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BOOK REVIEWS 519 questions of formal validity than on questions of meaning. This reveals itself in his willingness to tolerate a premise that crops up in every one of those arguments: " Assume that it is true at time t 1 that so-and-so will perform an act A at a later time t 2 ." I assume at noon, let us say, that the bank manager will lock his doors at the posted closing time, three o'clock. But what does it mean to assume that it is true at noon that he will close the bank at three? How does one make the latter assumption, from which fatalist consequences appear to follow, as opposed to making the former assumption, from which they do not follow? Cahn gives his reader no instruction on this point. The fatalist premise, though it seems perfectly in order as a sentence, remains at least unclarified if not hopelessly unclear. It contains a phrase, "that it is true," whose only evident function in the sentence is to bring on dilemma. His trust in the clearness of that premise does not, however, prevent the author from working out one way of disarming fatalist arguments. It is a more labored way than the one he might have followed by putting questions to theĀ· key fatalist locution, but a clear and patiently reasoned way in any event. University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana H. A. NIELSEN Contemporary Readings in Logical Theory. By Irving M. Copi and James A. Gould. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1967. Pp. 842, with index. $4.50. This book is a happy sequel to the authors' earlier collection of texts which was entitled Readings on Logic. Whereas that book cited passages from the great logicians from the time of Plato, Contemporary Readings in Logical Theory concentrates on texts from twentieth century authorities. The selections are grouped into nine headings: The History of Logic, The Formal Approach, Meaning and Reference, The Theory of Types, Logic and Ontology, Logic and Ordinary Language, Modal Logic, Deontic Logic and Many Valued Logics. It is evident that all of the major areas in contemporary logic are touched upon. The authors do an excellent job at arranging the texts so that the reader can grasp the disputes and current disagreements among logicians today. It is the opinion of this reviewer that a teacher could build a fine course on the texts found in this book. The reader must understand, however, that the authors have chosen to limit themselves to texts which are in the tradition of symbolic logic, and, to a lesser extent, of linguistic analysis. There are no texts from logicians who devote themselves to the logical theories of the Far East, nor are there 520 BOOK REVIEWS any selections from Neo-Scholastics. The passage from the writings of Hao Wang does not deal with Buddhist logic, while the discussions of the universal found in the fifth section on Logic and Ontology are in a positivistic context only. This book contains a fine set of texts, but does not exhaust the subject. Nevertheless, a skillful teacher can use the texts that are presented and bring in other texts if he wishes. This is possible because of the truly generous range of logical thought which the authors provide. A final observation remains: the authors have selected passages which are readable. This is no mean feat. Many of the articles written by contemporary logicians, especially in the tradition of symbolic logic, are a hopeless jumble of symbols. Many readers despair of understanding them. Copi and Gould have found texts which are difficult, but which are within the scope of the average reader. Now that the ramifications of symbolic logic are so complex that computers are preferred to the human brain, it is refreshing to see a revival of interest in logical theory. In this area, the college student can be brought to ponder the humanistic dimension of our technological society. A book which accomplishes this is surely to be recommended. EuGENE BoNDI, 0. P. St. Stephen's Priory Dover, Massachusetts The Philosophical Foundations of Marxism. By Louis Dupre. New York/ Chicago/Burlingame: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1966. Pp. 240. $2.95...

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