Eliphalet Nott (review)

274 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY This admits both objective and subjective factors in determining the actual existence of any particular creature or universe. Because of the subjective component in God's choice, Wolff argues that he has preserved divine freedom while maintaining the claim that the visible universe is the best of all possible worlds. The problem of evil is resolved in typically Leibnizian fashion and Bissinger concludes with a brief comment on Wolff's definition of the essence of God. He notes that this definition relies on the concept of (representative) force which is central to Wolff's whole system. Bissinger's text is nicely complemented by an extremely comprehensive 11 1/2-page table of contents; two indices; and a valuable 13-page bibliography which lists primary sources from Wolff, the school-metaphysicians and classical modern thinkers, as well as the relevant secondary material. In addition to the titles in these lists, two items which Bissinger does not mention should also be consulted: James Collins, God in Modern Philosophy (Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1959), pp. 133-143, and Lewis White Beck, Early German Philosophy (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969), pp. 256-275. Although Collins and Beck are first-rate scholars, the very brevity of their discussions means that Bissinger's book is now absolutely essential for any serious student of Wolff's thought or the history of eighteenth-century German philosophy. It should also be of substantial interest among the wider audience of those who are concerned with the problem of knowledge of God and have some command over the German language. ~ A . CoPs Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Eliphalet Nott. By Codman Hislop. (Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1971. Pp. xviii+680. $15) This elegant volume is the definitive biography and amazing story of a great American educator, who exercised a considerable influence on philosophical thought in the United States. Eliphalet Nott (1772-1866) began his long career as an "awakened," New-Light minister and school teacher in Connecticut, under the influence of the Edwardians. Then, as the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Albany, N. Y., where the aristocracy of the new State Capital was assembled, and where Alexander Hamilton was one of his parishoners, he took the lead in urging a union of the churches in the interests of "Zion." In 1804 he became President of Union College in the neighboring town of Schenectady. During the graduation exercises of 1824 he delivered a sensational oration. Stimulated in part by the success of the Erie Canal, in part by his own work in the application of experimental physical science, and in part by his faith that Divine Grace was bringing in the "Millenium," he proclaimed the coming redemption of the world and of mankind by the rapid growth of man's God-given "means" to use his natural resources and sciences as well as the religious "means of Grace" for creating the great "Republic of God" on earth. In God's plan, he claimed, "men must become wise before they can become holy." He dedicated the College to this great task, using "the graces of Minerva" for the transformation of earth into The Republic of the World. He revolutionized the curriculum of the college by constructing a program of studies in the mathematical and experimental sciences as an alternative to the traditional course in classics and arts. He did this so effectively that within a decade Union College became one of the chief centers of scientific education and research. In his own courses on "moral philosophy" he BOOK REVIEWS 275 used the traditional works of Paley and Lord Kames, but he subjected them to independent "analysis" for conceiving a new moral philosophy in the spirit of "natural philosophy." The influence of his reforms and idea of "redemptive wisdom" inspired several leading reformers in the new universities. It also laid the foundations for the philosophical "innovations" of his successor L. P. Hickok. HERBERT W. SCHNEIDER Claremont, California Kierkegaards Verstiindnis der Existenz. By Frank-Eberhard Wilde. (Copenhagen: Rosenkilde and Bagger, 1969. Pp. 170) In this scholarly study there is a concern with tracing the "polyphonic" development of Kierkegaard's understanding of existence from his earliest journal entries to...