•  93
    American Ethics: A Source Book from Edwards to Dewey (edited book)
    with Guy W. Stroh
    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.
  •  13
    Donald Davidson
    Philosophical Quarterly 43 (173): 555-560. 1993.
  •  5
    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
  •  7
    Identity, Dignity and the Politics of Resentment
    Ruch 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
  •  121
    Review 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
  •  37
    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
  •  132
    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
  •  319
    There are many advantages and disadvantages to central locations. These have shown themselves in the long course of European history. In times of peace, there are important economic and cultural advantages (to illustrate: the present area of the Czech Republic was the richest country in Europe between the two World Wars). There are cross-currents of trade and culture in central Europe of great advantage. For, cultural cross-currents represent a potential benefit in comprehension and cultural gro…Read more
  •  14
    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
  •  571
    Does Language Determine Our Scientific Ideas?
    Dialectica 46 (3-4): 225-242. 1992.
    SummaryThis paper argues that the influence of language on science, philosophy and other field is mediated by communicative practices. Where communications is more restrictive, established linguistic structures exercise a tighter control over innovations and scientifically motivated reforms of language. The viewpoint here centers on the thesis that argumentation is crucial in the understanding and evaluation of proposed reforms and that social practices which limit argumentation serve to erode s…Read more
  •  177
    Review of Ulrich Baltzer, "Erkenntnis als Relationengeflecht: Kategorien bei Charles S. Peirce" (review)
    Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 31 (2): 445. 1995.
    This book arose from the author’s recent dissertation written under the Gerhard Schonrich at Munich. It focuses on Peirce’s theory of categories and his epistemology. According to Baltzer, what is distinctive in Peirce’s theory of knowledge is that he reconstrues objects as “knots in networks of relations.” The phrase may ring a bell. It suggests a structuralist interpretation of Peirce, influenced by the Munich environs. The study aims to shows how Peirce’s theory of categories …Read more
  •  590
    A liberalism which scorns all individualism is fundamentally misguided. This is the chief thesis of this paper. To argue for it, I look closely at some key concepts. The concepts of morislity and individualism are crucial. I emphasize Dewey on the "individuality of the mind" and a Deweyan discussion of language, communication, and community. The thesis links individualism and liberalism, and since appeals to liberalism have broader appeal in the present context of discussions, I start with consi…Read more
  • Intentionality and Consciousness
    Dissertation, Temple University. 1976.
    This is my Ph.D. dissertation (Temple University, 1976) written under the supervision of Monroe Beardsley. The aim of the work is to defend a version of intentional realism, and this required a good deal of work sorting out versions of realism. Major influences in the work include Chisholm on Brentano and the skepticism of W.V. Quine. The dissertation first launched my critical work on Quine in the philosophy of language and the study of the analytic tradition in the philosophy of language, from…Read more
  •  156
    This book collects and focuses recent writings of Arthur Schlesinger on the themes of its title. In its short Foreword and seven concise essays, the book aims to explore, in some contrast with the genre of “instant history,” the relationship between President George W. Bush’s Iraq adventure and the national past. This aim and the present work are deserving of wide attention, both because of the contemporary need to deal with the extended war in Iraq and because Americans, in particular, need to …Read more
  •  28
    Review of Joas, Die Kreativitat des Handelns
    Philosophical Quarterly 45 (179): 247-249. 1995.
    This is my English-language review of Hans Joas, Die Kreativitat des Handelns.
  •  107
    Review: Pragmata: Festschrift für Klaus Oehler (review)
    Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 45 (4). 2009.
    Pragmata: Festschrift für Klaus Oehler Chiefly in German, this handsomely produced volume, occasioned by the 80th birthday of Hamburg philosopher Klaus Oehler, assembles 31 papers, divided among 4 sections, successively devoted to ancient philosophy, semiotics, pragmatism and topics in modernity. One of the papers appears in French, “La philosophie de la musique dans l’ancien stoicisme,” by Evanghelos Moutsopoulos of the University of Athens. The book also contains 5 papers in English, concentra…Read more
  •  37
    Review of James Campbell, Understanding John Dewey (review)
    Philosophical Quarterly 47 (187): 272-275. 1997.
    James Campbell's Understanding John Dewey represents the latest of his series of recent books, focused on the classical pragmatist tradition. In The Community Reconstructs. Campbell capably explored the meaning and relevance of pragmatic social thought, urging that the social pragmatists combined 'the inquiring and critical spirit of Peirce' with 'issues of general and direct human concern that interested James. Dewey is 'the most important figure of this movement' and the "primary figure' for t…Read more
  •  36
    The aim of this paper is to defend a famous quotation from Martin Luther King, stating that “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” The quotation is inscribed on the King Memorial in Washington, D.C. and President Obama had it woven into a rug for the Oval Office in the White House. The quotation has become something of a contemporary proverb, and is certainly worthy of our close attention. In order to evaluate the dictum, questions concerning its meaning will first…Read more
  •  362
    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
  •  110
    Cultural Pluralism and the Virtues of Hypotheses
    la Torre Del Virrey, Revista de Estudios Culturales 33-38. 2008.
    This paper focuses on the preliminary evaluation of expressions of moral sentiment under conditions of cultural pluralism. The advance of science and technology puts ever new power over nature in human hands, and if this new power is to more fully serve human ends, then it must become the means or material of human virtue. This prospect poses the question of the relationship between power and virtue, and equally, the question of how scientific advances may be understood to enter into a pluralism…Read more
  •  37
    Review of Hans Joas, Pragmatismus und Gesellschaftstheorie (review)
    Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society (1): 203-212. 1994.
    This is my critical review of Hans Joas' book on Pragmatism and social theory which concerns, in part the early 20th-century German reception of American philosophy and the relationship of this to contemporary German thought.
  •  135
    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
  •  110
    Review of Cassese, Five Masters of International Law (review)
    Law and Politics Book Review 22 (1): 154-161. 2012.
    Focused on five prominent scholars of international law, and casting light on the related institutions which frequently engaged them, the present book provides insight into chief currents of international law during the last decades of the twentieth century. Spanning the gap, in some degree, between Anglo-American and continental approaches to international law, the volume consists of short intellectual portraits, combined with interviews, of selected specialists in international law. The interv…Read more
  •  30
    Review of H. Joas, Die Kreativität des Handelns (review)
    Philasophical Quarterly (Scotland) 45 (179): 247-249. 1995.
  •  569
    No Need to Speak the same Language? Review of Ramberg, Donald Davidson's Philosophy of Language
    Dialectica, Vol. 50, No.1, 1996, Pp. 63-71 50 (1): 63-72. 1996.
    The book is an “introductory” reconstruction of Davidson on interpretation —a claim to be taken with a grain of salt. Writing introductory books has become an idol of the tribe. This is a concise book and reflects much study. It has many virtues along with some flaws. Ramberg assembles themes and puzzles from Davidson into a more or less coherent viewpoint. A special virtue is the innovative treatment of incommensurability and of the relation of Davidson’s work to hermeneutic themes. The weaknes…Read more
  •  18
    Meaning Holism and Semantic Realism
    Dialectica 46 (1): 41-59. 1992.
    SummaryReconciliation 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 requi…Read more
  •  33
    Sense, Reference and Purported Reference
    Logique Et Analyse 25 (March): 93-103. 1982.
    This paper argues for the importance of the concept of purported reference in understanding linguistic meaning and reference.
  •  82
    The opening essay of Emerson’s 1860 book, The Conduct of Life, posed, in that fateful year of threatening Civil War and disunion, the philosophical problem of human freedom and fate. The essay “Fate” is followed in the present book by a series of essays on related themes, including: “Power,” “Wealth,” “Culture,” “Worship,” “Beauty” and “Illusions.” The central question of the volume is, “How shall I live?” Appreciating both our freedom and its limits, we understand the vitality of power to acqui…Read more