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 outlines and compares the ethics of the six orthodox systems, Buddhism, Jainism and the Cärväka System as well as the ethical teaching of the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bahagavadgïtä. The concluding four chapters deal with the ethics of Tagore, Radhakrishnan, Gandhi and Nehru. Dr. Sharma is particularly concerned with showing that the ethics of these schools have more in common than is ordinarily supposed, that ethics must be grounded in metaphysics and that the ethical theories of the East (...) are "superior" to those of the West. The highly polemical nature of this book, as well as the author's reliance on secondary sources detracts from its purported usefulness to the scholar and student.—R. J. K. (shrink)

This volume contains thirty essays written in honor of Charles Hartshorne. The papers are divided into four sections: The Current Status of Metaphysics, Studies in Whiteheadian Philosophy, Studies in Metaphysics and Logic, and Studies in the Philosophy of Religion. Although many of the essays do not focus directly on Hartshorne's thought, two of the most interesting do center on his theological concerns. They are Shubert Ogden's "Bultmann's Demythologizing and Hartshorne's Dipolar Theism" and J. N. Findlay's "Reflections on Necessary Existence. Included (...) in the book are two bibliographies, one noting the published works of Hartshorne and the other listing writings by and about Whitehead published in languages other than English.—J. K. R. (shrink)