On July 3, 1996, in Jones v. United States), the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held that plaintiffs in a wrongful birth action cannot recover costs or damages associated with the birth and upbringing of their daughter absent evidence of causation and proof to satisfy liability requirements. Plaintiffs scientific evidence regarding the alleged interaction between antibiotics and oral contraceptives did not satisfy the Daubertstandard, cert. denied,116 S. Ct. 189 )) for admissibility developed by the Supreme (...) Court. In addition, the plaintiffs failed to meet their burden of persuasion on duty of care and causation.On January 16, 1992, Karyn Jones went to a U.S. Army gynecologist, Dr. James Murphy, to obtain a prescription for birth control pills. (shrink)

A history of the development and significance of the Copernican hypothesis, starting from the fundamental problems of astronomy in ancient thought. The author discusses the involvements of philosophy and religion with this development. -- C. L.

This book forms part of a larger argument begun by Kenny in his The Aristotelian Ethics, and its importance can only be properly appreciated in the light of the view developed there of the relationship of the various Aristotelian ethical treatises. In the earlier book Kenny argues, contrary to the present consensus of scholarly opinion, that the Eudemian Ethics has at least as good a claim as the Nicomachean Ethics to being considered the canonical ethical work of Aristotle. He attempts (...) to show that the so-called common books of the two treatises belong with the EE rather than the NE, that the EE is fully as sophisticated philosophically as the NE and in some respects more so, that there are no external reasons for dating the EE prior to Aristotle’s Lyceum period or indeed to the NE itself, and that the EE and not the NE was regarded as the Aristotelian ethical treatise until as late as the second century A.D. These are far-reaching claims, but Kenny makes a strong case for them—particularly the attribution of the common books to the EE, which amounts nearly to a demonstration. The least one can say is that the extent of Kenny’s success at rehabilitating the EE exposes the fragility of many of the regnant assumptions of contemporary Aristotelian scholarship. (shrink)

Most of the twenty-nine essays in this volume have, in whole or in part, appeared elsewhere, either in journals and books or as addresses. They represent with reasonable adequacy the kind of philosophical interests pursued in this country and indicate that the interests are as diverse and varied as those that can be found anywhere else in the world today. Speculative as well as analytic philosophy is represented. This is not, in general, an 'I believe' anthology. Many of the essays (...) are philosophically substantial, although a few are mere summaries of views that the authors have presented in detail elsewhere. Because the volume's only source of unity is the nationality of the authors, it is to be recommended neither as a textbook nor as something to be digested in toto, but for those who can afford it, as a good browser. --C. L. (shrink)

Though sketchy and anecdotal, this biography sustains interest because of the wit and uniqueness of its subject. The chapters on Russell's philosophy are keyed to an elementary level.--C. L.

The principal contemporary moral views are treated under three headings: 1) Intuitionism, represented by G. E. Moore, H. A. Prichard, and W. D. Ross; 2) Emotivism, as expounded by C. L. Stevenson; and 3) Prescriptivism, R. M. Hare's view. Warnock carefully distinguishes the questions these views were designed to answer from the questions which he feels they do in fact answer. Warnock emphasizes throughout the problem of the relation between moral discourse and conduct, as well as the question of the (...) possibility of moral "argument" in the sense of giving "reasons" for a moral viewpoint. In the latter half of the volume Warnock sketches what he takes to be some of the necessary requirements for a more adequate moral theory. He discusses "Naturalism" and rejects the blanket term as misleading unless the precise view one labels "naturalistic" is spelled out. Warnock distinguishes two "anti-naturalist" views: 1) that description and evaluation are different, i.e., that evaluation is not "reducible" to description and 2) that they are logically independent. He considers 1) a platitude. He accepts 2), but rejects what might be considered a further implication of this view—that absolutely anything might be regarded as a criterion of evaluation. In conclusion Warnock suggests that it might be profitable to look for the distinctive features of moral discourse in the content rather than the form. A good introduction to critical thinking, Warnock's account raises more questions than it answers.—C. L. H. (shrink)

A collection of fourteen essays, three of them previously unpublished, which manages to be both indispensable and unsatisfying. Wellek surveys methods of criticism in Europe and America, then outlines the conceptual ideals that ought to be followed. Wellek's belief in literature as a structure of norms, as imaginative writing concerned with values, will be familiar from his earlier Theory of Literature. Theoretically speaking, literary study has been muddled; the hope for it lies in applying period concepts, by approaching literature as (...) a structure of norms, and by following the guidelines set down by the New Critics. But the polemics go side by side with the erudition, in such a way that one finds judgment without argument. Contains a bibliography of Wellek's writings.—C. L. B. (shrink)

A survey of the various meanings assumed by the concept of force in physics and philosophy from ancient times to the present. Seldom rising above the level of description to the level of historical understanding, it is informative rather than illuminating and, though scholarly, unimaginatively written. -- C. L.

An exposition of the philosophy of the Indian teacher, Dattatreya. The author writes as a student and a disciple.--C. L.

A vigorous, critical examination of Descartes' conception of knowledge and method contained in the early unfinished Regulae. Bold, brief, and accurate, Joachim's lectures are model for the analytical explication of philosophical texts. Joachim ends by constructing a theory of concrete unities as a more satisfactory basis of explanation than the Cartesian method of reduction of complexes to simples.--C. L.

Mrs. Warnock opens her discussion with a warning against the attempt to define existentialism, or to treat it as a single, unified position. With this warning in mind, she then proceeds to trace some of the general features of existentialist "ethics" through the philosophies of Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Sartre. Mrs. Warnock sees the common aim of these thinkers as the attempt to "free people from illusion." She particularly stresses 1) the breakdown of the distinction between thinking and feeling, and the (...) resultant blurring of the line between an ethics and the rest of each thinker's philosophy; and 2) the breakdown of the distinction between feeling and acting—in Sartre's words "we try to change the world." Throughout the volume the import of the role of freedom, choice, and anguish are emphasized.—C. L. H. (shrink)

This translation of Thomas' paraphrase and analysis of Aristotle's philosophy of science is, unfortunately, mimeographed and bound in a paper cover. It lacks the introductory material which is needed to orient the reader philosophically and to specify the issues at stake; it also lacks notes giving the meanings of technical terms and comparing the exposition to Aristotle's own text. There is, however, a rather extensive index. The publication of this volume intensifies the historical problem whether commentaries such as this accurately (...) represent medieval conceptions of science. Recent volumes, such as A. C. Crombie's on Grosseteste, indicate that some thinkers at least were arriving at a mathematical conception of physical reality, which could not have been derived from exclusive attention to the Aristotelian corpus.--C. L. (shrink)

A collection of previously published articles by one of the leading translators and interpreters of Hegel's philosophy. Most of the studies about Hegel concern the Phenomenology, although one goes back to his early writings to find the roots of some later doctrines. The other studies are about the philosophical presuppositions of Marxism and their relation to their idealistic sources.--C. L.

A systematic survey of the topics of moral science in the tradition of the "Aristotle via Aquinas" school. It is written in the form of a textbook with review questions, discussion topics, and suggested readings following each chapter. Little notice is taken of the standard criticisms of Aristotle and no attempt is made at originality in presentation.--C. L.

An epistemological discussion of the cognitive claims of religious, especially Christian, faith. Assuming that God exists, how can He be known? Faith is an act of interpreting the world, having much in common with sensory and moral interpretation. The assertions it gives rise to are meaningful, even within an empiricist criterion. God reveals himself only indirectly in order to preserve man's freedom and responsibility.--C. L.

An account of the transition in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries from the image of the world as a finite, hierarchically ordered whole to the image of it as an infinite homogenous system. The author's method is simply to display the ideas of the leading thinkers of this period, culminating in the dispute between Leibniz and the Newtonians. The fact that this volume is an expanded version of a lecture suggests the reason why at least one half of it consists (...) of direct quotations. It is more of an anthology, arranged by a perceptive guide, than a work of history.--C. L. (shrink)

This brief volume is the first in a series of monographs designed to introduce the main types of ethical theory from ancient Greece to the present. The series provides an historical purview for the beginner, brief but accurate, interspersed with critical evaluation from a modern analytic point of view. Huby's volume on Greek Ethics is more expository than evaluative in nature, with most attention directed toward Plato and Aristotle. Some of the virtues of the volume, in spite of the lack (...) of critical comment, are: 1) The attempt to show the historical continuity of problems. ; 2) A careful treatment of Greek terms, notably physis, nomos, arete, dikaios, sophrosyne, philia, eros, emphasizing multiple meanings and connotations and, where necessary, indicating any differences between Greek and present day usage which might tend to confuse the reader.—C. L. H. (shrink)

In his Lindley Lecture, Professor Chisholm argues that neither determinism, "hard or soft," nor indeterminism is compatible with the fact of human responsibility. He proposes a theory of agency similar to those advanced by C. A. Campbell and R. Taylor, and defends it as being more consistent with responsibility, and as being respectable in its own right.—L. C.

Twelve essays--two about and one by Bentley--on such varied topics as economics, politics, physics, law, and metaphysics. A bibliography of Bentley's writings is appended.--C. L.

A collection of eight essays, including five that have previously been published. The subjects discussed are logical truth, modal logic, conditionals and entailment.--C. L.

A biographical and psychological analysis of Nietzsche's thought, written from a religious point of view. The author concludes that Nietzsche's philosophy is a reflection of four dominant factors: his sickly condition, his sensuality, his pride, and his godlessness.--C. L.

A limited edition of Dewey's earliest book-length exposition of moral theory. It was first published in 1891 when Dewey was still under the influence of German Idealism. --C. L.

A collection of passages from Plato's dialogues which bear on Christian theology and morals, arranged and translated by the Archdeacon of Westminster. --C. L.

A collection of five articles together with reports of discussions. The presidential address of George P. Klubertanz, S. J. proposes that Thomistic ethics be elaborated with special stress upon its experiential contents.--C. L.

Taylor's lucid and provocative analyses of Plato's dialogues, which attempt to tell "just what Plato has to say about the problems of thought and life, and how he says it," reprinted in a soft-cover edition. The original was published in 1926.--C. L.

An historical and critical survey of the various theories of totemism. Lévi-Strauss believes almost every theory explaining the relation held to exist between man and certain natural objects can be demolished: there seems to be no general biological or cultural framework which can account for totemism as an isolated phenomenon. But if totemism is seen as a way of thinking metaphorically, of correlating opposites, or of associating by contrariety then it becomes an example of a mode of thinking common to (...) sophisticated as well as primitive peoples. Observations by Bergson and Rousseau, made outside the framework of modern anthropology, bear out Lévi-Strauss' thesis. A fascinating work, marred only by a rather stiff translation.—C. L. B. (shrink)

An examination of logical systems in which distinctions in tense are taken seriously. The problem of the formulation of a tense-logic not committed to determinism is discussed. There is appended an interesting study of the problem of tense in the history of logic, showing the decline of interest in tense distinctions in post-medieval thought. This is a provocative book about a much neglected subject.--C. L.

A paper-back reprint of a polemic written against those intellectuals who have allowed practical passions--nationalism, patriotism, militarism, etc.--to undermine the activity of the disinterested reason. Although written thirty years ago this volume seems especially pertinent today as a warning against the subversion of reason by political realism. --C. L.

The ideals of liberty, fraternity and equality of the French Revolution have become separated from one another as goals of political activity. The author attempts to demonstrate their essential interrelatedness and "thus to explain why the isolation of any one from the three-dimensional continuum of public life produces abstraction in theory and abominations in practice."--C. L.

Employing the premiss that "fundamental religious doctrines are arguable," the author considers the traditional arguments for the existence of God and gods, in addition to arguments for and against His existence from authority, particular experience, pragmatism, and the phenomenon of evil. His conclusion is that there exist no reasonable grounds for such belief, and that it doesn't matter much, in general, whether God exists or not, since God's proper function is as an ideal. The work provides an interesting and easy-to-read (...) introduction to the problem, and the chapters on the traditional arguments for God's existence are particularly stimulating.—L. C. (shrink)

Marxism-Leninism, thinks the author, is a "philosophical farrago," a collection of ideas, some false, some trivial, some confused and some inadequately defended. He presents a detailed exposition and criticism of the Marxist theory of knowledge, ontology, ethics, and doctrine of historical materialism. The expository sections are unusually clear and draw upon materials not easily available to English speaking readers. The criticisms are detailed, rigorous, and, even when not convincing, provocative. The chief merit of the book is that the author does (...) not view Marxism from an external set of assumptions as so many critics do, but proceeds in piecemeal fashion, considering each aspect of the theory on its own merits. However, he does not always differentiate between the scattered insights of Marx which can only be aided by analysis, criticism and qualification, and the later dogmatic renderings of these insights, some of which are unsalvageable.--C. L. (shrink)

A systematic treatise on sociology conceived as the study of institutions. Defined as special groups established with customs, laws, and material tools and organized around central aims and purposes, institutions are discussed from a genetic and analytic standpoint.--C. L.

Not since 1738 has there been a complete and compact English edition of this important debate over the implications of Newtonian physics. Clarke's own translation of Leibniz' papers has been retained. Besides writing an excellent introduction, the editor has wisely appended a number of relevant extracts from Newton's works. -- C. L.

After devoting a long section to a systematic exposition of Mann's philosophy, the author analyses, in chronological sequence, his main writings. Though a bit long-winded, the book does contain a good deal of insight into the content of Mann's work.--C. L.

The assumption underlying this collection of essays is that recent developments in philosophy and fiction have brought them closer than they have been. Novelists' insights into the ambiguity of experience, and, at the same time, philosophy's trend towards concreteness in such areas as phenomenology, point to areas of rapprochement. What the novel can do, philosophically speaking, is to formulate "the initial stages of... metaphysical thinking," and "carry out an imaginative or emotional exploration of a system of thought." In his introduction, (...) Cruickshank suggests that the French novel has developed along these lines, in the generation which begins with Bernanos and continues through Robbe-Grillet. Most of these essays explore philosophical ideas in the novels without showing how radical developments in technique actually affect them. Martin Esslin takes this further step where he notes that because of Queneau's belief in the meaninglessness of the world, the artist has creative freedom. Queneau's linguistic innovations derive in large part from this principle. Only Geoffrey Hartman, in his discussion of Blanchot, takes this vexed question of the relation between philosophy and literature down its labyrinthine paths to the point where one becomes legitimately the embodiment of the other. While many of these essays are conventional literary criticism, the best of them interpret the title in its boldest sense, and show how philosophical intent can alter the very fabric of the novel, while, alternatively, the novelist can offer genuine insight into philosophical issues.—C. L. B. (shrink)

A detailed scholarly history of natural science during the centuries when the modern scientific attitude was formed. The author is specially interested in contrasting Greek and medieval science with the modern. While stating some of the continuities between the old and the new conceptions of nature, he sees modern science as making a decisive break with the procedures and theories of the past. Its chief advances, among others, were the removal of magic and esoteric mystery from science, and its insistence (...) on rigorous standards of observing and experimenting. The detailed learning which this volume exemplifies makes it a valuable guide to the scientific literature of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.--C. L. (shrink)

Buckley sees the Victorians as obsessed by time, and though the obsession is certainly not unique to the nineteenth century, he attempts to delineate what is distinctively Victorian about it. The growing historical consciousness, the concern with material progress, the perspective afforded by archaeology, theories of cultural progress, decline, or cycles: all these helped form distinctive concepts of time. Buckley subtly traces the attitudes toward "the living present," ranging from an acceptance of the challenge offered by the present to seizing (...) the life of immediate sensation. But in the treatment of the epiphany as an escape from the pressures of time and the world of Mammon, there is very little that is new. Buckley's thesis is almost too ambitious for such a short book, and though the Victorians speak for themselves in many passages, Buckley could have spoken more for them.—C. L. B. (shrink)

An urbanely written dialogue which convincingly demonstrates the "compartmentalized" character of a number of modern cosmologies. The implications and inconsistencies of biological and physical views of nature, space and time take up the first part of the book; the second turns to an examination of a Steineresque mysticism, a puzzling emphasis since the objections raised to it in the text itself are never satisfactorily answered. Barfield's major polemic point, the need for more communication among intellectual disciplines as they examine their (...) basic assumptions, is presented with cogency and esprit.--C. L. B. (shrink)