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BOOK REVIEWS 205 There are several historical studies that are readable and illuminating·, together with others whose authors seem to have forgotten the advice which warns that the ignorance of history inevitably brings in its wake the repetition of historical errors. Nowhere is the advice more needed than in philosophy and religion where dead horses are dragged out to be beaten again and again. A case in point is the whole area of man's knowledge, particularly on the intellectual level. Notwithstanding the obvious lacunae in our grasp of the total picture, there are many problems here that have been at least partially solved, but the solutions are ignored or forgotten by those who do not know their history. A number of the articles have appended comments which evaluate, reinforce or perhaps controvert opinions expressed in the articles. These comments are often very helpful in eliminating confusion or tempering undue enthusiasm for some precious opinion. The difficulties of terminology encountered in the writings of thinkers having differing backgrounds is pointed up in several of the comments. This difficulty of terminology makes for muddy writing in which the book abounds. When the commentators who heard the paper are baffled, it is inevitable that readers will be more completely at sea. After closing the book, two strong impressions remained with me. One was a nostalgic longing for the times when most of those attempting to do philosophy made some use of the fundamental scholastic disciplines having to do with the acts of the mind and modes of knowing, because these make language intelligible, and no contemporary or future gimmick will ever supply their lack. In spite of this, a second impression persisted that this book will be usable for anyone interested in the relations between contemporary philosophy and religion. Dominican HOU8e of Studill8 Washington, D. C. GEORGE c. REILLY, 0. P. L'Insegnamento Filosofico nei Seminari dopo Il Vaticano II. Sapienza, vol. XXI, nn. 1-2, 1968. This is an account of a congress of Italian seminary professors in Naples in December of 1967. It is published as a special January-June 1968 number of Sapienza. I would divide the material of this volume into three classes. A first class deals with what I would call social structure questions of the seminary itself. Thus Professor Poppi describes the insufficient formation of students and professors. (pp. 219-222} Professor Pellegrino demands greater liberty 206 BOOK REVIEWS and legal guarantees of liberty of research for professors. (pp. 133-136) Programs for cooperation of students and faculty with state universities are explained by Fathers Zovatto and D'Amore. (pp. 264-273) A second class of materials deals with philosophical development but as preconditioned by unbudging adherence to scholastic and particularly Thomistic principles. Here I would place the impressive vast synthesis of modern thought in philosophy and theology proposed by A. Boccanegra, 0. P. (pp. 143-205) A third class of materials treats of new problems whose solution is not preconditioned by unbudging adherence to scholastic or Thomistic principles. And in this last class I would place the article of Fr. Gaboriau, 0. P., on teaching philosophy (pp. 231-246) and the article by Professor I. Mancini on philosophy of religion. (pp. 94-111) Fr. Gaboriau, 0. P., describes the efforts towards philosophical renewal at the Mission de France seminary published as Nouvelle Initiation. Its main characteristics are that basic data are taken from a phenomenological search of common speech. From these are elicited the categoric!' and principally that of substance. Substance then becomes the central theme of the rest of the course, and particularly man as substance. Substance and man as substance lead eventually to knowledge of God as Creator. The historical trend from polytheism to monotheism to atheism introduces the problem of God. Father Gaboriau reports that the course evokes great interest from the students. The teaching method used is that of seminar and discussion groups with appropriate readings along with texts from the Nouvelle Initiation Philosophique. In my opinion, basing the philosophy course on finding the categories is an important step in the right direction. In Gaboriau's brief account of the process, it is not possible to judge how critical is the...

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