Adventures in Unfashionable Philosophy

James W. Felt

Description

Throughout more than forty years of distinguished teaching and scholarship, James W. Felt has been respected for the clarity and economy of his prose and for his distinctive approach to philosophy. The seventeen essays collected in Adventures in Unfashionable Philosophy reflect Felt's encounters with fundamental philosophical problems in the spirit of traditional metaphysics but updated with modern concerns.

Among the main themes of the volume are: the enrichment of Thomistic philosophy through engagement with modern philosophers, Whitehead and Bergson, in particular; considerations of metaphysical method and its effect on philosophic conclusions; the development of a nuanced epistemological realism; and the relation of possibility to actuality and of time to experience.

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Épistémologie
• Métaphysique
• Philosophie de la religion
• Religious
• PHILOSOPHY
• Philosophie et théologie
• Thomism
• Metaphysics
• Epistemology
• Whitehead
• Henri Bergson

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 15 novembre 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268079673
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

a d v e n t u r e si nu n f a s h i o n a b l ep h i l o s o p h y

ADVENTURES IN UNFASHIONABLE PHILOSOPHY

J a m e s W . F e l t

University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana

Copyright © 2010 by University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved

Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Felt, James W., 1926– Adventures in unfashionable philosophy / James W. Felt. p. cm. Essays in this volume have originally been publishe d. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN -13: 978-0-268-02902-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN -10: 0-268-02902-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Metaphysics. 2. Philosophy, Modern. 3. Thomas, A quinas, Saint, 1225?–1274. 4. Whitehead, Alfred North, 1861–1947. I. Title. BD 111. F 273 2009 191—dc22 2009038123

∞The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

ConTEnTS

Preface(2009)

Vii

o n e On BEing YourSELf (1968)

1

t w o InViTàTion To à PhiLoSophic REVoLuTion (1971)

t h r e e thE tEMporàLiTy of DiVinE FrEEdoM (1974)

4

22

f o u r PhiLoSophic UndErSTànding ànd ThE ConTinuiTy of BEcoMing (1978) 37

f i v e trànSMuTàTion ànd WhiTEhEàd’S eLEphànT (1981)

s i x CoMing around agàin in PhiLoSophy (1982)

s e v e n IMpoSSibLE WorLdS (1983)

78

68

61

vi

Contents

e i g h t God’S ChoicE: REEcTionS on eViL in à CrEàTEd WorLd (1984) n i n e WhiTEhEàd’S miSconcEpTion of “subSTàncE” in ariSToTLE (1985)

t e n InTuiTion, eVEnT-aToMiSM, ànd ThE sELf (1987)

e l e v e n FàcES of tiME (1987)

141

t w e l v e FàTàLiSM ànd truTh àbouT ThE FuTurE (1992)

128

152

t h i r t e e n RELàTionàL REàLiSM ànd ThE GrEàT DEcEpTion of sEnSE (1994)

f o u r t e e n Why PoSSibLE WorLdS arEn’T (1996)

184

f i f t e e n PropoSàL for à thoMiSTic-WhiTEhEàdiàn mETàphySicS of BEcoMing (2000) 198

s i x t e e n epochàL tiME ànd ThE ConTinuiTy of expEriEncE (2003)

s e v e n t e e n “Know YourSELf!” (2007)

Notes Index

239 267

232

101

110

169

214

PrEfàcE

(2009)

thE foLLowing ESSàyS unàShàMEdLy purSuE METàphySicS in ThE cLàSSicàL buT now ràThEr unfàShionàbLE SEnSE. During My four dEcàdES of chàL- LEnging undErgràduàTE STudEnTS wiTh phiLoSophic probLEMS, ThE ESSàyS EMErgEd LikE MuShrooMS, unprEdicTàbLy, ànd EVEn now SEEM worTh rEàding for ThoSE inTErESTEd in ThE probLEMS ThEy àddrESS. OnE rEàdiLy rEcognizES ThEir rESonàncE wiTh ThE ThoughT of thoMàS aquinàS, HEnri BErgSon, aLfrEd NorTh WhiTEhEàd, ànd SoME of ThE phEnoMEnoLogiSTS. In pàrTicuLàr ThE foLLowing ThEMES rEcur: (1) ThE concErn To Enrich thoMiSTic phiLoSophy wiTh MorE ModErn wàyS of Thinking (ESpEciàLLy ESSàyS 2 ànd 15, which LEd To Two SubSEquEnT bookS); (2) à criTiquE of WhiTEhEàd’S phiLoSophy (ESSàyS 3, 5, ànd 9); (3) conSidEràTionS of METà- phySicàL METhod ànd iTS EffEcT on METàphySicàL concLuSionS (ESSàyS 7, 8, 12, ànd 16); (4) ThE rELàTion of poSSibiLiTy To àcTuàLiTy (ESSàyS 5, 6, 11, ànd 13); (5) ThE rELàTion of TiME To ExpEriEncE (ESSàyS 11, 12, ànd 16); ànd (6) EpiSTEMoLogicàL rEàLiSM (ESSàyS 5, 13, ànd 16). I did conSidEr àrrànging ThE ESSàyS TopicàLLy àLong ThE àboVE LinES, buT in ThE End found ThàT Too cuMbErSoME ànd àrTiîciàL, giVEn ThàT ThoSE TopicS TEnd To oVErLàp onE ànoThEr. If ThE ESSàyS EMbody àn EVoLuTion of ThoughT ThEy SEEMEd bEST LEfT in ThE ordEr ànd ESSEnTiàLLy in ThE forM in which ThEy îrST àppEàrEd, ànd So you înd ThEM hErE. I hàVE fELT frEE, howEVEr, To MàkE Minor STyLiSTic iMproVEMEnTS ànd, in à fEw càSES, EVEn To oMiT inESSEnTiàL pàSSàgES, incLuding SoME ThàT I now

vii

viii

Preface

rEgrET ànd àM LoàThE To pErpETuàTE. I prEfàcE Eàch wiTh à briEf indicà- Tion of iTS gEnESiS ànd àiM, iTS dEgrEE of TEchnicàLiTy, ànd whEThEr I wouLd Todày STiLL STànd by ThE poSiTion I ThEn Took. I hErEby Thànk ThE originàL pubLiShErS, àLL of whoM gàVE pErMiS- Sion To rEprinT ThE ESSàyS in ThiS VoLuME. I Thànk ThE rEàdErS of ThiS prESS for ThEir hELpfuL SuggESTionS, ànd I Thànk My TEàchErS, coLLEàguES, ànd fELLow JESuiTS for ThEir inSpiràTion ànd EncouràgEMEnT oVEr ThESE Màny yEàrS. I àLSo owE Much To sànTà CLàrà UniVErSiTy for iTS SupporT ànd iTS huMàniSTic EnVironMEnT. JWF

Un philosophe digne de ce nom n’a jamais dit qu’une seule chose.

—HEnri BErgSon,  “l’InTuiTion PhiLoSophiquE”