Implant ethics is defined here as the study of ethical aspects of the lasting introduction of technological devices into the human body. Whereas technological implants relieve us of some of the ethical problems connected with transplantation, other difficulties arise that are in need of careful analysis. A systematic approach to implant ethics is proposed. The major specific problems are identified as those concerning end of life issues (turning off devices), enhancement of human capabilities beyond normal levels, mental changes and personal (...) identity, and cultural effects. (shrink)

The history of the Russian Old Believers who lived in Ukraine, as well as the question of the main methods and features of the power struggle with representatives of this peculiar ethno-confessional group and the ways of their adaptation to the conditions that existed in the Russian Empire in the middle of the XIX century remain a little researched topic. So, we can talk about the scientific relevance of a particular problem.

Extended antipaternalism means the use of antipaternalist arguments to defend activities that harm (consenting) others. As an example, a smoker’s right to smoke is often invoked in defence of the activities of tobacco companies. It can, however, be shown that antipaternalism in the proper sense does not imply such extended antipaternalism. We may therefore approve of Mill’s antipaternalist principle (namely, that the only reason to interfere with someone’s behaviour is to protect others from harm) without accepting activities that harm (consenting) (...) others. This has immediate consequences for the ethics of public health. An antipaternalist need not refrain from interfering with activities such as the marketing of tobacco or heroin, boxing promotion, driving with unbelted passengers, or buying sex from “voluntary” prostitutes. (shrink)

The Difference between Belief and Knowledge. The assumption that knowledge can be defined in terms of belief is considered to be mistaken. Since Gettier problems are shown to be misconstrued, the question cannot arise whether his conditions for knowledge are sufficient for claiming ``knowledge is justified true belief''. Ayers' conditions for knowledge in addition with a specific stipulation proof to be instructive for elaborating the differences between knowledge and belief.

Tout s’est passé très vite, prenant l’Église au dépourvu. Le mouvement pour la reconnaissance des mariages et des unions civiles entre personnes du même sexe a connu un succès extraordinaire. La hiérarchie de l’Église catholique oppose une fin de non-recevoir à toute reconnaissance positive des couples homosexuels, en invoquant une morale sexuelle qu’on dit ancienne et invariable,..

This book explains the notational system NUSAP (Numeral, Unit, Spread, Assessment, Pedigree) and applies it to several examples from the environmental sciences.

Where is the old Marcuse? Is he too tired to be explicit, to reason, to give a rationale for what he is contending? Why has he written this?--this which is just another protest lost in the shouting and the printing scattered all over stop signs, subway walls, placards, newspapers, magazines, and in books. Perhaps the importance of the book is its perseverance at a time when we are exhausted, worn out by protest's apparent sterility on the one hand and its (...) kiss-of-death fashionability on the other. Many places in this book are obscure because they are poorly written and poorly edited. Marcuse walks the line between being original enough to be provocative and irresponsible enough to be dismissed. The book is a fascinating interplay between sense and nonsense, penetrating insight and polemical overstatement, between creative originality and banal sloganism, between brilliant interpretive social commentary and abject confusion. Marcuse does succeed in letting the reader know that there is something wrong with our society and that many of the values that we have taken for granted must be rethought, but this is not Marcuse at his best, and the net force of the book is to leave the reader bewildered with this, another indication that these are bewildering times.--S. O. H. (shrink)

This introduction to quantum mechanics requires little previous knowledge of physics. The book consists of three separate projects completed with varying degrees of success. The first chapters discuss classical physics with special attention to the concepts of matter and light. The middle chapters are devoted to quantum physics itself and how it developed from, and accounted for, problematic phenomena of earlier physics. Detailed, although not heavily mathematical, attention is given to the key experiments of quantum physics. These chapters go on (...) to discuss the so-called elementary particles, conservation laws, "strangeness," spin, various field theories, and other topics of current research. The final chapters are devoted to the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics. This section, focused mainly on causality and free will, is superficial and disappointing--of more interest to ethics and theology than to the philosophy of science. The philosophical remarks which were made parenthetically in the first two sections of the book were more provocative and might well have been expanded in this section. If this last section were eliminated, the first section abbreviated, and the book released in paperback, the book would be a better buy as informative introduction to quantum mechanics. There are many diagrams, tables, illustrations, and photographs, as well as a glossary of technical terms and a critical bibliography.--S. O. H. (shrink)

"What is most thought-provoking in our thought-provoking time is that we are still not thinking." Thus Heidegger sets the tone for these 1951 lectures indicating that he has in mind a special and lofty notion of thinking--a notion that can be understood only by following the master as he demonstrates how to think by showing what it is, after all, that calls for thinking. Heidegger sees thinking and Being as inextricably related, each the key to the other. Thinking is "relatedness (...) to Being." Furthermore, "only when man speaks does he think." Thus we must learn to listen, really listen, if we are to know what thinking is. Nietzsche looms as an important figure in this discussion, and the key to the understanding of Nietzsche, says Heidegger, is the concept of revenge. For Nietzsche, the bridge to the highest hope for man is his deliverance from revenge. Heidegger interprets this to mean that because revenge tries to affect the past and thus cannot understand time as a passing away, it is only through deliverance from revenge that man can be in proper orientation to time and thus to Being. The awkward translation of the title, Was Heisst Denken?, is justified by the text because Heidegger closely examines the German wording of the question--an examination which involves philosophical discussion of the notions of calling and naming. The latter sections of the book are an exhaustive--or should I say exhausting--exegesis of Parmenides' fragment 6: χρὴ τὸ λέγειν τε νοεῖν τ'ἒον ἔμμεναι. The translation starts out as the traditional "One should both say and think that Being is," and ends up through Heidegger's characteristic brand of creative etymology, as "useful is the letting-lie-before-us, so taking-to-heart, too: beings in being." That is, in order to think, we should allow things to be as they are, pay attention to what they are, and know that we are related to them.--S. O. H. (shrink)

This is an anthology and source book of ancient and modern, eastern and western, sophisticated and crackpot, pro and con writings on reincarnation. The selections are largely fragmentary with the editors' ample commentary offering some continuity. It is difficult to see how the coverage could be broader as it includes various myths of reincarnation, writings from scriptures and theological writings from the major world religions, a short section on reincarnation in Theosophy and Masonry, and anthropologists' reports on beliefs and traditions (...) concerning reincarnation throughout the world. More than half the volume is taken up with fragments from western thinkers from the Presocratics to twentieth century scientists. Not surprisingly, these fragments are more from literary figures than from philosophers, although few of the great philosophers seemed able to keep entirely silent on the subject. Many, if not most, of the selections are too fragmentary to be interesting and often show little more than that the thinker in question had once or twice toyed with the idea of reincarnation. But this is a necessary aspect of the book's imposing breadth and its value as a reference work.--S. O. H. (shrink)

Cobb's stated purpose in this book is to inquire into what is distinctive about Christianity and into its claim to finality. Hence half the book is taken up with the explication of other "structures of existence" which antedated or which have paralleled "Christian Existence." For Cobb, the term existence refers to how a subject relates itself to itself and what it is in and for itself. Cobb traces the move from the primitive self, which is not yet conscious of itself (...) as a self, across the threshold to "axial" man who breaks with the primitive mythic age by exhibiting a "seat of existence" or center of consciousness which involves a new role for rationality and which for the first time subordinates the unconscious to the conscious. The particular structures of axial existence which Cobb explores are Buddhist Existence, Homeric Existence, Socratic Existence, and Prophetic Existence. In contradistinction to these, Christian existence emerges as the crossing of a new threshold: it is spiritual existence expressing itself in love. Cobb's efforts to fulfill the second purpose of the book are half-hearted and unconvincing, a fact perhaps consistent with the book's objectivity: it is not Christian apologetics. Cobb's well known Whiteheadianism is only subtly and incidentally evident in this work, although occasionally it is used directly to expand and enrich certain explanations. The print in the book is annoyingly small.--S. O. H. (shrink)

Wicker's concern is to build a philosophical and justificational foundation for a "Christian radicalism" which can serve to synthesize the two modern secular themes of self-determination and communalism. He explores particular secular theories of perception, language, and society and rejects them as irrelevant to modern realities. He then constructs in their place three sacred theories, where "sacred" is to be understood not as a sheltered corner of our experience but rather as the basis of the more general intersubjectivity which defines (...) man-in-society. He draws on Merleau-Ponty for a theory of perception, Wittgenstein for a theory of language, and Marx for a theory of society. All three theories find man in a closer participating relation with his world environment than do their rejected alternatives. These three theories suggest three modes of being-in-the-world: the bodily, the linguistic, and the economic, all of which are expressive—the latter in the sense that it involves the transformation of environment into expressiveness. The conjunction of the three modes, then, defines our community life. Wicker uses George Eliot, Dickens, Orwell, and William Golding to show how various human attitudes toward environment are manifest in literature. These attitudes are classifiable into the secular—environment as passive context for human life—and the sacred—environment as fraught with primordial significance which man shares and of which he is part. Wicker further justifies his vision of Christianity with the aid of Levy-Bruhl, van der Leeuw, and Eliade whose studies in primitive religions fructify Wicker's notion of the sacred. The book ends with a theological formulation of its main themes involving new translations of old doctrines. The book is a brave effort to revitalize with secular insights a moribund Christianity and to point it to its own roots in the foundations of man.—S. O. H. (shrink)

This book is much in the tradition of Paul Goodman and Edgar Friedenberg in that it accepts their critique of what is wrong with American education. But then it goes on to share a utopian vision of how it could and should be--a vision featuring a Summerhill-like, multi-media, "total environment" approach where life from birth to death is dedicated to the joys of learning. Leonard is currently vice-president of Esalen Institute and a veteran magazine journalist on education. He has written (...) with considerable skill and passion a book that is as engrossing as a good novel. The book is intoxicating in its suggestion that perhaps there is some way to preserve and kindle the creative zest which all children are born with, without killing it as we do now by regimentation. Leonard not only spins out his own vision of the future, but does some first class reporting on current experiments which point the way to it and on current policies which block it. No educator, could fail to enjoy or benefit from this book.--S. O. H. (shrink)

This is primarily a sociological study of the impact on the viewer of television coverage of particular key events. Singled out especially are: MacArthur day in Chicago in 1951, the 1952 political conventions, and the Kennedy-Nixon debates of 1960. The impact of television on political opinion and the effect of nationally televised voting returns on late voters are also explored. Relying on the method of questionnaires and interviews with strategically placed eye-witnesses and television watchers, the Langs discovered: that there is (...) a difference between being there in person and "being there" via T.V., that the major networks differ, often markedly, with respect to the impression of the event conveyed, and that in spite of seeming to be a "see for yourself" news medium, T.V. can't help but introduce some "refraction," some inadvertent bias, into the actuality it conveys. Although there is occasional passing reference to McLuhan, there is little discussion of T.V. as medium. Rather, content, and content of news coverage specifically, is the primary focus. However, in the last chapter, and here and there throughout the book, there are more speculative reflections on what the authors have discovered. For example, they speculate on the way television coverage becomes an event in its own right and on the way television "manufactures" actuality, transforming the viewers' quest for truth into a quest for trust. The book is a helpful, feet-on-the-ground reference point for the exploration of the problems of media and messages.--S. O. H. (shrink)

A large and fully representative edition of Emerson's most important and most penetrating prose. "The American Scholar" and the "Divinity School Address" plus essays on History, Self-Reliance, Love, Heroism, Art, The Over-Soul, The Poet, Character, Manners, Nature, Politics to name only a few. Parts from "The Conduct of Life," and from English Traits. The longer essays on Domestic Life, Plato, Thoreau, and Lincoln. The fifty pages of excerpts from Emerson's Journals are one of the most interesting features of this edition. (...) There is none of Emerson's poetry except what he placed at the beginning of some of the essays. There is a concise, informative, biographical introduction by Mumford who paints an unhealthy and shy, "cold but fiery" Emerson who nonetheless, through his writings, was a giant on the forefront of the new thinking and changing attitudes of his time. There is no critical apparatus or bibliographical information, but with the introduction the book is an effective and ample reader.--S. O. E. (shrink)

The journal begins with random memories and reflections on Ionesco's childhood. These soon blend into adult reflections on dreams and other situations which make the reader wonder if the childhood was not a dream also. Ionesco's preoccupation with his dreams and his belief that they hold the key to ultimate truth is one of the organizing principles of the book. The main secondary theme is his preoccupation with death and with his goal: to learn how to die. Ionesco claims not (...) to take himself too seriously, but the tone of this journal is often one of grim earnestness. Granted, there are some lighter moments, but even these reveal a very deep self concern and more than a frivolous insight--"Is life worth dying for?" There are also the reductionisms of wishing, which only the journal style, with its exemption from the need for development, can produce. Basically what we have here is an anxious, neurotic, insightful man graciously sharing his anxieties, his neuroses, and his insights. The work is catalytic for philosophical reflection.--S. O. H. (shrink)

In 1963-1964 the Carnegie Corporation awarded Grinnell College a grant to support new interdisciplinary programs. One of these was the "Interdisciplinary Seminar on Order." Scholars came from all over the country to lead discussions and read papers on some aspect of order as it related to their field. Various philosophers, historians, political scientists, psychologists, and people in religion, philosophy, and literature all took part. Philosophers show up under several of the book's headings. Paul Weiss has a short paper on some (...) paradoxes relating to order. Feibleman speaks on disorder. Ernan McMullin kicks off the history of science section discussing cosmic order in Plato and Aristotle. Monroe Beardsley has a paper on order and disorder in art. Hartshorne discusses, among other things, the reality of chance in his essay on order and chaos in the section on Religion and Ethics. Voegelin and Toynbee are naturals in this volume. They comprise the whole section on history. Among the twenty-two other contributors are Talcott Parsons and J. M. Kitagawa on world religions. There is an enterprising introduction by Kuntz in which he brings an historical approach to the problem of order. Somehow, in the process, he manages to tie in most of the other papers.--S. O. H. (shrink)

The book begins with four case studies and works its way through various manifestations, descriptions, and explanations of those new cultural attitudes toward sex called the sexual revolution. Much of the emphasis is on co-marital sex because the author feels that this area has been largely ignored in the recent literature on the subject. The book is well written and adequately researched; its subject matter obviates any need for it to struggle for the reader's attention. The final chapters cover "The (...) Playboy Philosophy," a report by some British Friends entitled Towards a Quaker View of Sex, and ethical pragmatism. The author's conclusions grope toward a "morality beyond morality" and an ethical pluralism.--S. O. H. (shrink)

As a whole these essays take their cue from the later Wittgenstein in an effort to get beyond the verifiability/falsifiability cul-de-sac and to "get clear" on some religious concepts by exploring religious language at work. The opening two essays, by E. Heller and P. Holmer, are the only two that deal directly with Wittgenstein. Heller shows some interesting parallels between Wittgenstein and Nietzsche, but largely these essays are for introductory purposes. Although Wittgenstein's presence is felt in the remaining essays, his (...) name is seldom mentioned. Ian Ramsey has two contributions, one on paradox and one on religion and science. He is up to his usual method of making plausible suggestions by means of careful distinctions, always with a careful eye on the phenomenology of the religious universe of discourse. F. Ferré explores the notion of "models" as it works in science and sees how this concept can work in the examination of religious language. T. McPherson uses a distinction between literal, semiotic, and symbolic meaning to explore religious assertions and analogy. R. C. Coburn suggests that a neglected use of theological statements is to answer the limiting questions of religion in a manner that is logically complete. B. Mitchell talks about justifying religious belief in answer to MacIntyre's charge that such a project reveals a basic misunderstanding of religious discourse. There are two intriguing essays by Wm. Poteat, one of which draws an analogy between birth and suicide to build a doctrine of creation. C. B. Daly writes on metaphysics and the limits of language. Although there is same familiar wrangling over tired issues, the book does manage to collect some refreshing although not strikingly original essays.--S. O. H. (shrink)

As "dialogue" tends to suggest an implicit dispute between the parties involved, this book is mistitled. What we see here is the co-operation of the resources of psychology and theology in the common quest for a unified theory of man. However, although they are co-operative, the two fields do maintain their identity throughout the studies. Very often the attempt is made to find the differences and to show the relation between theological and psychological theories of man. As with the other (...) volumes of this series, all the contributors are associated with the Chicago Divinity School, either as alumni or as faculty. The entries cover such topics as sin, Freud and Tillich, various aspects of the dynamics of knowing and of faith, dream and myth, Jung, Pastoral counseling, group therapy.--S. O. H. (shrink)

This is an extremely simplified yet remarkably thorough introduction to how computers work. It is for the "computer widow" and the interested layman. I think it would well serve as a minimal grounding for the philosopher forced by his colleagues and others into discussions of artificial intelligence. The language is condescendingly simple with each new technical term introduced with appropriate fanfare and placed in italics. The exposition is accompanied by many diagrams and examples. The book covers the binary operation of (...) the computer and the role of symbols: how they are interpreted, how they get in to the computer, how they get out, how they are stored, and the logical categories by which they are processed. It discusses the control process by which the sequential order of computer operations is determined and the role of the programmer. The latter chapters of the book discuss a number of issues relating to the socio-economic implications of the widespread use of computers. Crowley takes great pains to point out the limitations of computers both with respect to current applicability and to future developments. He defends the computer as a potentially humanizing force in spite of its dehumanizing aspects. The book contains a short critical bibliography.--S. O. H. (shrink)

Reiser declares that what the modern world needs is a new system of thought, a new world-view that will integrate the "mystical participation of an earlier age" with the "hard core of scientific objectivity." And so he proceeds to build one, drawing on diverse attempts of East and West to decipher the mysteries of the universe. The result is a "Hindu-Pythagoras-Stoic-Bruno-Spinoza-Einstein world-view" that is intriguing if not entirely palatable. His treatments of such topics as space-time, field forces, the double-helix, relativity, (...) and the Heisenberg principle are clear but sketchy. In fact, many of his entries for discussion, although impeccably up-to-date and relevant, are too brief to give a strong account of themselves, even though they seem to serve adequately to support his over-all project of synthesizing modern scientific breakthroughs with ancient insights. Physics, chemistry, biology, music, cybernetics, mathematics, astrophysics, psychology, and history of religions all find themselves with interrelating contributions to make to Reiser's gestalt of Cosmic Humanism.—S. O. H. (shrink)