An essay in the "new" metaphysics which has been emerging from English analytic philosophy. Acknowledging his debt to Wittgenstein, Shwayder concedes that what he has to offer "is nothing but philosophical theory in pretty much the old-fashioned sense." The three foci are referring, properties, and natural numbers. The multifarious and subtle distinctions are the source both of the book's strength and weakness. The concern and care for detailed shades of meaning frequently gets in the way of a more general metaphysical (...) view of the problems treated. --R. J. B. (shrink)

A provocative collection of technical and popular essays dealing with a variety of scientific and political topics which Popper has treated in his major works. For the most part Popper develops, sharpens, and extends to new areas, themes which he has already explored. The major theme running through the essays is that knowledge grows by unjustified and unjustifiable anticipations, guesses and conjectures. These are controlled by criticisms and refutations. Theories can never be positively justified; they can only prove to be (...) resistant to rational criticism. The boldness of Popper's conjectures demands attempted refutations on the part of the reader.--R. J. B. (shrink)

The excitement generated among philosophers by Chomsky's work arises not only from his contributions to the study of language but also from the ramifications of his work for general issues of epistemology and the philosophy of science. Chomsky has been attacking cherished dogmas of empiricism and its ally, behaviorism. He has suggested that Descartes—the favorite whipping boy of contemporary philosophers—and his theory of innate ideas provide a fruitful starting point for understanding and appreciating recent work in transformational linguistics. In this (...) brief historical essay, he sets forth what he takes to be the chief doctrines of Cartesian linguistics and traces their development through the nineteenth century. The essay is self-consciously written from a contemporary perspective and the topics selected for discussion are those which anticipate and are related to contemporary empirical linguistics. The importance of the creative aspect of language use, the distinction between deep and surface structure in language, the belief in a universal grammar are the key themes of this stimulating study in the history of ideas.—R. J. B. (shrink)

With a great deal of fanfare and coverage by the popular press, an era of dialogue between Communism and Christianity has been initiated. Symposia, books and discussions have been encouraged on Marxist-Christian dialogue throughout the Western world. Roger Garaudy, onetime Stalinist and a leading member of the French Communist party, has become the apostle for the new Communist desire for dialogue, which draws heavily on Marx's secular humanism. While serious scholars have struggled to assess and incorporate the rediscovery of the (...) early Marx in a balanced understanding of Marx's thought, Garaudy exaggerates and sentimentalizes the fashionable humanism of Marx. The result reads more like a personal testament than a judicious assessment and presentation of Marxism.—R. J. B. (shrink)

Published in a series, Views and Controversies about Classical Antiquity, this collection consists of fifteen articles or selections dealing with the recent controversy concerning the political doctrines of Plato. Most of the articles were published in direct response to Popper's controversial views expressed in The Open Society and Its Enemies. While some of the more interesting comments on Popper's views are included, a good bibliography and guide to the literature would have greatly increased the value of the book. By photographically (...) reproducing the original articles one might have hoped for an inexpensive edition; instead there is a confusing variety of types.--R. J. B. (shrink)

When Anscombe wrote her introduction to the Tractatus, she argued that the book should be approached with an awareness of the logical issues that preoccupied Wittgenstein, especially the work of Russell and Frege. The publication of the Notebooks further supported this suggestion. Now Griffin has written a commentary on the set of questions centering on atomic proposition and makes extensive use of the pre-Tractarian writings. As a result, he clarifies a number of technical issues concerning logical atomism. Especially interesting is (...) the use he makes of Hertz in dealing with the Tractatus. Like so many other recent discussions of the Tractatus, Griffin's commentary suffers because he does not attempt to come to grips with the work as a whole.—R. J. B. (shrink)

This is an extremely well-edited collection of articles dealing with Austin. A number of articles help to present general biographical information and to provide an overview of the man and his philosophic style. Three sections of this anthology are divided so as to include papers that deal with issues raised in Austin's Philosophical Papers, Sense and Sensibilia, and How to Do Thing with Words. Papers are included by those who are sympathetic and admire Austin's work as well as those who (...) have been very critical of his work. Altogether this symposium includes a judicious selection of some of the best articles dealing with Austin. There are papers by Warnock, Urmson, Hampshire, Pears, Cavell, Quine, Chisholm, Ayer, Searle, etc. There is a bibliography of Austin's writings as well as writings about Austin.--R. J. B. (shrink)

This collection of articles on Kierkegaard is designed to help make the secondary literature on Kierkegaard more available to graduate and undergraduate students. The book is divided into three parts: "The Philosophical Context"; "Reason and Faith"; and "The Ethico-Religious." The articles are a good sampling ranging from Louis Mackey's brilliant exposition of the philosophic context of Kierkegaard's thought to Brand Blanshard's graceful criticism. This anthology would have been much more helpful if it contained an index, an annotated bibliography, and an (...) introduction to orient the reader.--R. J. B. (shrink)

A new and extremely readable translation of one of Kant's early works that helps to correct the austere picture of Kant which emerges from a concern only with his critical philosophy. Kant's observations on the differences between the sexes, and his classification of national characteristics are especially delightful. The entire work shows Kant in a more empirical mood than is to be found in the Critiques. The translator's introduction is helpful for understanding Kant's personality and early work, though the brief (...) remarks about the critical philosophy are rather superficial.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Kolakowski, who was born in 1927, has long been known as one of the most original and exciting post-Stalinist Polish intellectuals. And this collection of essays show why he deserves this reputation. There is wit, irony, insight, and radical critique evidenced throughout. His discussion of "Karl Marx and the Classical Definition of Truth" provides a fresh, provocative, and fascinating interpretation of Marx's epistemology. His criticism of Stalinist Marxism and the analogies he draws with the history of theology are among the (...) most intelligent and incisive criticisms developed. There is a theme that runs throughout these essays--it is the theme of the individual's moral responsibility in contemporary society. His criticism of orthodoxy including Marxist orthodoxy is pervaded by the spirit of rational criticism that preserves and fosters the best in the Marxist tradition. The book unfortunately lacks a badly needed introduction and there are no bibliographical references for many of the papers.--R. J. B. (shrink)

A translation of the small volume originally published in 1939 based on De Vleeschauwer's classic La Déduction transcendentale dans l'œuvre de Kant, in which the author approaches the subject as "the historian of a great system and the biographer of a great mind." In addition to the detailed historical information, the study is valuable for exhibiting the philosophic perplexities involved in the construction of Kant's critical philosophy.--R. J. B.

Hume scholarship has flourished during the past thirty-five years. In part this has been stimulated by a number of excellent full-scale studies of his philosophy and in part by the affinity of spirit between contemporary analytic philosophy and Hume's investigations. The author has collected a selection of some of the best short studies of Hume ranging over the problems of causation, induction, ethics and natural theology. A number of the articles treat similar problems from different perspectives. The total effect is (...) not only to further our understanding of Hume but also to help clarify central issues in contemporary philosophy. The anthology is one is a new series of Modern Studies in Philosophy under the general editorship of Amélie Rorty.—R. J. B. (shrink)

Strategies to involve agribusiness in the development of sustainable agricultural systems have been limited by the lack of a comprehensive conceptual framework for identifying the most critical supportive policies, programs and regulations. In this paper, we propose an efficiency/substitution/redesign framework to categorize strategies for modifying agribusiness practices. This framework is then used to identify a diverse range of short, medium, and long-term strategies to be pursued by governments, community groups, academics and agribusiness to support the transition. Strategies discussed include corporate (...) greening, ethical investment, changing the legal status of the corporaton, new business forms and the development of ecological economics. (shrink)

During the first half of the present century a number of outstanding philosophers realized that language theory could profitably be viewed as far more than merely a means of studying one among the many human faculties, or merely sharpening the tool we use to philosophize - they realized that there is a sense in which philosophy of language comprises (almost) the whole of philosophy. This was the famous linguistic turn: philosophers came to accept that everything that is is in a (...) sense through language, and that to study what there is is to study what our words mean.1 The enigma of the language-world relationship was brought to the centre of philosophical discussion early in this century by Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Austin and others. Their original point was that we cannot take the representing capacities of language at face value, that in order to treat of things - which cannot be done save with the help of words - we must first treat of words and make sure which of them are really capable of treating of things. Thus the philosophers undergoing the linguistic turn slowly gave up asking what is consciousness (matter, evil etc.)? in favour of asking what is the meaning of 'consciousness' ('matter', 'evil' etc.)? This simple turn seemed to have tremendous consequences for philosophy. By replacing the question what is consciousness? by the question what is the meaning of 'consciousness'? we seem to lose nothing (any meaningful answer to the former question seems to be recoverable from an answer to the latter), and yet it seems to take us from the weird realms of mind to the commonplace domain of language, from the troublesome immersing into people's heads to straightforward observing how they use words. It also seems to guard against the "bewitchment of our reason by language" (Wittgenstein) caused by words which are only seemingly meaningful: such questions as what does the word 'ether' stand for? can be answered simply by nothing, whereas the question what is ether? presupposes that there is something as ether (as.... (shrink)

Common hospital and surgical center responses to the Covid‐19 pandemic included curtailing “elective” procedures, which are typically determined based on implications for physical health and survival. However, in the focus solely on physical health and survival, procedures whose main benefits advance components of well‐being beyond health, including self‐determination, personal security, economic stability, equal respect, and creation of meaningful social relationships, have been disproportionately deprioritized. We describe how female reproduction‐related procedures, including abortion, surgical sterilization, reversible contraception devices and in vitro fertilization, (...) have been broadly categorized as “elective,” a designation that fails to capture the value of these procedures or their impact on women's overall well‐being. We argue that corresponding restrictions and delays of these procedures are problematically reflective of underlying structural views that marginalize women's rights and interests and therefore threaten to propagate gender injustice during the pandemic and beyond. Finally, we propose a framework for triaging reproduction‐related procedures during Covid‐19 that is more individualized, accounts for their significance for comprehensive well‐being, and can be used to inform resumption of operations as well as subsequent restriction phases. (shrink)

Background: The traditional approach to resolving ethics concerns may not address underlying organisational issues involved in the evolution of these concerns. This represents a missed opportunity to improve quality of care “upstream”. The purpose of this study was to understand better which organisational issues may contribute to ethics concerns. Methods: Directed content analysis was used to review ethics consultation notes from an academic children’s hospital from 1996 to 2006 (N = 71). The analysis utilised 18 categories of organisational issues derived (...) and modified from published quality improvement protocols. Results: Organisational issues were identified in 68 of the 71 (96%) ethics consult notes across a range of patient settings and reasons for consultation. Thirteen of the 18 categories of organisational issues were identified and there was a median of two organisational issues per consult note. The most frequently identified organisational issues were informal organisational culture (eg, collective practices and approaches to situations with ethical dimensions that are not guided by policy), policies and procedures (eg, staff knows policy and/or procedural guidelines for an ethical concern but do not follow it) and communication (eg, communication about critical information, orders, or hand-offs repeatedly does not occur among services). Conclusions: Organisational issues contribute to ethical concerns that result in clinical ethics consults. Identifying and addressing organisational issues such as informal culture and communication may help decrease the recurrence of future similar ethics concerns. (shrink)

The title of this edition is quite misleading and the edition is disappointing. The Dietz Verlag edition of Marx's Grundrisse der Kritik der politischen Ökonomie is over a thousand pages long. Virtually unavailable until recently, it is considered by many to be among Marx's most interesting and important works. It consists primarily of Marx's unpublished writings from 1857-1858. A serious study of the Grundrisse must be made for a full understanding of Marx. It places the discussion of the 'young' vs. (...) the 'old' Marx on a new level of sophistication because here is a work written by the mature Marx that is pervaded with Hegelian themes. It contains highly interesting speculations about the Asiatic mode of production, the theory of surplus value, and the possibility of the development of a middle class, which is not available in Marx's other writings. McLellan, Nicolaus, Marcuse, Lichtheim, and others have noted the importance of the Grundrisse for gaining new insight into Marx's thought. Unfortunately, McLellan has translated what amounts to about one tenth of this work in a manner which while it whets one's intellectual appetite is not very useful for pursuing or pinning down Marx's reflections in the Grundrisse. These bits and fragments will have to do until we have a full translation of the Grundrisse.--R. J. B. (shrink)

BackgroundPreprint usage is growing rapidly in the life sciences; however, questions remain on the relative quality of preprints when compared to published articles. An objective dimension of quality that is readily measurable is completeness of reporting, as transparency can improve the reader’s ability to independently interpret data and reproduce findings.MethodsIn this observational study, we initially compared independent samples of articles published in bioRxiv and in PubMed-indexed journals in 2016 using a quality of reporting questionnaire. After that, we performed paired comparisons (...) between preprints from bioRxiv to their own peer-reviewed versions in journals.ResultsPeer-reviewed articles had, on average, higher quality of reporting than preprints, although the difference was small, with absolute differences of 5.0% [95% CI 1.4, 8.6] and 4.7% [95% CI 2.4, 7.0] of reported items in the independent samples and paired sample comparison, respectively. There were larger differences favoring peer-reviewed articles in subjective ratings of how clearly titles and abstracts presented the main findings and how easy it was to locate relevant reporting information. Changes in reporting from preprints to peer-reviewed versions did not correlate with the impact factor of the publication venue or with the time lag from bioRxiv to journal publication.ConclusionsOur results suggest that, on average, publication in a peer-reviewed journal is associated with improvement in quality of reporting. They also show that quality of reporting in preprints in the life sciences is within a similar range as that of peer-reviewed articles, albeit slightly lower on average, supporting the idea that preprints should be considered valid scientific contributions. (shrink)

While there has been a resurgence of interest in Kant's moral philosophy, most philosophic discussion centers about the Grunlegung and the Kritik der praktischen Vernunft. Consequently there has been a great deal of sterility concerning discussions of the application of the categorical imperative. In her careful commentary, Gregor has attempted to show us the role of Metaphysik der Sitten in Kant's moral philosophy as well as to illuminate Kant's discussion of perfect and imperfect duties. The study helps to correct the (...) lopsided image of Kant's moral philosophy as excessively formalistic and legalistic and shows us the importance of a teleological perspective for understanding the import of the categorical imperative.—R. J. B. (shrink)

In the past few years there has been an attempt to publish a variety of Wittgenstein's unpublished notes, scraps, and clippings. While the publication of his early Notebooks was an important contribution for understanding Wittgenstein's Tractarian period, the value of some of the other material published is dubious. The Zettel consists of a collection of fragments that Wittgenstein himself put in a box-file. Many of the clippings are taken from other manuscripts and most of these are taken from typescripts dictated (...) from 1945-1948. The present collection lacks the sustained power of either the Tractatus or the Philosophical Investigations. There is little here that appears to be strikingly new, although some points discussed in the Philosophical Investigations are explored in novel ways. The procedure of printing the German text with facing English translation is followed here. And the translation shows the same high standards evidenced in the other translations of Wittgenstein by Miss Anscombe.--R. J. B. (shrink)

Kojève has been known as the most brilliant, profound, controversial, and influential commentator on Hegel in the twentieth century. "Commentator" is perhaps too neutral a word, for Kojève's lectures on Hegel have been a vehicle for articulating and defending a view of what philosophy and wisdom essentially are. Kojève's lectures on the Phenomenology of Spirit at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes from 1933-1939 were primarily responsible for the Hegelian influence on a number of major French intellectuals. The present translation which (...) consists of a selection from the collection of writings edited by Queneau, is certainly not an introduction in any ordinary sense of the term. But for those who have been caught by the power of Hegel's Phenomenology--and their number seems to be growing in the Anglo-Saxon world--an encounter with Kojève, who is clearly one of the most serious readers of Hegel, will prove immensely rewarding. It is a bit surprising that Allan Bloom whose own approach to scholarship places such a high priority on careful textual analysis has edited a rather chopped up version of the French text.--R. J. B. (shrink)

All too rarely an anthology is put together that reflects imagination, command, and comprehensiveness. Rorty's collection is just such a book. Although primarily concerned with the metaphilosophical issues of precisely what is new and distinctive about the linguistic turn, excellent selections are included from a great variety of orientations. Both the more formalistic approaches of Carnap and Bergmann as well as the more informal perspectives of Ryle, Hampshire, and Austin are well represented. The whole is constructed so that the reader (...) participates in a continuous dialectic of positions bringing us right up to recent discussions of transformational linguistics. There is a masterful introduction which takes a comprehensive look at the entire range of positions, revealing basic similarities and differences as well as locating the chief unresolved problems. A comprehensive bibliography enables the reader to locate almost any important discussion of the issues explored. This book is an ideal supplement for any course dealing with the varieties of analytic and linguistic philosophy. Unfortunately there is no index.—R. J. B. (shrink)

McLellan has written a very helpful study to enable us to recreate the intellectual climate of Marx's youth. McLellan's emphasis is to present the thought of the Young Hegelians from their own perspectives. In this respect he reverses the typical approach of seeing the Young Hegelians through the eyes of Marx or later Marxism. The result is a much more balanced and informative study of the Young Hegelians and their influence on Marx's early speculations. There is a general introduction in (...) which McLellan sketches the general characteristics of the Young Hegelians and the development of their ideas. This is followed by chapters on Bruno Bauer, Ludwig Feuerbach, Max Stirner, and Moses Hess. The total effect of this fine study is to show us how much Marx borrowed from his contemporary intellectuals and how he used ideas suggested by others in his own distinctive and forceful way.--R. J. B. (shrink)