In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

BOOK REVIEWS 103 rialistic" atheism, the other with the "humanistic" one. Arvon adopts the historical approach and shows that, although materialistic ideas can br traced back to antiquity, the current meaning of "materialism" is due to I~scartes and the line of thought he initiated. After a lucid discussion of the leading ideas of the materialistic thinkers of ancient Grcece and Rome, he turns to the various forms which materialism and its attendant atheism have taken in France, England, and Germany. He clearly points out the differences in the intellectual climates of these countries and the effects they had on the development of philosophical thought. The basic ideas of the various philosophers are presented in concise form supported by relevant quotations from their writings. The second part is devoted to the study of "humanistic" atheism which had its origin in German idealistic philosophy. Here he analyzes the Marxian, Nietzschean, and existentialist varieties and points out that the latter type, far from becoming a closed system as did the previous forms of materialism and atheism, opens up new horizons on the basis of humanely richer and decpcr experiences and therefore is itself of religious significance. Mr. Arvon's book is a mine of information about a problem that is often wilfully misunderstood . HERBERT V. C~.rEN'FI~R University of Saskatchewan An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. By J. L. Goodall. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1966; New York: Humanities Press, 1967) The title of this book is seriously misleading. L L Goodall introduces Christian apologetics or philosophical theology, not the philosophy of religion. He intends to fulfill the need "for a provisional presentation of the Christian position, a mapping of the ground on which the Christian may stand and remain intellectually respectable" (p. vii). He describes his considerations of concepts such as soul, God, Trinity, and prayer as an attempt "to justify their use, and relate them in a comprehensive system of thought" (p. 145). This is clearly an enterprise in Christian philosophical theology, not in the philosophy of religion. One cannot pretend any longer that the distinction between philosophical theology and philosophy of religion is vague.~ There is no excuse for the confusion in the rifle, a confusion which betrays an unfortunate religious parochialism. This is a shin volume, intended for beginners in philosophical theology. It is refreshingly well written, and free from the flat self-conscious jargon that marks too many introductory texts) The author has grasped the nettle of the problems posed by traditional Christian concepts and has resisted the temptation to reduce the content of the Christian faith in order to commend it. He does not merely review the various classical and modern approaches to his discipline; rather he argues his own position. This kind of introduction is greatly preferable to the preliminary reviews of what the great minds have said on the subject, which sometimes serve as introductions. Since it is an introduction which argues a position, we must estimate the success of the argument. Tbe first three chapters are devoted to a review of linguistic analysis and of the answers to its strictures against religious language submitted by Christian apologists such as I. T. Ramsey, I. N. Crombie and Basil Mitchell. Goodall's debt to Ramsey is great (p. viii),s and the constructive part of his argument is founded on Ramsey's demonstration that the 1 Cf. Frederick Ferr6, Basic Modern Philosophy of Religion (New York: Scribners, 1967), pp. 9-11. Ferr6 describes philosophy of religion as a non-religious examination of religion--a "metareligious" study--while philosophical theology is a religious undertaking, "a species contained within the theological genus." Cf. J. Macquarrie, Principles of Christian Theology (New York: Scribners, 1966), pp. 2, 35, and God Talk (New York: Harpers, 1967), p. 121, who substantiates Ferrd's distinction and explains the function of philosophical theology more fully than Ferrd. s E.g., FerrY, p. 56: "Lucid, beginning-level, treatments of the definition-making enterprise .... " 8 Religious Language (New York: Macmillan, 1957). 104 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY logical oddness of religious language corresponds to the oddness of actual religious experience , which is an experience of a situation of disclosure and commitment, usually within the...

pdf

Share