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93American Ethics: A Source Book from Edwards to Dewey (edited book)University Press of America. 2000.This book collects some 75 texts from the history of American thought, starting with the colonial religious background, and arranged into 6 historically oriented chapers. Each chapter has a general introduction and ends with suggestions for further readings; and each of the texts is prefaced by a short explanatory paragraph. Overall, the book provides an historical introduction to central ethical themes of American thought.
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5Fundamental Physics, Partial Models and Time’s ArrowIn Lorenzo Magnani & Claudia Casadio (eds.), Model Based Reasoning in Science and Technology. Logical, Epistemological, and Cognitive Issues, Springer International Publishing. 2006.This paper explores the scientific viability of the concept of causality—by questioning a central element of the distinction between “fundamental” and non-fundamental physics. It will be argued that the prevalent emphasis on fundamental physics involves formalistic and idealized partial models of physical regularities abstracting from and idealizing the causal evolution of physical systems. The accepted roles of partial models and of the special sciences in the growth of knowledge help demonstra…Read more
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7Identity, Dignity and the Politics of ResentmentRuch Filozoficzny 79 (4): 141-163. 2023.In his 2018 book, Identity, the Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, Stanford University political scientist Francis Fukuyama addresses themes which might more properly be considered matters of political philosophy and the philosophy of law: How are we to navigate between traditional, ethnic, unitary conceptions of the nation on the one hand, and the threat of identitarian fragmentation on the other? Though Fukuyama affirms the importance of the concepts of human dignity and ident…Read more
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211William James’s Essays in Radical Empiricism: A Critical Edition (edited book)Lexington Books. 2022.This new critical edition is an examination of William James’s Essays in Radical Empiricism in light of the scientific naturalism prominent in James’s Principles of Psychology and the subsequent development of Darwinian, functional psychology and functionalism in psychology, the philosophy psychology and the philosophy of mind. This is sure to be a controversial look at James's late philosophy of "radical empiricism" and "pure experience." The critical perspective of the edition evokes realism o…Read more
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129Review of Ramberg, Donald Davidson's Philosophy of Language (review)In Howard G. Callaway (ed.), Meaning without analyticity: essays on logic, language and meaning, Cambridge Scholars Press. pp. 163-176. 2008.Bjorn T. Ramberg’s book focuses on Davidson’s work in the philosophy of language, published between 1984 and the appearance of the book. Recent papers provide the focus for an overview of Davidson’s philosophy of language and its relations to broader debates and influences. Still, the reader is warned: the author “cannot claim” that the book “is in every detail a faithful representation or development of Davidson’s own current theory.” Instead, what we have…Read more
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341Review of Horcher 2020, A Political Philosophy of Conservatism (review)Law and Politics Book Review (No. 5 (May 2021)): 88-93. 2020.A POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF CONSERVATISM, PRUDENCE, MODERATION AND TRADITION, by Ferenc Hörcher. London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic. 2020. vi + 210pp. Hardback: $103.50; Paperback: $35.96. ISBN: 978-1-350-06718-9. Reviewed by H.G. Callaway, Department of Philosophy, Temple University. Email: HG1Callaway (at) gmail (.) com Ferenc Hörcher is Head of the Research Institute of Politics and Government of the National University of Public Service, Hungary. His new book, A POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY …Read more
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Paul Gochet, Ascent to Truth ; A critical Examination of Quine's philosophy (review)Journal of Speculative Philosophy 2 152-153. 1988.
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1189Lincoln Steffens's the Shame of the Cities, and the Philosophy of Corruption and Reform (edited book)Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2020.This book is a new scholarly edition of Lincoln Steffensâ classic, â oemuck-rakingâ account of Gilded Age corruption in America. It provides the broader political background, theoretical and historical context needed to better understand the social and political roots of corruption in general terms: the social and moral nature of corruption and reform. Steffens enjoyed the support of a multitude of journalists with first-hand knowledge of their localities. He interviewed and came to know politic…Read more
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61Review of Fukuyama, Identity, The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment (review)Law and Politics Book Review 29 (6): 63-68. 2019.In his new book, IDENTITY, THE DEMAND FOR DIGNITY AND THE POLITICS OF RESENTMENT, Stanford University political scientist Francis Fukuyama addresses themes which might more properly be considered matters of political and legal philosophy. In particular, though he affirms the importance of the concepts of human dignity and identity, more or less as these are commonly understood in contemporary political debates and judicial decisions, he also sets himself against the contemporary phenomenon of id…Read more
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110A chief aim of this paper is to provide common ground for discussion of outstanding issues between defenders of classical logic and contemporary advocates of intuitionistic logic. In this spirit, I draw upon (and reconstruct) here the relationship between dialogue and evidence as emphasized in German constructivist authors. My approach depends upon developments in the methodology of empirical linguistics. As a preliminary to saying how one might decide between these two versions of logic (this i…Read more
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271Emerson and the Law of FreedomIn R.W. Emerson, Society and Solitude, Twelve Chapters, Edwin Mellen Press. 2008.This paper is the expository and evaluative introduction to my new edition of Emerson's Society and Solitude, Twelve Chapters.
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141Meaning holism and semantic realism (Reprinted in Callaway 2008, Meaning without Analyticity)Dialectica 46 (1): 41-59. 1992.Reconciliation of semantic holism with interpretation of individual expressions is advanced here by means of a relativization of sentence meaning to object language theories viewed as idealizations of belief-systems. Fodor's view of the autonomy of the special sciences is emphasized and this is combined with detailed replies to his recent criticisms of meaning holism. The argument is that the need for empirical evidence requires a holistic approach to meaning. Thus, semantic realism requires sem…Read more
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66Edmund Burke, the Imperatives of Empire and the American Revolution: An InterpretationCambridge Scholar's Publishing. 2016.Book Description Edmund Burke (1730-1797) was a friend and advocate of America during the political crisis of the 1760s and the 1770s, and he spoke out eloquently and forcefully in defense of the rights of the colonial subjects of the British empire—in America, Ireland and India alike. However, he is often best remembered for his extremely critical Reflections on the Revolution in France. The present volume is based on classic Burke, including his most famous writings and speeches on the America…Read more
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65Intentionality naturalized: Continuity, reconstruction, and instrumentalismDialectica 49 (2-4): 147-68. 1995.This paper explicates and defends a social-naturalist conception of internationality and intentions, where internationality of scientific expressions is fundamental. Meanings of expressions are a function of their place in language-systems and of the relations of systems to object-level evidence and associated community activities-including deliberation and experiment. Naturalizing internationality requires social-intellectual reconstruction exemplified by the scientific community at its best. T…Read more
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366Pluralism, Pragmatism and American Democracy: A Minority ReportCambridge Scholars Publishing. 2017.This book presents the author’s many and varied contributions to the revival and re-evaluation of American pragmatism. The assembled critical perspective on contemporary pragmatism in philosophy emphasizes the American tradition of cultural pluralism and the requirements of American democracy. Based partly on a survey of the literature on interest-group pluralism and critical perspectives on the politics of globalization, the monograph argues for reasoned caution concerning the practical effects…Read more
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761Henry Cabot Lodge, Alexander Hamilton and the Political Thought of the Gilded AgeCambridge Scholars Publishing. 2018.We are currently witnessing a renewal of broad public interest in the life and career of Alexander Hamilton – justly famed as an American founder. This volume examines the possible present-day significance of the man, noting that this is not the first revival of interest in the statesman. Hamilton was a major background figure in the GOP politics of the Gilded Age, with the powerful US Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr. drawing on Hamilton to inspire a new, assertive American role in the world. Hami…Read more
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473Fear of Knowledge, Against Relativism and Constructivism – By Paul Boghossian (review)Dialectica 63 (3): 357-360. 2009.Abstract My review of Boghossian's book, Fear of Knowledge, is generally sympathetic toward his rejection of epistemic relativism and turns toward an examination of "constructivist" themes in light of an anti-nominalist perspective. In general terms, this is a fine little book, tightly argued, and well worth considerable attention--especially from the friends of relativism and those supporting versions of constructivism. (Constructivism + radical nominalism = relativism.)
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American Ethics: A Source Book from Edwards to DeweyTransactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 39 (2): 331-333. 2003.
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189Review of Larry Hickman, Dewey, Instrumentalism and Technology (review)Journal of Value Inquiry 30 (1-2): 345-361. 1996.This book appears in The Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Technology, edited by Don Ihde. Hickman emphasizes Dewey as a philosopher of technology and aims to make Dewey's perspective and contributions available to specialists. Still, as claimed on the book jacket, Hickman aims at a "comprehensive yet accessible overview of Dewey's instrumentalism," in light of "each major aspect of Dewey's philosophical work." The link between the two projects is the interpretation of Dewey's instrumentalism …Read more
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3Review of J.A. Fodor Psychosemantics (review)Erkenntnis 33 (2): 251-259. 1990.In J. A. Fodor's Psychosemantics, contemporary cognitive science and the computer model of the mind begin to come to grips with their semantic presuppositions and the philosophical problem of meaning as bequeathed by Quine. This confrontation has been threatening for some years now, and it promises to continue brewing for a considerable time to come. However much Quine's influence has been resisted in the past - usually in the name of the Chomskian rationalism - it seems clear that the central f…Read more
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165Semantic Theory and Language: A Perspective (Reprinted in Callaway 2008, Meaning without Analyticity)Proceedings of the Southwestern Philosophical Association; Philosophical Topics 1981 (summer): 93-103. 1981.Chomsky’s conception of semantics must contend with both philosophical skepticism and contrary traditions in linguistics. In “Two Dogmas” Quine argued that “...it is non-sense, and the root of much non-sense, to speak of a linguistic component and a factual component in the truth of any individual statement.” If so, it follows that language as the object of semantic investigation cannot be separated from collateral information. F. R. Palmer pursues a similar contention in his recent survey of is…Read more
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76Review: Carl R. Hausman, Charles S. Peirce's Evolutionary Philosophy (review)Dialectica 50 (No. 2): 153-161. 1996.Carl Hausman is a former editor of The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, a revival of one of the first American philosophy journals, where Peirce published some of his early work; and Hausman has devoted a good deal of his career to Peirce scholarship. He interprets Peirce’s thought “as a fallibilistic foundationalism that affirms a unique realism according to which what is real is a dynamic, evolving extramental condition.” The theme is an interesting one partly in view of the many recent cr…Read more
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364Meaning without analyticity: essays on logic, language and meaning (edited book)Cambridge Scholars Press. 2008.Meaning without Analyticity draws upon the author’s essays and articles, over a period of 20 years, focused on language, logic and meaning. The book explores the prospect of a non-behavioristic theory of cognitive meaning which rejects the analytic-synthetic distinction, Quinean behaviorism, and the logical and social-intellectual excesses of extreme holism. Cast in clear, perspicuous language and oriented to scientific discussions, this book takes up the challenges of philosophical communicatio…Read more
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444Alexander James Dallas: An Exposition of the Causes and Character of the War. An Annotated edition. (edited book)Dunedin Academic Press. 2011.Alexander James Dallas' An Exposition of the Causes and Character of the War was written as part of an effort by the then US government to explain and justify its declaration of war in 1812. However publication coincided with the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War. The Exposition is especially interesting for the insight it provides into the self-constraint of American foreign policy and of the conduct of a war. The focus is on the foreign policy of the early republic and t…Read more
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285Walter Reese-Schäfer, "Karl-Otto Apel: Zur Einführung"Journal of Value Inquiry 27 (3/4): 543. 1993.Walter Reese-Schäfer, Karl-Otto Apel, Zur Einführung (with an Afterword by Jürgen Habermas), Junis Verlag GmbH, Hamburg 1990, 176pp. DM 17.80 The author, presently a freelance writer published in the newspaper “Die Zeit” and the magazine “Stern,” provides in this small book a clear and concise introduction to sources, themes and conclusions in the philosophy of Karl-Otto Apel. Apel, Emeritus Professor at Frankfurt, and close colleague of Habermas, characterizes his viewpoint as a “transcende…Read more
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Reference variables and the empty universeLogique Et Analyse 22 (85): 85. 1979.In this early paper I set out an argument in favor of the standard semantics of first-order logic, to the effect that (Vx)(Ey)x=y. Though my arguments from the paper have since been revised in details, The conclusion of the paper seems still viable and acceptable.
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