Compact quantum systems have underlying compact kinematical Lie algebras, in contrast to familiar noncompact quantum systems built on the Weyl-Heisenberg algebra. Pauli asked in the latter case: to what extent does knowledge of the probability distributions in coordinate and momentum space determine the state vector? The analogous question for compact quantum systems is raised, and some preliminary results are obtained.

Although political theory was pronounced dead only a few short years ago, this collection of articles shows that much life is left in contemporary political theory. Based on a symposium concerning human rights held at the Sixth World Congress of the International Political Science Association held at Geneva in 1964, the collection includes papers by Macpherson, Polin, Chapman, Cranston, Raphael, Mayo, Schneider, and Fawcett. Macpherson and Polin set the context by exploring the concept of rights in Hobbes and Locke. (...) While the other papers have an eye on traditional discussions, they are also concerned with exploring what "rights" does and can mean in the contemporary world. The international gathering of authors brings together diverse points of view on the common problem of human rights.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Everywhere the 1990s have been characterized by an odd mixture of ideological triumphalism-Fukuyama's "end of history" being only the crassest example-and of ideological uncertainty-can there be, should there be, a "third way"? For all its pretensions to universality, the "New World Order" has never lost a fragility in appearance. Students of historiography can scarcely be surprised to learn that an uneasiness over the present and future has in turn frequently entailed uncertainty about the past and particularly about those parts of (...) the past which had seemed most able to give clear and significant "lessons."One evident example is the history of what in my Explaining Auschwitz and Hiroshima I called the "long" Second World War, that is, that crisis in confidence in the relationship between political and economic liberalism and the nation-state which, by the end of 1938, had left only Britain, France, the Low Countries, and Scandinavia as in any sense preserving those "liberal" freedoms which had spread across Europe since 1789. In this article, I briefly review the most recent difficulties World War II combatant societies have had in locating a usable past in the history of those times. However, my major focus is on the specific case of Italy, very much a border state in the Cold War system, and today the political home of an "Olive Tree" and a "Liberty Pole" whose historical antecedents and whose philosophical base for the future are less than limpid. 1990s Italian historians thus give very mixed messages about the Fascist past; these are the messages I describe and decode. (shrink)

It is difficult to see what is the purpose of this collection of articles. Numerous full-length works have appeared dealing with various aspects of Wittgenstein's philosophy as well as several anthologies of articles about Wittgenstein. While the articles here are of a high quality and were written especially for this volume, there seems to be no principle of unity or selection here. Winch's introduction stresses the unity of Wittgenstein's philosophy, but it is too brief to resolve the many questions which (...) have been raised about this unity. Schwayder's article dealing with Wittgenstein on mathematics presents a helpful overview of the central themes in Wittgenstein's reflections. One of the most interesting papers is Frank Cioffi's "Wittgenstein's Freud." There are also papers by Hide Ishiguro, Rush Rhees, John W. Cook, L. R. Reinhardt, and Anthony Manser.--R. J. B. (shrink)

A translation of the small volume originally published in 1939 based on De Vleeschauwer's classic La Déduction transcendentale dans l'œuvre de Kant, in which the author approaches the subject as "the historian of a great system and the biographer of a great mind." In addition to the detailed historical information, the study is valuable for exhibiting the philosophic perplexities involved in the construction of Kant's critical philosophy.--R. J. B.

Discussions of American philosophy have too frequently fallen into two extreme categories: slavish and plodding exposition; and supercilious and superficial criticism. But what the "classic" American philosophers need is sympathetic but judicious criticism. This book is a model of such criticism. Basically, it consists of two relatively independent monographs--one dealing with Peirce and one with James. Ayer makes no claims to produce a work of historical scholarship. And scholars will find much to quarrel with in this book. But their argument (...) will be with an intelligent and lucid critic. What is especially satisfying is the way in which Ayer discusses some of the more obscure aspects of these philosophers such as Peirce's categories and his theory of signs, and the way in which he attempts to make sense of some of their more controversial claims such as those of James in the Will to Believe. Ayer pulls no punches in pointing out what he takes to be mistaken and untenable; throughout there is a critical dialogue. One can disagree on numerous points of interpretation, but one can only admire the high level of critique. This is the sort of intelligent criticism that these two seminal thinkers deserve.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Madison's Notes of the Convention debates are the central document in this fine series covering the period from the Declaration of Rights of the Stamp Act Congress to the ratification of the Constitution. The editor's excellent introduction and notes sketch the background and influences on American Constitutionalism.--R. J. B.

It is sometimes shocking to realize that despite the flood of monographs and books on minor figures in American intellectual history, no full-length biographies have been published of such major American philosophers as Peirce, Royce and Dewey. Of the three, we perhaps know least about Royce. Yet Royce who was born in California when it was still a frontier and became the leading idealist philosopher in America provides a fascinating chapter in American intellectual life during the latter part of the (...) nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. These letters which cover the period from 1875 until 1916 not only help tell the story of Royce's life but also of what American intellectual life was like during this creative period. Unlike James and Peirce who used their letters to expound and develop their philosophic ideas and to criticize the views of others, we learn much less about Royce's philosophy from these letters. They do help to create a vivid portrait of his many faceted personality. Clendenning's introduction helps to present the essentials of Royce's life and thereby places these letters in their historical context.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany: Comparisons and Contrasts, Edited by R. Bessel, (Cambridge University Press, 1996) 242 pp. £35 cloth, £12.95 paper. The Sacralization of Politics in Fascist Italy. By E. Gentile (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1996). 208 pp. $49.95 cloth.

An extensive bibliography of existential literature published in English covering the fields of art, literature, philosophy, psychiatry, and theology.--R. J. B.

Growing out of a suggestion of Paul Weiss when he served as editor of the Review of Metaphysics, a series of interrogations have been conducted with seven prominent philosophers including Buber, Wild, Wahl, Blanshard, Weiss, Hartshorne and Tillich. Each interrogation has been supervised by a philosopher familiar with the work of the interrogated philosopher and queries submitted by a wide variety of philosophers are carefully organized. Because the questions are frequently pointed and well-formed, the result is lively and informative. Some (...) of the philosophers interrogated are especially adept at facing up to the queries while others seem content to reiterate original formulations of their positions. One feels that he is listening in on genuine philosophic conversations which should prove helpful for anyone who wants to understand and assess the philosophic contribution of the philosophers who are here so incisively questioned.—R. J. B. (shrink)

In the corpus of Marxist and Communist theory, there exists no complete analysis of what the future society will look like. Marx, himself, was skeptical about the possibility of providing such an analysis. Nevertheless, most Marxist theoreticians have alluded to this future society and have indicated some of its general characteristics. Analyzing the relevant writings of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, Bukharin and Stalin, the author attempts to present a description of the communist future society according to Communist doctrine. A brief (...) evaluation is given in the final chapter but it is too brief to be very helpful. This book fills an important gap in the study of Communist ideology.—R. J. B. (shrink)

Ten years ago Father Ong published a scholarly book, Ramus, Method, and the Decay of Dialogue which led him to raise fundamental questions about the history of the spoken word. Since that time, he has returned to this complex topic from a variety of perspectives, extending his vision over the entire development of Western Civilization. Now in this book he traces the development of the "shifting sensorium," from its oral-aural sources to the subtle take over of the visual world to (...) the new possibilities created by electronic communication. But throughout this history the "mystery" of the spoken word prevails. The spoken word is neither a sign nor a symbol, but a living presence which is at the very center of human life. The mystery of sound "is the most productive of understanding and unity, the most personally human, and in this sense closest to the divine." While Ong ranges over the entire history of man and culture, evoking and exhibiting his claims rather than arguing for them in detail, he opens up for us a fresh and exciting perspective for understanding a wide range of human phenomena.—R. J. B. (shrink)

The papers collected in this volume are the results of a conference held at the Center for Continuing Education of the University of Chicago. Recognizing the convergence of interests among philosophers concerned with philosophical psychology and philosophically oriented psychologists, a number of philosophers and psychologists were brought together at the conference. The idea was a good one, but like so many interdisciplinary conferences, the results are disappointing. There is a fine historical introduction by Mischel in which he sketches the various (...) ways in which philosophy and psychology have been interconnected. The general theme is that conceptual and empirical investigations have developed in response to each other. The introduction nicely sets the scene for the possibility of contemporary cooperation. In the main, however, each of the contributors presents his thoughts on what he takes to be the key issues, but rarely speaks directly to issues raised by the other contributors. Toulmin, Peters, and Melden collectively present and further develop themes that are being currently explored in the philosophy of mind. Arnold, Atkinson, Campbell, and Madison represent a variety of approaches from the perspective of psychology. Ironically, some of the psychologists display more understanding of phenomenological trends in recent psychology than of those manifest in recent analytic philosophy.--R. J. B. (shrink)

A comparison of the views of Peirce and Wittgenstein on logic and mathematics with special reference to negation, relations, and computation. No attempt is made to distinguish carefully the different stages in the development of either philosopher.--R J. B.

In this era of endless anthologies dedicated to the philosophy of science, Morgenbesser has missed a golden opportunity to put together a first rate collection. Gathered under one cover are sixteen of the best and most original philosophers of science treating a great variety of topics, yet the result is disappointing. For those who know something about the issues examined, there is little here that is new, and many of the views developed have been stated in greater detail and with (...) greater sophistication in other easily available places. For those ignorant of what is going on in the philosophy of science, they can sample something of the variety of issues discussed and positions taken, but they will probably be bewildered about the significance of the issues and how they interconnect. A few footnotes to contemporary discussions and a selected bibliography would have helped to make this a much more useful book. The papers are based on broadcasts for the Voice of America.—R. J. B. (shrink)

Published in a series, Views and Controversies about Classical Antiquity, this collection consists of fifteen articles or selections dealing with the recent controversy concerning the political doctrines of Plato. Most of the articles were published in direct response to Popper's controversial views expressed in The Open Society and Its Enemies. While some of the more interesting comments on Popper's views are included, a good bibliography and guide to the literature would have greatly increased the value of the book. By photographically (...) reproducing the original articles one might have hoped for an inexpensive edition; instead there is a confusing variety of types.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Using both published and unpublished material, Murphey, more systematically than any previous scholar, has attempted to lay bare the philosophic development of Peirce's thought. He divides Peirce's thought into four stages, arguing that each was inspired by a definite concept of an over-all architectonic. Since logic is the key to that achitectonic, Murphey tries to show how logical considerations lead to the evolution and modification of each stage. Murphey's patience with detail and careful elucidations help the reader gain a firmer (...) grasp of the complexities of Peirce, even where there may be disagreement about his interpretations. A substantial contribution to Peirce scholarship; but one wishes that Murphey might have grappled more with the philosophic cogency and implications of Peirce's challenging ideas. -R. J. B. (shrink)

A new selection from the Federalist Papers with a helpful introduction that explains the origins of these papers and their reception since their publication. Careful annotative and bibliographical indices offer excellent aids for an intelligent appreciation of these famous papers.--R. J. B.

Descartes plays a strange role in modern philosophy. Called the "father" of modern philosophy, he is more like a Freudian father where his "sons" feel the need to overthrow him. Perhaps no other philosopher has been "refuted" more than Descartes has. Indeed, a unifying characteristic of many diverse contemporary philosophic movements has been its anti-Cartesianism. But as so often happens in the history of philosophy, we are coming to realize that Descartes himself was not a "Cartesian." This study which is (...) designed "to help the undergraduate and graduate students in understanding Descartes' philosophy" is organized around the central philosophic issues raised in the Meditations. It is not a historical or a philosophic reconstruction of Descartes. Nor is Kenny concerned to give a last ditch defense of Descartes. Kenny takes Descartes seriously, defending him against false objections and criticizing Descartes where Kenny thinks he has gone astray. In the course of his analysis, Kenny exhibits his knowledge of Descartes' corpus and the growing literature in Anglo-Saxon philosophy dealing with Descartes. At times, Kenny doesn't do full justice to some of the objections and interpretations of Descartes. And one wishes that his own interpretations were developed in greater detail. But Kenny certainly succeeds in making Descartes "come alive" and showing us how he still is relevant for contemporary philosophic inquiry.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Throughout his life, Dewey emphasized the importance of developmental categories. The question naturally arises, what were Dewey's philosophic beginnings? Traditionally, this has been answered by saying that Dewey started as a Hegelian. But the truth is that Dewey did not start his philosophic career as a Hegelian. This fine edition of Dewey's earliest papers and his book on Leibniz provides the reader with an excellent opportunity to study Dewey's first attempts in philosophy. We find Dewey beginning his philosophic career with (...) discussions of materialism, Spinoza, Kant, and Leibniz. We see Dewey's early interest in education, the social sciences, and especially the "new psychology." There are reflections on religion and ethics, and the concern to make philosophy relevant to the practical affairs of men. Indeed one can see here the origins of many of Dewey's later leading ideas such as the importance of the category of the organic for philosophic analysis. Although this is Volume I in the projected first phase of the collected works of Dewey, it is actually the second volume to appear in the series. The same high level of textual analysis is employed here. There is a clear statement of the textual principles used, a helpful introduction to these papers by Lewis E. Hahn, an illuminating note on the texts by Jo Ann Boydston which helps provide the setting for each paper, and the full critical apparatus demanded by textual criticism. This is clearly a definitive critical text. All scholars and students of American philosophy must be grateful for the high standards already achieved by "Dewey Project" of Southern Illinois University.--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)

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)

This guide is intended to be a comprehensive survey of Dewey's work. It consists of ten essays by Dewey scholars surveying an area of Dewey's work. Each essay is followed by a checklist of articles and books. The topics include divisions such as Dewey's Psychology, Philosophy and Philosophic Method, Logic and Theory of Knowledge, Ethics, etc. Contributors include Schneider, Hahn, Kennedy, Rucker, Leys, among others. Despite the enormous amount of work that must have gone into producing this volume, its value (...) is questionable. One reason for this is that Dewey's thought does not lend itself into such convenient divisions--it is difficult to think of a standard "topic" that isn't intertwined with some other. The novice may be bewildered by the rapid surveys and checklists. And scholars of Dewey and American philosophy may detect other groupings which they consider more illuminating. Although one can appreciate the desire not to reproduce the type of bibliography prepared by M. H. Thomas, a complete annotated bibliography would have been a much more helpful guide than the present one. Nevertheless the present guide does help the novice and the scholar to see important connections among the more than thousand items that make up the Dewey corpus.--R. J. B. (shrink)

The topic for this volume is a "natural" for the Minnesota Studies. Some of the most important issues concerning both the philosophy and history of science have been in the foreground of discussion for the past few years. Feigl's introductory paper "Beyond Peaceful Coexistence" sets the stage for a confrontation that never quite takes place here. Ernan McMullin's "The History and Philosophy of Science: A Taxonomy" is valuable in helping to sort out the issues by clarifying different types and uses (...) of the history and philosophy of science. Arnold Thackray raises a number of interesting meta-questions concerning the historiographic assumptions that have characterized recent history of science. There are several papers concerned with the issues of hermeticism [[sic]] that have been raised by F. A. Yates' work and a reassessment of philosophical and historical issues raised by the development of relativistic electrodynamics. Altogether this is a fine collection, even though so many different issues are explored that there is little sense of clear focus.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Thomas, who started working on Dewey bibliography in 1926, has completely revised his 1939 edition. Many features, including a list of writings on Dewey which contains unpublished dissertations and masters' theses, reviews of Dewey's works, and translations, help to make this a definitive bibliography. Considering the chaotic state of Dewey's writings, Thomas is to be congratulated for his extreme care, and the publisher is to be thanked for this fine edition.--R. J. B.

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)

Considering the renewed interest in Marx and Marxism, this book is especially timely. For Marxism as an appealing political outlook frequently seems most alive for those countries that have suffered the effects of colonization. And for western Marxists, the crucial test of their views is to be found in their attitudes toward colonialism and neocolonialism. But paradoxically, in the search for a viable view of "underdeveloped" countries, most professed Marxists have built upon the teachings of Lenin rather Marx. Avineri has (...) compiled an excellent collection of Marx's writings on the non-European world, most of them written in English by Marx himself. Writings on China, India, Mexico, the Middle East, and North Africa are included. There is an excellent introduction outlining the problems that non-European societies posed for Marx's own studies of western history. One sees how unsentimental Marx really was and how consistent he was with his own deepest insights about the need for the full development of capitalism before a true socialism could be achieved. Just as the focus on the early writings of Marx has helped to correct the view of Marx inherited from "orthodox" communism, so this compilation of writings helps to place Marx's investigations of western nineteenth-century capitalism in proper perspective. Avineri, who is now one of the finest commentators on Marx, has again helped to save Marx from both his detractors and disciples.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Has anything of value been contributed to aesthetic issues from a Marxist point of view? I suspect that most intelligent people asked this question might be inclined to answer no. If they hesitated, it might be because of some dim awareness that there has been a great deal of concern about aesthetic issues by European intellectuals influenced by Marxism. But this present bibliography which is limited to books and articles in English shows how extensive and diverse the literature has been. (...) Many items are included here which are not primarily concerned with aesthetic issues, but which are nevertheless relevant. And there are many items which are not Marxist in orientation but bear on Marxism. The annotations are helpful and the bibliography will be a great aid to anyone interested in exploring this dimension of Marxism. It is unfortunate that the bibliography is limited to work written or translated into English, for many of the best works have not been translated. However, the compiler promises a supplemental volume dealing with foreign material.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Seventy six papers collected together to honor Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the philosopher-statesman of India. The selection of papers reflects Radhakrishnan's life long task of encouraging a genuine encounter between the thought of the east and the west.—R. J. B.

"Hermeneutics" is a term that is slowly gaining familiarity in Anglo-Saxon countries. As is so frequently the case with movements in Continental philosophy, it has been the theologians who have first displayed a serious interest in hermeneutics. Both insofar as this study has far reaching ramifications for all disciplines concerned with the nature and art of interpretation, it is relevant to the concerns of the philosopher and the literary critic. Basically, Palmer's aim is to answer the question, "what is hermeneutics?" (...) and to present the reader with the origin and diversity of approaches in recent times. He does this admirably and the book will be helpful to anyone who wants to know what hermeneutics is all about. The book also includes a bibliography of many of the most important contributions relating to the study of hermeneutics. Palmer's own enthusiasm for the field is apparent. When he concludes with thirty theses on interpretation, it begins to look as if hermeneutics is so all-inclusive that it is difficult to see what differentiates it from other approaches to the nature of interpretation.--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)

For those who have been impressed or perplexed by the phenomenon of Marcuse, this collection of essays helps us to understand and reconstruct his own intellectual development. Most of the essays were written in the years from 1934 to 1938 when Marcuse had emigrated to the United States, and they were originally published in German in the Zeitschrift fur Sozialforschung. The influence of Hegel and Marx are strong, and the revulsion with the betrayal of German existentialism is evident. The essay (...) "Philosophy and Critical Theory," helps to clarify the type of theoretical activity which Marcuse thinks of himself as practicing. "The Concept of Essence" is perhaps the clearest statement one will find in Marcuse of what he means by "essence" and how it is supposed to serve as a standard for negations. In "On Hedonism," we discover what Marcuse means by happiness and its relevance for critical theory. These early essays are much more philosophical than Marcuse's later writings and do lay bare both the strengths and weaknesses of his critical theory. An unpublished essay "Aggressiveness in Advanced Industrial Society" is included as well as Marcuse's review of Norman O. Brown's Love's Body. The forward presents Marcuse view of these essays from a contemporary perspective.--R. J. B. (shrink)

It is an interesting fact of our time that some of the best studies of communism and Marxism have been written by Catholic scholars. This book, based on a series of television programs in St. Louis aims at presenting an historical and theoretical understanding of the emergence of Marxism and the development of Communism. Written for the intelligent lay reader as an introduction to a complex subject, the treatment is lucid and balanced.—R. J. B.

This is an intelligently designed collection of essays dealing with a variety of key issues that are in the foreground of reflection on the social and behavioral sciences. The format followed is an ideal one: a key paper, a comment by a critic, and a reply. Thus, for example, Charles Taylor explains and defends teleological explanation of behavior and engages in an exchange with Robert Borger; and Noam Chomsky reviews the problems of explanation in linguistics and is challenged by Max (...) Black. The quality of this volume is quite high and the contributors are leaders in their fields of inquiry. Not only are there explorations by philosophers but also by practicing behavioral scientists. This is therefore an excellent way of gaining an overview of some of the key issues concerning explanation in the behavioral sciences. But the volume is disappointing in breaking new ground. Many of the points and counterpoints made here can be found in other places, and frequently they are explored in greater detail in other places. The collection also reflects an Anglo-Saxon bias for there is little attempt to include any confrontations with the continental concern with the nature of explanation in the social sciences. A detailed bibliography might have helped to direct the reader to further discussion of the issues involved. But despite these limitations, this is an impressive series of confrontations.--R. J. B. (shrink)

This collection of articles on Kierkegaard is designed to help make the secondary literature on Kierkegaard more available to graduate and undergraduate students. The book is divided into three parts: "The Philosophical Context"; "Reason and Faith"; and "The Ethico-Religious." The articles are a good sampling ranging from Louis Mackey's brilliant exposition of the philosophic context of Kierkegaard's thought to Brand Blanshard's graceful criticism. This anthology would have been much more helpful if it contained an index, an annotated bibliography, and an (...) introduction to orient the reader.--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.

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)

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)

In the past few years there has been an attempt to publish a variety of Wittgenstein's unpublished notes, scraps, and clippings. While the publication of his early Notebooks was an important contribution for understanding Wittgenstein's Tractarian period, the value of some of the other material published is dubious. The Zettel consists of a collection of fragments that Wittgenstein himself put in a box-file. Many of the clippings are taken from other manuscripts and most of these are taken from typescripts dictated (...) from 1945-1948. The present collection lacks the sustained power of either the Tractatus or the Philosophical Investigations. There is little here that appears to be strikingly new, although some points discussed in the Philosophical Investigations are explored in novel ways. The procedure of printing the German text with facing English translation is followed here. And the translation shows the same high standards evidenced in the other translations of Wittgenstein by Miss Anscombe.--R. J. B. (shrink)

This essay is a vigorous and carefully argued defense of Direct Realism which holds that "the immediate object of awareness is never anything but a physical existent which exists independently of the awareness of it." Drawing on both historical and contemporary positions, the book is filled with lucid expositions and tough-minded arguments. Armstrong concludes that we have immediate, although not incorrigible, knowledge of physical objects. --R. J. B.

The editorial board of the co-operative Research on Dewey Publications Project at Southern Illinois University should be cheered for this magnificent edition of Dewey's Psychology. Anyone who has attempted to do serious scholarly work on Dewey knows the present chaos existing among his published works. We have needed a careful edition of Dewey's collected works. But the project at Southern Illinois is attempting to do much more—to provide definitive critical editions of Dewey's works. Without being pedantic, the editorial board has (...) made an intelligent use of the best modern scholarly techniques. The result is an invaluable edition of the Psychology for the scholar, and a very readable text for the curious. It is now possible to locate at a glance the various works that Dewey cites in his study, and to discover the ways in which Dewey altered his text in the course of its twenty-six printings. As for the Psychology itself—Dewey's first book—one is struck again by its oldness and newness. It is at once bound by the tradition of psychology textbooks of the time and breaks out of these bounds with fresh ideas that were destined to form the basis for Dewey's mature philosophic outlook. The care, intelligence, and taste used in designing this definitive edition ought to serve as a model for modern editions of philosophical texts.—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.

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.

The literal translation of the title of this book would have been Positivist Philosophy. This accurately describes what the book is about. The present title seems to be a gimmick to catch the potential reader's eye. For there is virtually nothing about the alienation of reason here nor is this a serious history of positivist thought. The book is written in a popular essay style designed "to present a well-known phenomenon in such a way that the reader may not only (...) be informed about it objectively, but also brought closer to understanding its function in our culture." Unfortunately this latter aspect is never fully developed and explored. Instead, we have a rather straightforward but good survey of positivism focussing on the chief motifs of this movement from Hume to Logical Empiricism. The criticisms sketched are far milder than those developed by many Western analytic philosophers. It is disappointing that this rather routine work was selected for publication when there are a number of other exciting and important works of Kolakowski that might have been translated.--R. J. B. (shrink)