Books Received

BOOKS RECEIVED 155 avowal comes forth quite clearly in Hans Jonas's discussion of "Heidegger's Resoluteness and Resolve." Jonas draws upon an intuition that Heidegger's discussion of authentic resolve (Entschlossenheit) in the second division of Being and Time becomes a retroactive justification for his "throwing [himself] into this new destiny" offered by National Socialism (~o~). Jonas finds Heidegger's direct appeal to the tenets of his own thought to be less an example of authenticity than a self-deception that conceals the "nihilistic element that lies in it [i.e., his thinking]" (2o3). While the point is well made, it tends to attach a certain amorality to Heidegger's notion of resolve without taking the further step of considering the possible relation between his own thought and the formulation of an ethical stance. It is not easy to summarize as complex an issue as Heidegger's relation to National Socialism. Yet even Heidegger recognized the need for simplicity on many issues. In this regard, Emil Kettering identifies a facet that is so simple that it is often overlooked in the evaluation of Heidegger's political stance. "It is unacceptable, for instance, that Heidegger's conduct in 1933/1934 be judged from the standpoint of our detailed knowledge today of the ideology and the atrocities of National Socialism. Rather we must attempt to assess Heidegger's actions from the situation at the time" (13 l). The offering of this hermeneutical precaution, which takes to heart much of Gadamer's own plan for the interpretation of history, requires closer scrutiny. For it is not only the re-evaluation of Heidegger's historical importance which is in question. Equally significant is the need for us to undertake a parallel self-critique of the priorities that determine the democracy which we uphold so readily in stark contrast to fascism. The ability to move beyond the impasse of the simple acceptance of our own historical situation might be one of the chief lessons of the "Heidegger Affair." To this end we must look to the above works as providing the beginnings of guidance. FRANK SCHALOW Loyola University, New Orleans BOOKS RECEIVED Aboulafia, Mitchell, editor. Philosophy, Social Theo~, and the Thought of George Herbert Mead. Albany : State University of New York Press, 1991. Pp. xx + 319. Paper, $19.95. Alford, C. Fred. The Self in Social Theory:An Account of its Constructionin Plato, Hobbes,Locke,Rawls, & Rousseau. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991. Pp. viii + 229. Cloth, $3o.o0. Almond, Brenda. The Philosophical Quest. London: Penguin, 1991. Pp. 905. Paper, $8.95. Arieti,James A. Interpreting Plato: The Dialogues as Drama. Savage, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1991. Pp. x + ~7o. Cloth, $46.~ 5. Paper, $16.95. Baier, Annette C. A Progressof Sentiments: Reflections on Hume's Treatise. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991. Pp. xi + 333. Cloth, $39.95. Benhabih, Seyla and Fred Dallmayr, editors. The Communicative Ethics Controversy. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 199o. Pp. viii + 378. Cloth, $37.5o. Paper, $16.95. Berger, Arthur S. and Joyce Berger, editors. To Die orNot To Die? Cross-Disciplinary,Cultural, and Legal Perspectiveson the Right to ChooseDeath. New York: Praeger, 199o. Pp. xii + 194-Cloth, $42.95 9 156 JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 3 ~ 1 JANUARY x992 Berti, Enrico, editor. Problemi elietiea: Fondamme, none, oriemamemi. Padova: Fondazione Lanza, 199o. Pp. 427- Paper, L. 5o,ooo. Black, Deborah L. Logic and Aristotle's "Rhetoric" and "Poet/cs" in Medieval Arabic Philosophy. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 199o. Pp. xii + 289. Cloth, NP. Blandino, Giovanni. An Outline of the Philosophy of Knowledge and Scieme. Roma: Nuova Coletd, i989. Pp. i 17. Paper, L. 15,ooo. Blandino, Giovanni. D/scuss/0m sud Neo-Tomismo: Per il progresso dellafilosofia christiana. Roma: Nuova Coletti, t99o. Pp. 291. Paper, L. 30,000. Blandino, Giovanni and A. Molinaro, editors. The Critical Problem of Knowledge. Rome: HerderPontifical University of Lateran, 1989. Pp. 164. Paper, NP. Bioch, Ernst. Heritage of Our Times. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991. Pp. xiv + 377' Cloth, $40.00. Brann, Eva T. H. The World of the Imagination: Sum and Substance. Savage, MD: Rowman and Littlefieid Publishers, 1991. Pp. xiv + 81o. Cloth, $75.00. Brittan, Jr., Gordan G...