Ernesto Grassi, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Institute of Humanistic and Philosophic Studies at Munich, is perhaps best known in this country as the editor of the Rowohlts encyclopedias, though he has done much editorial duty besides and is the author of several volumes of his own. The essays in this book form an argument that he has pursued before in Humanismus und Marxismus and Macht des Bildes: the need for returning to the tradition of Italian humanism (...) and rhetoric in reaction to German idealism and the critical philosophy founded by Descartes. A crucial name is that of Vico--a post-cartesian who kept alive the trends of Ciceronian rhetoric established in the Renaissance by men like Poliziano, the two Picos, Salutati, and Bruni. Dialectic, in this tradition, is not the whole of philosophic thought. The archai or principles from which reasoning begins are inaccessible to logic and must be arrived at by other means. From Aristotle and Plato one learns that this first evidence is more certain than the derived proofs of dialectic. Hence rhetoric, which in its true form deals with discovery, image, and history, has a crucial place in philosophic thought. Critical philosophy and its "presuppositionalist" strains neglect this foundation, naively overlooking the consequences of "reducing" empirical phenomena to abstract meaning. Topical philosophy, which can be traced from Brunetto Latini to Vico, recognizes that this transposition is possible only through metaphor and must involve both pathos and speech, not simply impersonal manipulation: "The ground of human historicity and human society is not the rational process of thinking but the imaginative act." Grassi thus calls for "a principal rejection of formal semiotics, strict linguistics, and rhetoric understood only as an art of persuasion" and a return to the misunderstood Italian discoveries of the Renaissance. (shrink)

Translated from the Italian, this work forms part of the author's La philosophie de l'intégralité; it deals dialectically with the essence of being and with existence and reality, throwing interesting light on values, love, and morality. A long appendix presents some critical reflexions on Gentile's "Actualism."--R. D. G.

"Why are there essents rather than nothing?" is the central question of this work. Heidegger here uncovers the meaning of "being" and the history of man's understanding of "being," mainly through a discussion of the origin and overtones of the pertinent Greek and German terms. The style is difficult; the translation on the whole satisfactory.--R. D. G.

Written from the viewpoint of contemporary philosophical analysis, this book provides a simple--and biased--introduction "to philosophical thinking for those students of education in universities and training colleges who would otherwise have no formal contact with philosophy."--R. D. G.

The first in a projected series of source books of Eastern philosophy this is almost a model. The major phases of Indian philosophy are included from the Vedic period to the present day. The editorial apparatus is helpful without being burdensome.--D. R.

An ever-so-slightly changed version of the author's Introduction à Kierkegaard which appeared in 1946.--R. D. G.

In this doctoral dissertation for the Free University at Amsterdam, the author presents Croce's early aesthetic works in the light of his life and of his general philosophical development. He concludes his "academic test" with some critical observations.--R. D. G.

At first glance, this volume may seem to have little to offer of philosophic interest. It is a collection of papers and responses from a conference on seventeenth-century French literature, with a focus on the Art Poétique of Boileau. Topics and discussions are very much in the mode of literary scholarship since the Second World War, but the more recent "structuralist" or "semiotic" trends are absent, except for a bare allusion here and there. Nevertheless, no French literary scholar is ignorant (...) of philosophic implications, just as no French philosopher is ignorant of matters of style. For that reason the volume suggests questions that go beyond the specialized talk of literary scholars re-examining the import of the French classical writers. (shrink)

A very readable translation of a highly interesting book which marks an important step in the dialogue between existential phenomenology and the philosophia perennis. The author's claim is that each can profit from the other. After representing first the main currents of existentialist thought, with emphasis on the importance of intentionality and historicity, and then the relevance of Thomism, he shows the part the former could play in the developing Christian tradition.--R. D. G.

The first book of Campanella's Christology continues the careful and scholarly edition of his theology. The texts are arranged on facing pages.--R. D. G.

A political theorist considers the interface between political and moral theory. Drawing freely from classical theories of human nature and morality, Professor Ryn argues that constitutional, representative democracy coheres better with human social ethical aspirations than does democracy by plebiscite, unqualified majority rule.

Another careful and scholarly volume of Campanella's 30 volume Theology. This one deals with grace, predestination, and free will. Text and translation are on facing pages.--R. D. G.

A "non-Aristotelean General Semantics" is proposed as a nostrum for civilization's ills.--R. D. G.

Kneller holds that existentialism, as a humanism concerned with authentic human existence, may well throw light on many educational problems. Though open to challenge on many points of interpretation, the book remains interesting for its approach and for the novel viewpoint from which it appraises existentialist thinkers and themes.--R. D. G.

This logico-semantic study of value judgments is an attempt to unite values in general and ethical values through a quasi-Deweyan view of experience.--R. D. G.

A collection of short, inspirational essays--some new-written to help the reader regain confidence in himself through love and faith.--R. D. G.

This volume of the author's Studies in Dogmatics presents an up-to-date study of the Reformed doctrine of perseverance, showing that it is an expression of the mystery of preservation and has an unbreakable connection with the assurance of faith.--R. D. G.

Addressing himself not only to an academic but to a generally educated public, Lamont introduces the perennial debate between determinism and freedom of choice with liberal and lively quotes from both sides down through history. He proceeds to argue with passionate conviction that both objective contingency and necessity exist as correlative cosmic ultimates, and that the world must therefore be viewed as essentially pluralistic. Moving from a consideration of contingency to the notion of potentiality, Lamont analyzes freedom of choice as (...) the actualization of one of a plurality of genuinely open alternatives which are made possible by contingency and potentiality. Following Hartshorne, he argues that the relation of universal to particular, of determinable to determinate, is one of indeterminate or contingent or potential to determinate or actual; on this ground he finds contingency or freedom inherent in the very act of rational deliberation. Moreover, scientific theories of probability are interpreted as confirming the existence of this sort of objective contingency. Determinism on the other hand, he maintains, not only rules out universals altogether but denies the dynamic character of time, undercuts the notion of ethical responsibility, and defies common sense and ordinary use of language. The book is highly readable--and highly provocative. A fair example of its provocative character is provided in the mileage Lamont gets out of his crucial chapter which seeks to establish the existence of objective contingency as a cosmic ultimate which "demolishes the case for a completely determined universe". On the one hand, contingency is taken to be "simply the opposite of determinism or necessity, meaning that an event, object, or state of affairs either may or may not be". On this interpretation it is not difficult to see why Lamont feels that "freedom of choice is obviously an impossibility unless contingency objectively exists in Nature". On the other hand, it turns out that what it means to say that a contingent event "may or may not be" is perhaps not after all so clearly incompatible with determinism. Thus contingency "does not imply that any event is causeless" but only that it is possible for causally determined factors to impinge on other factors--themselves in turn causally but independently determined. In the long run this seems to involve an act of faith that "the infinitely diverse world of Nature radiates from different centers... that if there ever was a beginning to the universe, which is most doubtful, it would have been beginnings, that is, a multitude of first causes all popping at once". Moreover, it is not wholly clear just how this sort of contingency--which seems to be non-teleological and by definition must operate from outside the causal sequence--is supposed to make possible or even provide a parallel to the exercise of free choice. To a believer in freedom, Lamont's account of contingency seems to offer a meager foundation for so important a theory.--R. D. (shrink)

Ostensibly a directory of philosophical terms, this book is actually far more: a relatively sophisticated introduction into the thinking of Greek philosophers through a historical examination of key terms and concepts. Seeking as far as possible to set the terms in their own context without the ramifications of later context and connotation, Peters approaches each as it were both vertically and horizontally. Entries, given in Roman alphabetization, are arranged in dictionary style and range from a line or so to eight (...) or ten pages for crucial terms like noûs or psyche. An English-Greek index provides the Greek equivalent for English terms. Each entry is generously cross-referenced, and the whole preceded by a brief but stimulating preface and preliminary note on language and philosophy. "To lighten the historical baggage" Peters substitutes generally a terminology transliterated from the Greek; this offers the enormous advantage of breaking through the frustrating ambiguity of would-be English translations; it also makes the terminology available to the many without a knowledge of Greek. On the other hand it might have been useful to have retained the original Greek alphabetization alongside the Romanized transliteration--partly as a bridge to the recognition of the Greek terms as they occur in the literature, and partly as a bridge in the reverse direction for those for whom the Romanized transliteration likewise requires a pause of recognition. Again, the book is geared to "the intermediate student"--rather than to either the beginner who, as Peters himself observes, would be better served by a history of ancient philosophy and perhaps a dictionary of basic terms, or the professional scholar who would require a treatment "both more massive and more nuanced." Thus it offers far less in the way of detailed references but far more meat in terms of substantial content than, say, Liddell and Scott. Any frustration experienced by the professional scholar in the treatment of his own particular interest and competence is, however, outweighed by the value of the book as a tool of reference useful not only to students and scholars in philosophy, but also to those in classics, theology, and even linguistics.--R. D. (shrink)

An elementary presentation, scholastic in terminology, of metaphysics in the tradition of Aristotle and Aquinas. Justification of this system as the perennial metaphysics is attempted via an oversimplified contrast with modern and contemporary approaches.--R. D. G.

In the volume on philosophy Dewey is the only philosopher to rate an essay for himself. Emphasis is understandably placed on logic, language, and semantics; but neither ethics nor metaphysics is mentioned, while two essays--one on aesthetics and the other on historical methodology-reflect Italian rather than American preoccupations. The volume on the social sciences presents a hazy picture of American culture through essays on democracy, pragmatism, institutionalism, studies in personality, and fiscal jurisprudence. The longest paper of all deals with the (...) Kinsey report. Bibliographies are included.--R. D. G. (shrink)

This volume is an introduction to the subject of guilt in the light of present day philosophic and psychoanalytic thought. The author presents a sweeping account of guilt "in the subject," the guilt "of the subject," guilt in relation to morality and in relation to the feeling of guilt in the psychological domain, guilt as illusion, and guilt as reality.-R. D. G.

The author claims to present an interpretation of logic and dialectic, and in the second part of his brief work takes Hegel, Gentile, and Allmayer as examples for study. Not even his three page "clarifying note," however, makes his thesis clear.--R. D. G.

Condillac's view of language and its function in man's work of constructing the world receive a careful and well-documented though rather uncritical examination in this work. Salvucci concludes that Condillac had fought to guarantee the dignity of man, and that this is a good thing.--R. D. G.

This volume--one of several in a series on contemporary philosophy in Italy and in the U. S.--presents the principal philosophic and cultural currents in Italy through the works of representative writers. The coverage of philosophy is quite complete. Besides the expected articles on Croce, Gentile, existentialism, neo-scholasticism, and the philosophy of history, there are, among others, articles on analytic philosophy, marxism, and the philosophy of science. The appendix supplies information on Italian philosophic centers, organizations, and journals, as well as brief (...) biographies of the contributors.--R. D. G. (shrink)

Viewing Husserl's posthumous works in the light of their evolution, Pedroli considers his transcendental phenomenology and his efforts towards the foundation of philosophy as a rigorous science. An ample bibliography is appended. --R. D. G.

A slim volume in which almost every English and American philosopher from the Middle Ages through the present day comes up for mention, but scarcely more.--R. D. G.

A slight volume forming something of an appendix to the author's La Storia, and lightly tracing the moving idea behind the history of the 19th and the first part of the 20th centuries.--R. D. G.

A fine introduction to Rensi's work in general, since the development of his ethical thought is presented in relation to the rest of his philosophy. The author also traces its connections to Kant, Spinoza, and other modern philosophers. The work is more expository than critical; contains an extensive bibliography on Rensi.--R. D. G.

Casa Editrice Dott. Antonio Milani, 1958. viii, 145 pp. 1500 lire.--This is the first volume of a series directed toward the preparation of teachers of secondary school. It presents elements of logic, general considerations on the logical organization of a science, and the postulates of arithmetic.--R. D. G.

An uncritical presentation of Lavelle's theory of value. Though the author rightly attempts to relate Lavelle's axiology to his psychology and ontology, the relation of value to Lavelle's philosophy as a whole remains sketchy.--R. D. G.

An interesting attempt to distinguish metaphysics from ideology. The former is a systematic, autonomous, adequate, historical basic theoretical science. Ideology, in contrast, is an art.--R. D. G.

Another careful and scholarly volume in this series of Campanella's theological writings. Critical Latin text and Italian translation on facing pages.--R. D. G.

In this volume Franchini has collected a number of his articles and book reviews. In them he investigates and rejects the methodology of "existentialism" and "neo-positivism," and defends instead a historico-problematic method deriving from Croce. --R. D. G.

Salit's thesis is that "God is an instrument for surviving death" who acts as a limit for man in his evolution toward immortality. Geometric forms, moreover, are godforms worshipped by man "that eventually, through culture... become machines to do some physical work."--R. D. G.

A carefully presented discussion of telepathy and related phenomena. Part One provides a number of case studies. A cautious and tentative theoretical construction is attempted in Part Two, while Part Three explores the practical consequences for psychological therapy. Philosophical implications of the author's conclusions are suggested at several points throughout the book.--D. R.

This fourth edition of Gentile's well-known work has been augmented by a second part and an appendix, consisting of four late articles which give his last formulation of the problem of religion.--R. D. G.

Volumes XXXIXXXIV of the new critical edition present Gentile's erudite work on the writings of Italian philosophers--mostly minor figures--of the second half of the nineteenth century. He classifies them as Platonists, Positivists, Neo-Kantians, or Hegelians.--R. D. G.

Starting with a Leninist thesis on the identity of dialectic and logic, the author concludes that the only authentic logic is dialectico-materialistic. Lenin predominates; though such logicians as Hilbert, Russell, and Carnap are mentioned, they are not seriously considered.--R. D. G.

A collection of fifteen of the author's writings, dating from 1951, some of which served to awaken Italian interest in sociology by defining and explaining the matter and method of sociological research.--R. D. G.