1938: Philosophy

The Year's Features.

The year 1938 saw the development of no startling trend in philosophy, nor was there evidence of rapid disintegration in any existing school. Among the features of the year were: continued interest in the problems of methodology and philosophy of science; increasing vigor in the attack upon problems of esthetics; attention claimed by the field of values, moral values in particular.

Regional Philosophic Thought.

Though positivism and phenomenalism continued to dominate in America, there were many excellent minds working along traditional lines in every philosophical discipline. The periodical literature reflected a growing suspicion that semantics and semiotics may be a wooden horse which contains those very assumptions that positivism and phenomenalism had hoped to avoid. While this issue hung in the balance, there was no dearth of studies in the history of philosophy.

British philosophy was still rather sharply divided into the analytical-verbal group centered about Cambridge, and those who preferred the older methods of inquiry. But here as elsewhere the concern with methodology did not preclude the unabating interest in the problems and literature of the past. Philosophical thought in Germany, when it was not swayed by contemporary political exigencies, continued to follow either (1) the Nietzsche-Dilthey direction, dealing with the problems of historical consciousness, or (2) the phenomenologists, who desire to overcome the skepticism and relativism of the historical approach. German philosophy was centered as usual upon the problems of human life and was for the most part out of touch with the natural sciences other than psychology and sociology. It not only remained characteristically cool to positivism, but also evinced little interest in pure logic and logistics. In France, on the other hand, philosophy and natural science continued to fructify each other; while the interest in medieval philosophy, in the philosophy and history of Christianity, and in French classical thought, continued undiminished. In Italy, the Hegelian tradition and the pursuit of historical and esthetic problems still occupied the attention of philosophers.

Scientific Methodology and Logic.

Philosophical literature in 1938 was largely devoted to problems of methodology. First among the works in this field is the ambitious 'International Encyclopedia of Unified Science,' of which three parts of Volume I have appeared. This scholarly cooperative venture, under the direction of Otto Neurath, aims to exhibit the formulations and interrelations of the sciences for purposes of general enlightenment and stimulation, not unlike the French Encyclopedie of the eighteenth century. The distinguished authors represent no 'school,' but have in common only their interest in the problems of scientific method. The 'unity of science' is conceived to lie in a continuity of procedures. Doctors Neurath, Niels Bohr, John Dewey, Bertrand Russell, Rudolf Carnap, C. W. Morris, and Victor Lenzen have contributed to the monographs now in print. Another work falling within this domain is Russell's 'Principles of Mathematics,' lately reissued. While the text of this monumental work remains unchanged, Russell has included a brief Introduction in which he defends the Russell-Frege doctrine against intuitionist criticisms. He also adds some comments on logical propositions, which indicate that his defection from Platonic realism has not forced him into nominalism. The appearance of Alfred Tarski's 'Einführung in die mathematische Logik und in die Methodologie der Mathematik,' an elementary work, is additional evidence of the steady interest in the philosophical problems of mathematics.

Of the remaining books in logic and scientific methodology, Susan Stebbing's 'Philosophy and the Physicists,' appearing late in 1937, deserves special notice. Miss Stebbing lustily chastises Messrs. Edington and Jeans for using scientific concepts in moral, theological, and common-sense contexts — thus obfuscating the general reader while pretending to enlighten him. Admirers of the late Moritz Schlick were pleased to see his 'Gesammelte Aufsätze 1926-1936' come into print; the essays reveal a trenchant power of grammatical analysis, as well as a disposition to moderate the extravagant condemnation of philosophy's past, which was the fashion among the members of the Vienna Circle. In England, the articles of John Wisdom in Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society and Mind, said to contain elements of Wittgenstein's developed philosophy hitherto available only in manuscript among the elect, pointed to certain limitations of G. E. Moore's analysis of the concepts of metaphysics. Hans Reichanbach's 'Experience and Prediction,' an untechnical restatement of his 'Wahrschein-lichkeitslehre,' showed how probability statements bear upon scientific method, theory of knowledge, and general logic.

John Dewey's 'Logic: The Theory of Inquiry' was not only one of the most important books of the year but also one of the best of this illustrious author's long career. A comprehensive systematization of the dynamic empirical method, embracing observation, hypothesis, and verification after the pattern of biological science, the book aims to do for the modern age what Aristotle's 'Logic' did for Greek culture. It should go far towards complementing the abstract and a priori logic which now prevails.

Epistemology.

Turning now to epistemology, the year produced a provocative and influential book in G. Dawes Hicks' 'Critical Realism.' The realism of Hicks, not to be confused with the late American 'critical realism,' contains both Kantian and non-Kantian elements. The object of perception, according to Hicks, is conceptual as well as sensory. The perceptual continuum is a whole within which the act of perception discriminates some aspect or 'sensum.' The sensa are thus act-functions, not pure intuitions. The view leads to certain difficulties in the interpretation of mind, nature, and error, which the author does not succeed wholly in removing. Another work, quite dissimilar in contents, Jacques Maritain's 'Les degrés de savoir,' became available to English readers under the title, 'The Degrees of Knowledge.' It offers a penetrating analysis of Thomistic epistemology in relation to contemporary mathematical and physical advances, besides giving a defense of Christian mysticism. Santayana's new book 'The Realm of Truth: Book Third of the Realms of Being,' may also be included here. Most of its theses have already been expounded elsewhere. Truth is a 'radiation of existence'; it is fact, however contingent, which makes the truth true. Truth is inherently neither necessary, useful, nor coherent. Beyond truth lie esthetic, moral, and spiritual values. Santayana has lost none of his wizardry with words: the polished phrases and picturesque metaphors which fill these pages make them both a philosophical and an esthetic delight.

Metaphysics.

Foremost, among the books of metaphysics was 'Möglichkeit und Wirklichkeit,' by Germany's leading philosopher, Nicolai Hartmann. Continuing with the ontology of spiritual Being, the groundwork of which was laid in his 'Zur Grundlegung der Ontologie,' Hartmann now develops the modal aspects of Being. These speculations, the foundation of his influential philosophy of values, and the culmination of a brilliant career, will reach completion in another volume which will define the categories of 'real Being.' Speculative metaphysics in America was ably represented by Paul Weiss, whose 'Reality' is patterned courageously after the great tradition. Under the new label of 'Epochalism,' the author opposes current trends by taking individuals, instead of events, to be the basic units of reality. Other important works in metaphysics were George H. Mead's 'The Philosophy of Act,' G. Matisse's 'L'Arrangement de l'Univers par l'Esprit,' and Theodor Litt's 'Die Selbsterkenntnis der Menschen.'

Esthetics.

Although it is hazardous to generalize on the wealth of periodical literature and books on esthetics appearing in 1938, there was much evidence of a fresh emphasis upon the esthetic experience coupled with a defense of its objective character. Among the outstanding books was Stephen C. Pepper's 'Esthetic Quality,' wherein the author identifies art with the qualitative aspect of experience; life, like art, is justified when its quality is intense, deep, and pervasive; moral and esthetic values are continuous. Among other noteworthy books may be mentioned the following: H. N. Lee's 'Perception and Aesthetic Value'; R. G. Collingwood's 'The Principles of Art'; and E. Jordan's 'The Aesthetic Object.'

Theory of Value.

In theory of value, Wolfgang Kohler's 'The Place of Value in a World of Facts' was an important contribution. In these William James Lectures the author shows that in the world of so-called facts, the mind strives, through concepts and logical principles, to realize something normative. Values are among the facts of nature insofar as the 'requiredness' of some part of a total context is based upon the objective properties of that context. J. R. Reed's 'A Theory of Value' also deserves mention. Several books published before 1938 also received favorable notice: Oskar Kraus's 'Die Werttheorien,' and Herbert Spielberg's 'Antirelativismus' and 'Gesetz und Sittengesetz.'

Philosophy of Religion.

In the related field of philosophy of religion, the appearance of another commentary on the Danish theologian, Kierkegaard, by Walter Lowrie, coming with the announcement of the prospective publication of an English translation of Kierkegaard's works, emphasized again his growing influence in England and America.

The appearance of Benedetto Croce's 'La Storia come Pensiero e come Azione,' in which the venerable author reaffirms his Hegelian-like spiritual optimism, is not without interesting political implications. For Croce, history is, in essence, the unfolding of spiritual liberty, triumphing in its course over every form of irrationalism, including 'statism.' The state, he affirms, can at best provide the stability necessary for the development of the highest spiritual aspiration.

Historical Studies and Commentaries.

Of the great wealth of historical studies and commentaries to appear in 1938, only the outstanding ones can be mentioned. Of interest to historians of philosophy was the publication of 'An Abstract of a Treatise of Human Nature,' apparently written by Hume, but never before published. While it is a useful condensation, it throws no new light on the 'Treatise.' The ever-present interest in Plato was evidenced by the works of Paul Stöklin and Constantin Sandulescu-Godeni, dealing in particular with the myths and irrational elements in Plato. Professor Lane Cooper also offered a volume of new translations of Plato's esthetical dialogues. For students of Kant there was the excellent 'Commentary on Kant's `Critique of Judgment,'' by H. W. Cassirer; also Paul Schlipp's 'Kant's Pre-critical Ethics,' which performs a most useful service in rescuing Kant from the charges of empty formalism and being a cold 'Verstandesmensch' in ethics. The first volume of what promises to be a large-scale Italian commentary on Hegel, by Siro Contri, also appeared. The second volume of C. D. Broad's 'Examination of McTaggart's Philosophy' completes the exposition and critique of that Scotsman's 'infinitely ingenious and beautiful interlocking mechanism.' Rudolf Metz's indispensable history of British philosophical tendencies appeared in English as 'A Hundred Years of British Philosophy.' Professor R. B. Perry's, 'In the Spirit of William James' continued his constructive and self-effacing interpretation of James's philosophy. Eduard Baumgarten produced 'Der Pragmatismus: Emerson — James — Dewey,' the second volume of his provocative study of American culture. And as if to lend emphasis to this wealth of historical study, a group of American philosophers under the leadership of Professor Lovejoy hope soon to launch a Journal of the History of Idea; while 'The Library of Living Philosophers,' under the editorship of Paul A. Schlipp, announced its debut next year with a volume of the philosophy of John Dewey.

Necrology.

Death claimed two outstanding figures in the past year. Professor S. Alexander of England, best known for his panoramic treatment of realism in 'Space, Time and Deity'; and Edmund Husserl of Germany, founder and moving spirit of the phenomenological method and school, to which his celebrated 'Logische Untersuchungen' and other writings attracted students and disciples from Europe and America.