The essay "Augustine's View of Reality" was originally delivered by Dr. Bourke at St. Louis University as the 1963 Saint Augustine Lecture. To it, he has added here seventy-five pages of bilingual texts from Augustine, in which various metaphysical matters are treated, and four "appendices" in which Dr. Bourke carries out in greater detail the ideas advanced in his lecture. Dr. Bourke intends to explore the specifically metaphysical aspects of Augustine's writings, and in effect compares Augustine's Christian Platonism with Thomistic (...) metaphysics. He discusses Augustine's conception of the relation between being and essence, and his conception of the being of God. In the appendices, Dr. Bourke considers Augustine's approach to the subjects of Participation, Causality, Analogy, and the idipsum of God. While Dr. Bourke acknowledges from the start the extraction of a metaphysical system from the specifically theological writings of St. Augustine cannot do the entirety of those writings justice, it remains doubtful that this comparison of St. Augustine's thought with Thomism on the ground of the latter, is at all a fruitful way of understanding the real religious insights of the bishop of Hippo.—A. W. W. (shrink)

This translation of Heidegger's 1959 essay Gelassenheit is an appealing example of Heidegger's later thought. The introduction, though at points helpful, tends towards greater obscurity than Heidegger himself. Gelassenheit consists of a 1955 speech on the occasion of a gathering commemorating the German composer Conradin Kreutzer. In it, Heidegger discusses the difference between calculative thinking and meditative thinking, and advances a characterization of the latter as "releasement". Following the address, there is a prose-poetic dialogue between a teacher, scientist and scholar (...) which develops these ideas further and relates them to other themes in Heidegger's thought. The translators follow the "Robinson-Macquarrie" method, rendering each of Heidegger's important German terms by a single English word. Perhaps due to the fact that relatively few such terms are employed by Heidegger in Gelassenheit, this method here succeeds not only in presenting a terminologically clear translation, but also in capturing a certain amount of the extraordinary poetic appeal of the original.—A. W. W. (shrink)

In this volume, the author intends to "fill the gap" in scholarship on Francis Hutcheson, and to show the relevance of Hutcheson's theories to contemporary metaethical discussion. The book includes a short and appealing biographical study of Hutcheson, an outline and criticism of Hutcheson's theory of "moral sense" which had a profound effect on Hume, and an evaluation of Hutcheson's controversy with Richard Price and other rationalists of Hutcheson's time in light of contemporary discussions of ethical language. Finally, Mr. Blackstone (...) relates Hutcheson to such contemporary ethical theorists as Ayer and Stevenson, claiming that Hutcheson's "moral sense" theory, while an inadequate metaethic, nonetheless is the historical foundation for contemporary non-cognitive theories of ethical language. Mr. Blackstone undoubtedly makes his case for the historical importance of Hutchesons' theories, but their relevance to contemporary discussions is not so clearly demonstrated.—A. W. W. (shrink)

The volume consists of eleven of Löwith's essays on the philosophy of history, the history of philosophy, and the nature of the challenges faced by philosophy and the Christian faith in the twentieth century. Included are illuminating studies on Heidegger, Pascal and the early Marx. Appearing for the first time in translation are three noteworthy and challenging essays, "The Quest for the Meaning of History," "The Fate of Progress," and "Hegel and the Christian Religion." Löwith is concerned with the historical (...) origins of the intellectual problems facing modern man, but is critical of many modern attempts to view philosophy and faith from an exclusively historical perspective. Löwith's thinking is throughout stimulating and original.—A. W. W. (shrink)

The volume contains a variety of materials written by Marcel prior to World War I, along with a short address delivered in Frankfort in 1964 on the occasion of the presentation to Marcel of the "Peace Prize" of the Börsenverein des deutschen Buchhandels. The subject of the address is peace, and the role of the philosopher with respect to this and other social questions. The earlier writings show influences from post-Kantian idealism and most especially from Bradley. The most noteworthy selections (...) are those concerning the idea of absolute knowledge, the problem of immortality, and a "sketch" of a theory of "participation." At this time, Marcel had not yet become acquainted with the works of Kierkegaard, but his thought shows at times a shift away from idealism. Marcel's philosophical style is bound by traditional categories and doctrines, but shows tendencies towards the freer approach of his mature works.—A. W. W. (shrink)

This lengthy and fascinating anthology surveys Russian philosophy from the middle of the Eighteenth Century to the present, accompanying selections from twenty-seven Russian philosophers with informative biographical and critical material. Many of the selections appear for the first time in translation. After a short introduction on the subject of Russian philosophy, Vol. I takes the reader from the thought of Grigory Skovoroda into the Nineteenth Century movements of the "slavophiles" and "westernizers." Of special interest here are the selections by Skovoroda, (...) Kireyevsky, Belinsky, and Bakunin. Vol. II deals with the nihilist and populist movements of the latter half of the Nineteenth Century and the reaction of religious slavophile critics to these movements. Among those represented are Chernyshevsky, Mikhailovsky, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Leontyev. Vol. III traces the course of Russian philosophizing, both in and outside Russia, during the Twentieth Century. Selections from Fyodorov and Solovyov represent pre-revolutionary religious philosophy. Writings from Shestov and Berdyaev are among the works of "philosophers in exile" who reacted to the revolution. The final section of the volume surveys Marxist philosophy in Russia. Several essays by Georgy Plekhanov show the Marxist movement in Russia in its early years. Selections from Lenin's Materialism and Empirico-Criticism are included, along with Akselrod's review of the book. The final selection is a translation of A. G. Spirkin's article "Dialekicheski Materializm" from the Filosofskaya Entsiklopedia, 1960.—A. W. W. (shrink)

This pair of lectures was given by Husserl in 1929 at the Sorbonne, and was later revised and expanded, resulting in the Cartesiansche Meditationen. By far the largest portion of the present volume consists of an introduction by the translator, the intention of which is to acquaint the Anglo-American philosopher with the fundamentals of Husserl's phenomenology. Biographical information on Husserl is also presented. The lectures themselves are less technical than the Cartesian Meditations, and are well suited as an introduction to (...) Husserl's thought.—A. W. W. (shrink)

This anthology runs the gamut of Sartre's literary and philosophical output, from early to late, including selections from Sartre's plays, La Nausée and literary essays, as well as Sartre's philosophical works. The editor's fifty page introduction is perhaps over-ambitious in its attempt to discuss all phases of Sartre's thought. The largest selections, of course, are taken from Being and Nothingness. The selection of greatest interest is the seventy pages from La Critique de la raison dialectique, appearing for the first time (...) in translation. The selections from Sartre are on the whole good, presenting a well-rounded introduction to all facets of Sartre's thought.—A. W. W. (shrink)

Hampshire has chosen twelve articles to represent recent thought on the philosophy of mind. The selection covers articles in a variety of topics including the mind-body problem, emotion, desire, and the "private language" controversy. The selection is notable in that Hampshire has intentionally chosen articles which suggest the relevance of much of the analytic work on the philosophy of mind to questions of ethics and moral psychology. Among the authors represented in the anthology are D. F. Pears, Wilfrid Sellars, G. (...) E. M. Anscombe, Richard Rorty, and H. H. Price. The volume merits comparison with the anthologies of Chappell, Gustavson, and Anderson, and is a worthwhile complement to them.—A. W. W. (shrink)

The volume contains a general study of Frege's philosophy of logic, a commentary on Frege's essay, "Über Sinn und Bedeutung," and an illuminating introduction by the translator. Birjukov demonstrates a familiarity not only with the works of Frege, but also with a wide range of the literature of Western Logic. Some confusions result from too rigid application of Marxist-Leninist terminology, but on the whole Birjukov's exposition is lucid and articulate. In one case, Birjukov's philosophical orientation allows him to make a (...) distinction unnoticed by most Western logicians; denying that Frege was a "Platonist," Birjukov attributes to Frege a realism much closer to Aristotle. In spite of criticisms levelled against Frege for his "metaphysical" presuppositions, both studies are essentially defenses of Frege, and attempts to get his work recognized in the Soviet Union. Frege is compared favorably with the "subjective idealism" of subsequent Western logic. Birjukov fails, however, to give any clear conception of what "dialectical" and "realistic" alternatives to the Western approach might be. Presumably, however, this is beyond the scope of the present studies, which are intended primarily as expositions and defenses of Frege to a Soviet audience.—A. W. W. (shrink)