Cet article, s’inscrit dans le cadre minimaliste de la syntaxe générative et étudie oui / non et wh-questions dans la langue Ǹjò̩-kóo, parlée dans l’état de Ondo au Nigeria. On observe que la particule interrogative pour des questions de type oui / non qui suit systématiquement le sujet DP se trouve également dans des clauses avec wh-questions. Cet article soutient que oui / non et wh-questions sont projetées par la même tête fonctionnelle Inter˚, et que wh-words ne participent pas à (...) la saisie de wh-propositions comme interrogative. L’article conclut que le mouvement de Wh-éléments vers la position initiale de la clause dans les langues à WH-mouvement n’a pas pour but l’interrogation mais plutôt pour la focalisation. (shrink)

The problem the author sets himself in this historico-critical study of the post-Kantian development of the a priori is: Can one understand the nature of the a priori as part of the explanation of knowledge, without assigning it exclusively to the subject and without radically identifying the a priori and the a posteriori? Dufrenne thinks this can be done by retaining a dualism of subject and object. Well-written and scholarly. An index would have been helpful.--D. D. O.

The term "Middle Platonism" is used as a classification of those who professed some form of Platonic philosophy between the end of the third Academy and the beginning of "Neoplatonism". The evidence which survives concerning the "Middle" Platonists is not on the whole of great philosophical interest, but has been given increasing attention in recent years for the reason that the Middle Platonists are to some extent heirs to the Academy and ancestors to Neoplatonism. Middle Platonism is also of interest (...) to intellectual historians as an important intellectual force in the literary and religious life of the Roman Empire. For an introduction to Middle Platonism, the English-speaking non-expert has had to turn to Merlan’s rather compressed account in The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy. He now will be able to avail of Dillon’s detailed and compendious survey. (shrink)

D.O. Thomas; VI*—The Duty to Trust, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 79, Issue 1, 1 June 1979, Pages 89–102, https://doi.org/10.1093/aristotelian.

D.O. Thomas; VI*—The Duty to Trust, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 79, Issue 1, 1 June 1979, Pages 89–102, https://doi.org/10.1093/aristotelian.

D. O. Thomas; XIII—Obedience to Conscience, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 64, Issue 1, 1 June 1964, Pages 243–258, https://doi.org/10.1093/ari.

This University of Münster dissertation deals with the problem of how to interpret the coming-into-being of the world as described in the Timaeus: does Plato really mean that the world was generated or is his account merely a mythical expression of the composition of a world which is eternal? Scheffel shows how this issue has divided both ancient and modern interpreters: Aristotle, Vlastos, and Hackforth, for example, taking the former view; Xenocrates and the Academy, A. E. Taylor, Cherniss, and Cornford (...) taking the latter. In this book Scheffel argues for the "Aristotelian" view and develops the positions of Vlastos and Hackforth. In a preparatory section he briefly presents two ancient proponents of his position, Aristotle and Plutarch, noting that Plato's Laws does not support Plutarch's conception of an evil soul animating the unordered chaos of the Timaeus. In the main part of the book Scheffel comments on the text of the Timaeus, organizing his exposition into chapters on "The Exposition of the Cosmogony," "The Concept of Space in the Timaeus," "The Doctrine of Movement in the Timaeus," "The Concept of Soul in the Timaeus," "The Platonic Distinction between First and Second Causes." Some subordinate issues are also discussed, in particular that of the possible contradiction between the eternal soul of the Phaedrus and the generated soul of the Timaeus. Scheffel's final position on the main issue is that Plato in the Timaeus means that the world is generated, not in time, but in an "einmalige überzeitliche Formungsakt" by the demiurge. This is perhaps not all that distant from the old position which concluded that to be generated outside time is to be causally dependent in some non-temporal way on the eternal. Scheffel does not appear, however, to have thought out what an "einmalige überzeitliche Formungsakt" might turn out to be. His argument is not always very convincing and this is unlikely to be the last word on an interesting and important problem.--D.O. (shrink)

A very felicitous translation of a work of major importance for science and philosophy. The book attempts to provide a coherent vision of the process of evolution starting from the formation of our planet through the emergence of life, and later, thought, to an imagined end state or Omega Point. The book is rich in imaginative theories about the various transitions of evolution but its greatest merit is in providing an overall pattern of high plausibility rendering the past more intelligible (...) and the future, in some measure, predictable. The central concept of the book seems to be that the energy present in each element of the universe is divided into two distinct components: a 'tangential' energy which links the element with all others of the same order of complexity and a 'radial' energy which draws the element towards ever greater complexity and centricity. The elaboration of the concept of 'radial' energy gives this book its great originality.--D. D. O. (shrink)

This is a sober, balanced, well-written re-examination of the problems posed by the rules governing the 'privilege against self-incrimination.' The special merit of the study is its careful distinction of cases. The author shows that the meaning and justification for the privilege vary when claimed by a suspect, an accused, or a witness. Further distinctions are required when the privilege is invoked in preliminary investigations of a congressional committee seeking background data for new legislation. The existing rules and practices are (...) subjected to close, well-documented scrutiny issuing in suggestions for reform in each of the distinguished cases.--D. D. O. (shrink)

Centennial lectures delivered in New Haven by four Yale philosophers. Prof. Hendel's essay locates Dewey in the philosophical tradition and clarifies his brand of empiricism. Prof. Lawrence distinguishes fact from fiction in Dewey's philosophy of education. The essays of Professors Bernstein and Smith develop central but often neglected theses of Dewey's speculative thought. An attractive volume which advances the creative thoughts of the man it honors.--D. D. O.

In late antiquity the work On the Nature of the Cosmos and of the Soul attributed to Timaeus of Locri was thought to be a Pythagorean text used by Plato when he wrote the Timaeus. The attribution, archaizing language, and similarity of contents of the work suggest this. However, the linguistic and philosophical anachronisms to be found in it show it to be a post-Platonic forgery. It summarizes the Timaeus, simplifying and "demythologizing" the dialogue in a didactic way. It also (...) on occasion departs enough from its source to constitute an interpretation of the dialogue. Baltes in his introduction notes that this is all done along lines characteristic of Middle Platonic treatments of Plato, and he suggests that the work may have been written by a pupil of Eudorus of Alexandria since it seems to depend on Eudorus’s interpretation of the Timaeus. Having introduced the work, Baltes then provides a line-by-line commentary in which he deals with philological questions, analyzes the sequence of thought, and attempts to determine for each passage the extent to which the work echoes the Timaeus or departs from it. In the latter case, he provides helpful references to parallel and possible source texts in Hellenistic philosophy. An index of terms would have made this valuable commentary more accessible. For the original Greek text we must turn to the edition published by W. Marg in the same series. Baltes’s commentary can be recommended to anyone interested in Plato’s Academy, in Middle Platonism, and in the subjects discussed in the Timaeus as understood and developed in Hellenistic philosophy.—D.O. (shrink)

A collection of masterly 20th century commentaries on the ancient and medieval philosophers. Many of the pieces have become classics in their own right, such as the essays by Jaeger, Cornford, Crombie and Gilson, here bound together for the first time. Key doctrines in the major figures from Xenophanes to Cajetan are critically studied. This is a novel and valuable source book.--D. D. O.

The text of a Seminarübung held in 1940 is here published for the first time together with an Italian translation. This is another of Heidegger's creative interpretations of Greek philosophy. The topic is Book II, Chapter 1 of the Physics, three pages in which Aristotle explains the various meanings of nature. Heidegger finds grounds in this text for his doctrine that truth is not an idea or a property of propositions, but the self-revelation of "nature".--D. D. O.

The second edition of this well-known work differs from the first in several respects. A short laudatory foreword by H. J. Paton has been added, and the bibliography brought up to date. Professor Schilpp adds as an appendix a previously printed journal article, "On the Nature of the Ethical Problem."--D. D. O.

"Whereas two influential contemporary theories, Logical Positivism and Mythologism, regard poetry as mere emotive utterance and as the expression of a privileged and unique knowledge, a "symbolic expression of reality, a specific and original form of life," the author considers it the vehicle of a poetic truth which is more than emotional utterance while not being an esoteric revelation. Poetic truth is the correspondence of the finished work to the poet's intent, a truth of making rather than of knowing.--D. D. (...) O. (shrink)

A representative selection from Dewey's writings together with a lengthy and useful introduction, well-tailored to the needs of university students. All but one of the selections were written after 1925; together they present a clear picture of Dewey's philosophy in its maturest form. The editor has designed his collection to refute decisively all aspects of the 'Dewey Legend' of anti-intellectualism. But the chief aim of the selections is to document Dewey's comprehensive theory of experience and nature, which has been neglected (...) in favor of his educational and social philosophy.--D. D. O. (shrink)

Christian philosophy has remained an unrealized possibility, according to Wild, because Christian Faith has hitherto, for the most part, been combined only with Greek Rationalism and the long Western tradition of abstract and objectivist thought. A New Christian Philosophy, using the method of phenomenological analysis of the Lebenswelt is developed in the areas of ethics and social philosophy. An ethics of self-realization is rejected in favor of self-transcendence. The book is carefully argued and Wild attempts to answer the objections which (...) will surely be raised: that this philosophy is irrational, subjective, and a surrender of the autonomy of reason. The book deserves a careful study by anyone interested in a new approach to the old problem of relating reason and faith.--D. D. O. (shrink)

Do both man and nature undergo essential change through time such that a time-transcendent metaphysical knowledge becomes impossible? Labeling this the problem of historicity, Fackenheim attempts to show that the answer one gives to this question is not an empirical generalization but a metaphysical thesis which rests on certain assumptions and categories. These rule out historicism or skepticism; and consequently enable one to counter the most serious challenge to metaphysical knowledge. A probing, scholarly, and tightly argued essay.--D. D. O.

A new annual lecture series at Villanova University is inaugurated with this attractive study. The lecture takes up a thesis originally proposed in Gilson's Gifford Lectures, that Christianity is the ultimate inspiration for certain key philosophical doctrines of the Western tradition. Gilson suggested 'freedom' and 'creation'; later Lowith and Cullman suggested 'history.' Henry finds in Christian doctrine and specifically in Augustine's writings the fountainhead for the concept of 'personality.' Scholarly and persuasive. --D. D. O.

A brave and ambitious attempt to provide a synthesis of two recurrent motifs in modern philosophy: the critical and the speculative. The author draws upon a wide knowledge of the classical tradition and contemporary literature, although only the German sources. He attempts to ground the systematic unity of philosophy and all its special disciplines on the principle of reflection, which he treats somewhat in the manner of Husserl. An index would have been useful.--D. D. O.

A selection from the voluminous journals of S. K., grouped under topical headings rather than chronologically. Though there is some overlapping with the already published Journal selections, the present volume, in the main, offers a useful complement. A good translation.--D. D. O.

This is the first book-length treatment in English of Bultmann's theology. The intention, achievements and consequences of his attempt to 'de-mythologize' the Christian scriptures are evaluated in detail, and his borrowings from Heidegger are closely examined. The book centers on Bultmann's contention that the traditional statement of the Christian message is incompatible with modern scientific and philosophical thought. The presentation, while highly critical of the results, seems both fair and well-founded, thus providing a good introduction to a viewpoint which has (...) stirred up one of the greatest controversies since the beginnings of the 'Higher Criticism.' An important book.--D. D. O. (shrink)

Thomistic ethics has sometimes been accused of being excessively rationalistic, impersonal, and a priori. This study attempts to provide textual support from Aquinas for an interpretation which stresses the primacy of conscience, individual responsibility, and the central importance of the virtue of prudence. The doctrine seems timely and suggestive, but the author's decision to write in scholastic jargon limits the effectiveness of this book for the uninitiated.--D. D. O.

A collection of essays, addresses and occasional pieces written over the past fifteen years by Prof. Weischedel, a pupil of Heidegger. The pieces are grouped in four categories: history of philosophy, problems of metaphysics, contemporary art and contemporary ethico-political problems. There is some interesting material, but the book suffers from the defects of what C. S. Peirce called 'the pitchfork method of book-making.'--D. D. O.

Miss Stambaugh argues that the fundamental paradox on which Nietzsche's philosophy seems to rest--the doctrine of eternal recurrence and the doctrine of the will to power--can be mitigated, or at least clarified, by an understanding of Nietzsche's theory of time. This line of investigation results in a re-interpretation of the basic categories of Nietsche's philosophy.--D. D. O.

In what is probably the most unwieldy volume of essays ever published, 50 contemporary authors address themselves to aspects of a theme whose generality invites an indefinite number of specifications: Being and Meaning. The closest thing to a perceptible trend in these various essays is the marked influence of Husserl and Heidegger. Authors from many countries have contributed, but with six exceptions their work is presented in German translation.--D. D. O.

We give here alternative definitions for the notions that S. Shelah has introduced in recent papers: the dimensional order property and the depth of a theory. We will also give a proof that the depth of a countable theory, when defined, is an ordinal recursive in T.

A collection of recent essays published previously in various journals. The collection forms a continuous discussion of closely related problems. The conclusion of the first and key essay is that "the content of every awareness is propositional." This thesis is expanded and defended in subsequent essays by comparisons with some doctrines of other philosophers. Fresh in style, careful and original in thought.--D. D. O.

Study of the philosophy of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher and fundamentals of Hindu philosophy.

In this paper edition of what is still the most useful introduction to Sartre's philosophy in English, the author has made minor revisions in the text, expanded the bibliography and provided a link between his citations from the French edition of L'Etre et le Néant and the recent English translation by Hazel Barnes.--D. D. O.