Stem cell science is advancing at an unprecedented rate, with thousands of research papers being published every year and many clinical trials for a wide range of conditions underway as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. This rapidly expanding and alluring field has brought with it ever more complex and multifaceted ethical issues, many of which require new guidelines, consent protocols and even change in legislation, since they do not fit comfortably in the existing bioethical regulations and protocols. Keeping up with the ethical (...) implications of stem cell research is daunting to the expert and non-expert. We review the various types of stem cells and then focus on multipotent and pluripotent cell types, since it is these cell types that bring with them the greatest research and therapeutic potential, while concurrently delivering novel ethical conundrums. Certain key considerations are currently lacking and what is needed is how to obtain permission from individuals who donate their biological material for both scientific inquiry and eventually, for their potential therapeutic utility. (shrink)

A provocative collection of technical and popular essays dealing with a variety of scientific and political topics which Popper has treated in his major works. For the most part Popper develops, sharpens, and extends to new areas, themes which he has already explored. The major theme running through the essays is that knowledge grows by unjustified and unjustifiable anticipations, guesses and conjectures. These are controlled by criticisms and refutations. Theories can never be positively justified; they can only prove to be (...) resistant to rational criticism. The boldness of Popper's conjectures demands attempted refutations on the part of the reader.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Despite the enormous and growing interest in Marx and the availability of Marx's writing in paperback, it is scandalous how little care has been taken in producing careful texts and English translations of Marx's work. O'Malley's edition is an outstanding exception. It is carefully and intelligently edited. The result makes available an extremely interesting text of Marx. A number of scholars have already argued that in this early critique, one can discover some of the earliest formulations of distinctive Marxian themes. (...) Now the reader can judge for himself, for this is the first full English translation of Marx's Critique. But this Critique is not only extremely important for understanding Marx's intellectual development, it also helps to make Hegel's Philosophy of Right come alive. Marx's fundamental ambivalence toward Hegel is evidenced here. It is clear that Marx is still very much under Hegel's influence and we can see how deeply Hegel is shaping Marx's thought, but there is also a toughness and incisiveness in Marx's criticism of Hegel. O'Malley has provided a very extensive introduction which not only provides the necessary background for understanding this text but also explores the role of this work in the totality of Marx's development. Altogether this edition shows a care and judiciousness which is exceptional. It eminently serves the purpose of making an important text accessible.--R. J. B. (shrink)

The Republic is here treated as an introduction to philosophy. The authors systematically summarize and criticize the various topics and arguments Plato used. No line-by-line scholarly commentary is attempted; rather the emphasis is on the philosophical importance and truth of Plato's arguments. Unfortunately the result of this approach is that the Republic becomes an introduction to the British brand of philosophical analysis, rather than to Plato's philosophy. Literary form and dramatic situation are virtually ignored, and with them Plato's conception of (...) philosophy as shared inquiry. The most sympathetic chapter is the one in which analysis is subordinated to scholarship.—R. J. W. (shrink)

The key word in the title of this book is "essay," for Strawson has not written an introduction to Kant, nor a commentary on the Critique. It would be closer to truth to say that Strawson has attempted to extract and to translate into a contemporary idiom what he takes to be philosophically important in the Critique. Kant's major positive achievement, according to Strawson, is the partial carrying out of a certain program, viz., "that of determining the fundamental general structure (...) of any conception of experience such as we can make intelligible to ourselves." But this program can be dissociated from the Kantian motif that the structure of experience is "imposed by our capacities." Thus Strawson speaks of the "doctrinal fantasies of transcendental idealism." Given Strawson's concern with what he takes to be Kant's positive achievement, he doesn't hesitate to expose the weakness of some of Kant's arguments, to restate many of them in a more convincing way, or even to supply new arguments. But Strawson also exhibits a remarkable sensitivity to many recondite aspects of the Critique, e.g., the role of "pure intuition" in Kant's theory of geometry, and the status of "self-consciousness." The result of Strawson's essay is a philosophically exciting encounter where one can learn as much about Kant as he can about Strawson's own central concerns, and indeed about some of the most central issues of philosophy, both past and present.—R. J. B. (shrink)

A collection of essays by a group of international scholars from Israel, England, the United States, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, and Argentina testify to the humane influence of Baumgardt. There is little that unites the subject matter of these essays and only one deals explicitly with the thought of Baumgardt. A bibliography of Baumgardt's writings is included.—R. J. B.

The precise relationships between ideology and cultural policies is a topic of interest to any philosopher concerned with culture. In this fascinating study, the author explores the background of Nazi ideology and policies concerning architecture. Lane persuasively shows how Nazi policies were influenced and inherited from the ideological disputes that surrounded "modern" tendencies in architecture during the Weimar period, especially those disputes concerning the Bauhaus. She also traces the devious paths whereby the social significance of architecture became an issue of (...) national concern in Germany. In the course of the analysis, we not only have a detailed study of architecture and ideology during this crucial period in German history, but a paradigm for intellectual history at its best.--R. J. B. (shrink)

There are many signs of a renewed and increasing interest in Hegel. And gradually this is spreading to philosophy students, both graduate and undergraduate. In part, this has been stimulated by the affinity students feel with some of the intellectual orientations that have emerged from, or in reaction to, Hegelianism. In part, it represents a search for a richer intellectual base from which one can explore the pressing issues of our time. Considering the foreignness of the Hegelian idiom from Anglo-Saxon (...) traditions, the problem remains of how to "get into" Hegel. This brief book is intended to serve as an introduction for the uninitiated and it may well serve to whet a student's appetite to study Hegel's own texts. Despite the claim to be an introduction to Hegel's Metaphysics, it is really an introduction to some central themes in Hegel. While its brevity is in some ways an advantage, I am dubious if a student will be able to get very much of a "concrete" idea of what Hegel is "up to." Considering Soll's purpose, he gives too much attention here to commenting on other interpreters of Hegel. For the novice, this will be confusing, and for the serious scholar of Hegel, Soll's almost exclusive concern with English language commentators will seem excessively provincial.--R. J. B. (shrink)

By restricting the subject matter of this anthology to creativity, the editor has succeeded in assembling a good and useful book. Essays by philosophers are combined with some by artists. The result is a fairly clear statement of the issues, and of a number of differing, though related, solutions.--R. J. W.

The excitement generated among philosophers by Chomsky's work arises not only from his contributions to the study of language but also from the ramifications of his work for general issues of epistemology and the philosophy of science. Chomsky has been attacking cherished dogmas of empiricism and its ally, behaviorism. He has suggested that Descartes—the favorite whipping boy of contemporary philosophers—and his theory of innate ideas provide a fruitful starting point for understanding and appreciating recent work in transformational linguistics. In this (...) brief historical essay, he sets forth what he takes to be the chief doctrines of Cartesian linguistics and traces their development through the nineteenth century. The essay is self-consciously written from a contemporary perspective and the topics selected for discussion are those which anticipate and are related to contemporary empirical linguistics. The importance of the creative aspect of language use, the distinction between deep and surface structure in language, the belief in a universal grammar are the key themes of this stimulating study in the history of ideas.—R. J. B. (shrink)

This seventh John Dewey Lecture brings together the existentialist concern for "the meaning of life" with the analytical interest in precision in linguistic meanings. The treatment is provocative, though schematic. A brief analysis of "the meaning of life" is given, and then applied to education with considerable insight.—R. J. W.

Those who find Buber's mature works, especially I and Thou, difficult will benefit from this early book. In it one can see Buber struggling with the same problems in a way which focuses them more clearly than in later works, even if the solution is less satisfactory. The translation is lucid, and the introduction is a substantial essay which provides an excellent entrée to Buber's thought, as well as to this book.—R. J. W.

The author traces the development of the concept of an empirical scientific theory from pre-critical thought through Aristotle. Parmenides is credited with recognizing the distinction between abstract concepts and the empirical world. Zeno's paradoxes and the skepticism of the sophists are seen not only as the two major obstacles to any empirical theory but also as containing implicitly the criteria of a theory, i.e., that it must not lead to paradoxes, and that it be objectively true. Plato, in his Sophist, (...) proves that an empirical theory is possible by resolving the paradoxes and by refuting the sophists' claim that false belief is impossible. The second part of Plato's Parmenides is seen as an attempt to present and evaluate alternative "structures of the world". Finally, the author discusses Aristotle's Physics as a thoroughly worked out theory. The author's frequent use of the technical terminology of contemporary philosophy of science helps him to bring these ancient works up to date, but also yields interpretations which are anachronistic. The book is original and often insightful.—R. J. K. (shrink)

The author of Plato's Use of Fallacy has provided a felicitous new translation of the Euthydemus. Notes are supplied to explain arguments which depend on peculiarities of Greek. The introduction points out, but deliberately avoids settling, questions raised by the dialogue, allowing Plato to speak for himself.—R. J. W.

Considering the vast amount that has been written about "explanation" and "human action," one wonders what remains to be said. But this book is distinguished by the radicalness of the author's point of view. An alternative title might have been, Is Social Science Based On a Mistake? The answer here is an insistent yes. Surveying the social sciences, including psychology, sociology, political science, economics, etc., Louch argues that these disciplines are involved in radical conceptual confusions. The chief difficulty stems from (...) the misguided attempt to impose a univocal theory of generalized explanation on human action. Adapting techniques of Ryle, Austin, and Wittgenstein, Louch argues that "explanation" is a family of cases where there are many types of irreducibly different puzzles and paradigms. Furthermore, in his polemical dismissal of the social sciences, Louch argues that the view of human nature that they foster has pernicious social and moral consequences. The primary reason why human action eludes the distortions of social scientists is because description and explanation of action is possible only by means of moral categories. The concept of human action is itself a moral category where "assessment" terms are essential for its description. While the book is rich in suggestions, too often polemic obscures the need for careful statement and analysis.—-R. J. B. (shrink)

Recently there has been a growing interest in German philosophy, but most of this interest has focused on Kant and his successors. With the exception of Leibniz, most Anglo-Saxon philosophers are ignorant of what happened in German thought before Kant. Beck has written a model history of German philosophy from Albertus Magnus to Kant. He brings enormous erudition and good judgment to the task. He clarifies for us historical relations and continuities without succumbing to the temptation of writing short atomistic (...) capsule descriptions or the story of a single Volkgeist. In the chapters on Leibniz and Kant he succeeds both in helping us to see their historical role and the systematic integrity of their thought. Some may feel that the ambitiousness of this history requires slighting some important figures and currents in German philosophy. But no matter how briefly Beck discusses a thinker or a movement, he is always illuminating. There is a helpful informal bibliography. Beck's work is superb, and we might have expected that one of our more distinguished university presses would have exercised the same care in publishing this book that Beck has taken in writing it. Unfortunately the print is extremely difficult to read and this is aggravated by the inferior quality of the paper. Costs of printing books are rising all the time, but it is sad when university presses do not hold to the highest standards, especially when publishing such an important book as this one.--R. J. B. (shrink)

This book is a collection of essays, and is an exercise in literary criticism. Most of the entries couple a philosopher with a literary artist, and the majority of these have an emphasis on the philosophical partner which one frequently fails to find in this sort of study. While few of the critics are capable of sustaining their subtle distinctions, a task properly required of a philosopher, it is nonetheless true that few philosophers can likewise do this. The ability to (...) systematically sustain these distinctions is what characterizes those first-order thinkers whom the body of philosophers and critics alike study. Granting this, the fact still remains that first-rate criticism is vastly more palatable intellectual fodder than is less than first-rate philosophizing. Studies such as the current one bring philosophy back into reality; the relation of a philosopher’s thought to his period, in all of the latter’s diversity, gives to that thought a realistic character that more transparently informs the creations of the fine arts than it does the original products of thought. And if thought is to avoid the sterility which so antagonized both a Sterne and a Hegel, and to become genuinely meaningful, this larger context will be forever indispensable.—R. J. G. (shrink)

By studying church-school lesson materials of four Protestant denominations, the author explores the relationship between religious faith and prejudice. The book is divided into a summary and interpretation of the study and a more technical discussion of the methods of the study. One interesting result of the study is a qualification and partial denial of the thesis of the authors of The Authoritarian Personality, that religious faith and ethnic and religious bigotry are interrelated.--R. J. W.

Papers by Hempel, Sellars, Caspari, Grünbaum and Feyerabend are included in this new series of lectures in the philosophy of science given at the University of Pittsburgh. Hempel defends his theory of historical explanation against recent critics; Sellars' exciting paper is the best introduction to the philosophic viewpoint that he has developed during the past fifteen years; Grünbaum argues that the problem of the nature of time belongs to physics; and Feyerabend surveys the present state of philosophic problems of quantum (...) physics. All the lectures are excellent, though little new ground is broken. Carefully edited and well designed.--R. J B. (shrink)

Whatever one thinks of Heidegger's philosophy, he is one of the most incisive philosophic commentators of our time. He is frequently at his best and is most lucid in his close examinations of other philosophers. The introduction to Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit has been overshadowed by the much more famous preface. In his paragraph-by-paragraph analysis, Heidegger reveals how much we learn from this introduction about Hegel's conception of knowledge, philosophy, and experience. At the same time that Heidegger illuminates Hegel's text, (...) he also reveals the direction of his own thought. The translation of Heidegger's essay is published together with Kenley Dove's felicitous new translation of Hegel's "Introduction."--R. J. B. (shrink)

Gram has organized his excellent selections, around three main issues concerning Kant's Kritik: the status of the Transcendental Deduction, Kant's critique of traditional ontology, and the problems concerning synthetic a priori judgments. Selections and translations are included from the "older" generation of Kant scholars who have shaped our contemporary understanding of Kant. These include selections from Vaihinger, Paton, Lovejoy, Cassirer, Heimsoeth, and Beck. Gram's introductions to the three parts help to focus on the key problems that have been raised by (...) Kant scholars. The result is a provocative introduction to the interpretation of Kant's philosophy, especially the problems emerging from the Transcendental Analytic. A welcome addition to the growing literature in English on Kant.—R. J. B. (shrink)

Although there has been a renaissance of interest in Kant among Anglo-Saxon philosophers, it is mainly the Kant of the first Critique that has interested philosophers. There has been little serious discussion of Kant's political philosophy. This book brings together Kant's political writings and enables the reader to see clearly that Kant's political philosophy is not just an application of his moral philosophy. Reading these writings together shows how much the issues that concerned Kant are still with us today. Hopefully (...) the publication of this volume will be an incentive not only for developing a fuller and more robust interpretation of Kant but also a better understanding of the tradition of political philosophy.--R. J. B. (shrink)

This book consists of five essays written at three different times, 1946, 1955, and 1964. Aron characterizes these essays as "a dialogue between existentialists and the Marxists as interpreted by a third speaker, namely the author of the book." Aron is primarily concerned with the existentialism of Sartre and Merleau-Ponty, especially their attempts to reconcile existentialism and Marxism. While Aron tries to present a fair statement of their philosophic positions and Marxism, he is deeply skeptical of a successful synthesis of (...) existentialism and Marxism. He is also critical of the French intellectuals' flirtation with communism as it is practiced in the Soviet Union. Aron writes as a friendly critic, for he has been shaped by the same intellectual trends that shaped Sartre and Merleau-Ponty. For those unacquainted with the debates about the nature and status of Marxism by French intellectuals, these essays will be helpful in setting the scene. One wishes, however, that Aron might have explored key tensions with greater depth and rigor.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Includes the best and most complete English translation of Marx's controversial Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 by T. B. Bottomore. Fromm in his introductory essay argues that Marx's philosophy of man is to be found in these manuscripts; it is a "spiritual existentialism in secular language." Fromm skirts some difficult problems of Marxist interpretation, and the concept of man that is attributed to Marx resembles the sentimental socialism which Marx so bitterly attacked.--R. J. B.

An examination of secular attempts—literary, psychiatric, and philosophical—to come to terms with death. The author assumes that for most moderns, apparently including himself, religious solutions are not viable alternatives. His knowledge of Western literature on the subject is vast, and he provides extensive bibliography and notes. Critical analysis is often schematic, however. There is also an inclination to substitute psychoanalysis of an author for argument against his theories. Ironically, the primary impressions left by this book are, first, the inadequacy of (...) most secular views, and second, the proximity of the author's conclusion to that of many theologians, a relationship of which he seems unaware.—R. J. W. (shrink)

A new and extremely readable translation of one of Kant's early works that helps to correct the austere picture of Kant which emerges from a concern only with his critical philosophy. Kant's observations on the differences between the sexes, and his classification of national characteristics are especially delightful. The entire work shows Kant in a more empirical mood than is to be found in the Critiques. The translator's introduction is helpful for understanding Kant's personality and early work, though the brief (...) remarks about the critical philosophy are rather superficial.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Beginning with a brief study of the Polish philosophy which flourished after the First World War, the scene is set for following the conflicts between philosophy and ideology. At first the spokesmen for ideology--supported by the State--vehemently attacked the claims of philosophy. But gradually, after the passing of the Stalinist era, the ideologists changed their initial position, reducing their claims. They had discovered the value of objectivity, logical consistency and free inquiry which had been characteristic of the Polish philosophic tradition. (...) The careful attention given to a wide variety of thinkers and the extensive bibliography help to make this an invaluable study for anyone interested in contemporary intellectual life in Poland.--R. J. B. (shrink)

This book well deserves the 1965 Century Psychology Series Award. The author displays a remarkable grasp of the history of philosophy, contemporary philosophy of science, probability theory, and behavioral psychology. The first part consists of a review of the empiricist tradition including informative and judicious accounts of rationalists, empiricists, Kant, logical atomism, positivism, and recent trends in logical empiricism. The second part deals directly with psychology and the philosophy of science. It culminates in a detailed and sophisticated discussion of the (...) problems concerning reductionism. The third part treats recent contributions to probability theory and induction. Although Turner covers a great deal of material, he does so with skill and imagination. One will find here one of the best philosophic defenses available of the viability of behaviorism in psychology which directly meets many of the challenges recently raised by skeptical philosophers.—R. J. B. (shrink)

Chisholm's lucid and subtle introduction enables one to understand a wide diversity of selections as well as the import of contemporary realism. Several selections from Brentano, Meinong and Husserl are translated for the first time. The bibliography is the best and most complete we have in English.--R. J. B.

A clear, well-written, but overly rapid introduction to Kroner's philosophical system. There is a brief biography and a good bibliography. The exposition proper is done in only eighty-eight pages, and in spite of good organization and careful writing gives a skeletal structure without sufficient flesh. Read along with one or more of Kroner's works, this book would help one to see how particular ideas fit into the larger system.--R. J. W.

A good translation of, and selection from, the writings of Sextus. The editor has provided a helpful and entertaining "polemical introduction," in which he argues that Sextus belongs in the tradition which includes Hume and Wittgenstein. Extensive notes further relate the ideas in the text to those of other philosophers.—R. J. W.

The primary purpose of this study "is to make clear that America does have a philosophy of its own." This is interpreted as meaning that each of the sages contributed to a single, consistent, developing philosophy. Van Wesep is more successful explaining the views of these sages in "untechnical" language than in establishing and justifying his general thesis.--R. J. B.

Pragmatism is interpreted broadly to permit selections from Emerson, James, Peirce, Holmes, Dewey, Mead, Bridgman, Lewis, Kallen, and Hook. A short introduction and bibliography is supplied for each author.--R. J. B.

The central issue that concerns Taylor is the opposition between the claims of mechanistic and teleological explanation of human behavior. This presupposes that we are clear about what is at issue here. The first part of this book is dedicated to a conceptual untangling of the skein of issues involved. Taylor then turns to a careful examination of the mechanistic type of explanation characteristic of behavioristically oriented psychologies. He argues that these fail to account adequately for distinctively human behavior. But (...) this does not decide the issue in favor of teleological explanation. Deciding between these two modes of explanation is an empirical matter, and the evidence is now insufficient for a definite answer. Though the conclusion is modest, the insight and subtlety displayed in Taylor's analysis make this an extremely important book for anyone who wants to get to the heart of the issue of a distinctive mode of explanation for human behavior.—R. J. B. (shrink)

All too rarely an anthology is put together that reflects imagination, command, and comprehensiveness. Rorty's collection is just such a book. Although primarily concerned with the metaphilosophical issues of precisely what is new and distinctive about the linguistic turn, excellent selections are included from a great variety of orientations. Both the more formalistic approaches of Carnap and Bergmann as well as the more informal perspectives of Ryle, Hampshire, and Austin are well represented. The whole is constructed so that the reader (...) participates in a continuous dialectic of positions bringing us right up to recent discussions of transformational linguistics. There is a masterful introduction which takes a comprehensive look at the entire range of positions, revealing basic similarities and differences as well as locating the chief unresolved problems. A comprehensive bibliography enables the reader to locate almost any important discussion of the issues explored. This book is an ideal supplement for any course dealing with the varieties of analytic and linguistic philosophy. Unfortunately there is no index.—R. J. B. (shrink)

This book consists of the papers by Northrop Frye, Stuart Hampshire, and Conor Cruise O'Brien read at the inauguration of the Society for the Humanities. The topic was eminently suitable for the inauguration because it provided the occasion for three respected humanistic scholars to reflect on the fragile status of scholarship in our troubled times. While each defends the virtues of objectivity and detachment in scholarship, each is aware how easily these virtues can and do degenerate into vices. Frye sketches (...) the balance that must exist between the scholarly virtue of detachment and the moral virtue of concern. The latter includes the sense of importance of preserving the integrity of the total human community. While Hampshire basically accepts the tension that Frye delineates, he explores in greater depth the ways in which committed scholarship in the humanities is an imaginative working out of personal problems felt to be urgent. Lest his colleagues commit the sin of smugness, O'Brien's more astringent paper focuses on the subtle, pervasive pressures of modern politics that perniciously distort scholarship. The papers, together with Black's urbane introduction, are gentle but elegant reminders of the ideals of humanistic scholarship and the ways in which they are threatened in the contemporary marketplace.—R. J. B. (shrink)

A reprint of this important classic which still reads with freshness and relevance to contemporary ethical discussion.--R. J. B.

Since the time of Hume and Maine de Biran there have been two dominant views concerning our experience or perception of causality: Humians maintain that there is no direct experience of a causal link between successive events, while followers of Maine de Biran have argued that there is an internal experience of causality. By devising a series of ingenious experiments, Michotte attempts to show that both traditions are mistaken, and that there are causal impressions in the realm of external experience. (...) Whether or not one agrees with Michotte's conclusions, this study does effectively show the relevance of experimental data to an understanding of the perception of causality. There is a forward by R. C. Oldfield, several appendices bringing the research up to date, and a helpful commentary by T. R. Miles.—R. J. B. (shrink)

Reform of the federal income tax system has become a perennial item on the domestic policy agenda of the United States, although there is considerable uncertainty over specifics. Indeed the recent report of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform recommended not one but two divergent policy directions. In Fundamental Tax Reform, top experts in tax policy discuss a wide range of issues raised by the prospect of significant tax reform, identifying the most critical questions and considering whether the (...) answers are known, unknown--or unknowable. The debates over tax reform usually concern the advantages and disadvantages of income-based taxation as opposed to any of the several alternative forms of consumption-based taxation. The book opens with chapters that discuss the strengths, weaknesses, and political feasibility of these options. Other chapters consider the effect of tax reform on businesses, especially their investment behavior, and include a discussion of possible problems in any transition to a consumption-based tax; international taxation issues arising in an era of globalization; and individual behavioral response to tax reform, including a view of the topic from the perspective of the relatively new field of behavioral economics. ContributorsRosanne Altshuler, Alan J. Auerbach, John W. Diamond, Harry Grubert, Arnold C. Harberger, Kevin A. Hassett, Thomas J. Kniesner, Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Edward J. McCaffery, Kathryn Newmark, David Rapson, Daniel Shaviro, Joel Slemrod, James P. Ziliak, George R. ZodrowDiscussants James Alm, Henry J. Aaron, Charles L. Ballard, Leonard E. Burman, Robert S. Chirinko, Robert D. Dietz, Malcolm Gillis, Roger H. Gordon, Jane G. Gravelle, Timothy S. Gunning, James M. Poterba, Thomas S. Neubig, Alan Viard, George Yin John W. Diamond is Edward and Hermena Kelly Fellow in Tax Policy and Adjunct Professor of Economics at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University. George R. Zodrow is Professor of Economics and Rice Scholar at the Baker Institute and International Research Fellow at the Centre for Business Taxation, Oxford University. (shrink)