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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 Verlag. 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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173William 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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114Review of Ramberg, Donald Davidson's Philosophy of Language (review)In Meaning without Analyticity, Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 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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283Review 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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1098Lincoln 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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108A 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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242Emerson and the Law of FreedomIn R.W. Emerson, Society and Solitude: Twelve Chapters, Mellon 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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137Meaning 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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341Pluralism, 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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713Henry 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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429Fear 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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148Review 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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423Review of W. V. Quine, Pursuit of Truth (Reprinted in Callaway 2008, Meaning without Analyticity) (review)Dialectica, Vol. 45, No. 4, 1991, Pp. 317-22 45 (No. 4): 317-322. 1991.Quine's aim in this slim book is to "update, sum up and clarify variously intersecting views on cognitive meaning, objective referencce, and the grounds of knowledge." Only nine pages had previously appeared as the book came to print. It is based largely on unpublished lectures and informal discussions of the past ten years back to the Immanuel Kant Lectures given at Stanford in 1980. It does not, then duplicate Leonelli's Italian translation of the Kant lectures, La Scienza E I Datti di Senso, …Read more
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311Meaning without Analyticity (Reprinted in Callaway, 2008 Meaning without Analyticity)Logique Et Analyse 109 (March): 41-60. 1985.In a series of interesting and influential papers on semantics, Hilary Putnam has developed what he calls a “post-verificationist” theory of meaning. As part of this work, and not I think the most important part, Putnam defends a limited version of the analytic-synthetic distinction. In this paper I will survey and evaluate Putnam’s defense of analyticity and explore its relationship to broader concerns in semantics. Putnam’s defense of analyticity ultimately fails, and I want to show here exact…Read more
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133Arthur S. Eddington, The Nature of the Physical World, An Annotated EditionCambridge Scholars Press. 2014.Arthur S. Eddington, FRS, (1882–1944) was one of the most prominent British scientists of his time. He made major contributions to astrophysics and to the broader understanding of the revolutionary theories of relativity and quantum mechanics. He is famed for his astronomical observations of 1919, confirming Einstein’s prediction of the curving of the paths of starlight, and he was the first major interpreter of Einstein’s physics to the English-speaking world. His 1928 book, The Nature of the P…Read more
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84Synonymy and AnalyticityIn Gerhardus D. Et al (ed.), Sprachphilosophie, Ein internationales Handbuch zeitgenössischer Forschung, De Gruyter. 1996.This article is an invited overview of contemporary issues connected with meaning and the analytic-synthetic distinction.
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104R.W. Emerson, The Conduct of Life: A Philosophical Reading (edited book)University Press of America. 2006.This new edition emphasizes Emerson's philosophy and thoughts on such issues as freedom and fate; creativity and established culture; faith, experience, and evidence; the individual, God, and the world; unity and dualism; moral law, grace, and compensation; and wealth and success. Emerson's text has been fully annotated to explain difficult words and to clarify his references. The Introduction, Notes, Bibliography, Index, and Chronology of Emerson's life help the reader understand his distinctiv…Read more
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6Review of John Dewey, "The Later Works, 1925-1953", Volume 13 . (review)Journal of Value Inquiry 28 (3): 485. 1994.This review addresses John Dewey's writings from 1938-1939, including Experience and Education, Freedom and Culture, Theory of Valuation, and Essays.
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151William James, A Pluralistic Universe: A New Philosophical Reading (edited book)Cambridge Scholars Press. 2008.This new edition of William James’s 1909 classic, A Pluralistic Universe reproduces the original text, only modernizing the spelling. The books has been annotated throughout to clarify James’s points of reference and discussion. There is a new, fuller index, a brief chronology of James’s life, and a new bibliography—chiefly based on James’s own references. The editor, H.G. Callaway, has included a new Introduction which elucidates the legacy of Jamesian pluralism to survey some related questions…Read more
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