhier, Guéroult, Husserl, Lombardi, Valori, and Wagner on a variety of topics pertinent to the philosophy of history, such as myth and history, legitimacy of the philosophy of history, and historic intention. Of special interest is a commentary and French translation by M. Valori of two unpublished manuscripts of Husserl. In these manuscripts one can see how Husserl views the place of phenomenological study in the history of philosophy since Descartes.--J. (...) E. B. (shrink)

In this paper we show how the dynamics of the Schrödinger, Pauli and Dirac particles can be described in a hierarchy of Clifford algebras, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}${\mathcal{C}}_{1,3}, {\mathcal{C}}_{3,0}$\end{document}, and \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}${\mathcal{C}}_{0,1}$\end{document}. Information normally carried by the wave function is encoded in elements of a minimal left ideal, so that all the physical information appears within the algebra itself. The state of the quantum process can be (...) completely characterised by algebraic invariants of the first and second kind. The latter enables us to show that the Bohm energy and momentum emerge from the energy-momentum tensor of standard quantum field theory. Our approach provides a new mathematical setting for quantum mechanics that enables us to obtain a complete relativistic version of the Bohm model for the Dirac particle, deriving expressions for the Bohm energy-momentum, the quantum potential and the relativistic time evolution of its spin for the first time. (shrink)

Purpose: Explore public attitudes towards the trade-offs between justice and medical outcome inherent in organ allocation decisions.Background: The US Task Force on Organ Transplantation recommended that considerations of justice, autonomy and medical outcome be part of all organ allocation decisions. Justice in this context may be modeled as a function of three types of need, related to age, clinical urgency, and quality of life.Methods: A web-based survey was conducted in which respondents were asked to choose between two hypothetical patients who (...) differed in clinical urgency , age, pretransplant and post-transplant quality of life, and life expectancy.Results: A pool of 1600 people were notified via email about the survey; 623 responded. Respondents preferred giving organs to younger people up to an age difference of <15.4 years and more clinically urgent people up to a difference in urgency of <2.54 months . Priority varied with the quality of life of the worst-off patient and the relative status of the patients. If both had worse than average quality of life, respondents preferred the better-off patient. When both had better than average quality of life, they preferred the worse-off patient. In analysis according to age versus clinical urgency, the older the patient, the more urgency needed to receive priority. In quality of life versus clinical urgency, the better the control’s quality of life, the more urgency the competing patient required. The worse the patient’s post-transplant outcome, the more urgency needed to receive priority.Conclusions: It appears that clinical urgency is only one of many factors influencing attitudes about allocation decisions and that respondents may invoke different principles of fairness depending the relative clinical status of patients. (shrink)

In this paper, we re-examine a series of gedanken welcher Weg (WW) experiments introduced by Scully, Englert and Walther that contain the essential ideas underlying the quantum eraser. For this purpose we use the Bohm model which gives a sharp picture of the behaviour of the atoms involved in these experiments. This model supports the thesis that interference disappears in such WW experiments, even though the centre of mass wave function remains coherent throughout the experiment. It also shows exactly what (...) it means to say ‘that the interference can be restored by manipulating the WW detectors long after the atoms have passed’. It does not support Wheeler’s notion that ‘the past is undefined and undefinable without the observation (in the present)’. (shrink)

A paperback reprint of Berkeley's classic work published first in 1710.--J. E. B.

This translation of Botero's sixteenth century work, supposedly an attack on Machiavelli, is based on the Italian edition of 1948. The work is written as 'advice to the Prince' and covers a variety of subjects from the construction of fortresses to the morality of the ruler. The principal theme is the necessity for the restoration of morality to politics. Because of the importance of the Counter-reformation in Botero's time, special attention is also given to the role of the church and (...) religion in the securing of an ideal state.--J. E. B. (shrink)

A poorly written book which is anti-Catholic, antitrinitarian, pro-American and pro-democracy.--J. E. B.

An English translation of an historically oriented inquiry into Epicurean thought concerning religion. The theme of ataraxia and its consistency with a belief in the existence of the gods is developed in relation to Epicurus' thought concerning friendship, religion, and the Stoic doctrine which grew out of Plato's Timaeus.--J. E. B.

A collection of essays by Oakeshott, Weldon, Macdonald, Rees, Quinton, Mayo, Bambrough, Gaillie, Williams and Laslett. The preface describes this work as representative of the effort to recover the area of politics and society for philosophy. With the exception of essays by Oakeshott, Gaillie and Laslett, the writings are fairly routine applications of the analytic philosophical position to questions related to politics; these applications might just as easily have been made by anyone familiar with the literature of analytic philosophy. Gaillie, (...) in the most stimulating piece of the group, attempts to show that contemporary society is possessed of a double moral personality in which eighteenth century liberalism and modern socialism are found coexistent in the same individual.--J. E. B. (shrink)

A monograph written as a result of research and study in Japan during the summer of 1956. Concerned primarily with contemporary developments, it includes special emphases upon Shintoism, Buddhism and Christianity. Perhaps the most interesting part is the section termed "The New Religions." If the author is correct, these new religions are marked by an essentially practical and simple, nonformal faith; their primary concern is said to be direct profit from faith, "rewards of health and success."--J. E. B.

An edition based upon the Elwes translation, consisting of selections from Parts III, IV, and V of the original. The text has been prepared in such a way that the mathematical method of Spinoza has been obscured by a more literary arrangement.--J. E. B.

A paperback reprint. The introduction is excellent. --J. E. B.

This work is primarily a study of law as a sociological factor, culminating at the level of internationalism. It is most valuable as a study of the historical and societal factors involved in legal behavior. The necessity for the exercise of responsible freedom on the part of every person, group, and state in order to achieve this goal is stressed throughout.--J. E. B.

Although this work is specifically addressed to the question of international economic integration of the non-Soviet world, it is actually a study of internationalism in general. The problem is approached through a comprehensive analysis of the factors, including values, which constitute the presuppositions and problems of current internationalism. The author is especially sensitive to the economic, political, and moral dilemmas facing the United States as the world's leading creditor nation.--J. E. B.

A paperback reprint of the English translation, first published in 1904, of a classical attempt to guide the perplexed out of the maze of conflict between Old Testament religion and Aristotelian philosophy. --J. E. B.