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Physical Order and Moral Liberty
Previously Unpublished Essays of George Santayana
Edited by John Lachs and Shirley Lachs
Series: Vintage Vanderbilt
This book is a collection of fifty-five essays and fragments by George Santayana, from the Santayana collections of the Columbia University Library and the Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas.
Although the essay included are largely philosophical in nature, none is narrowly technical. The general reader should be able to understand most of the pieces, as well as enjoy their literary quality and profit by the insights and wisdom they provide. The philosopher may draw courage from the speculative spirit of the essays and benefit by Santayana's steadfast vision and his sensitivity to distinctions.
For the serious student of Santayana's thought, this volume will prove indispensable. It contains sustained philosophical studies of causation (the only ones by Santayana anywhere), substantial elaborations of Santayana’s ideas on the relation of sensation to thought, and reflections on the nature of freedom and the spiritual life. In addition, Santayana develops here a new theory of “critical instants” and elaborates on his ideas of the nature of consciousness and its relations to time.
Sections on the philosophy of nature and the philosophy of mind are followed by groups of essays on ethics, the philosophy of politics, and the freedom of mind—in which, according to Santayana, the blessing of the good life consists. The book concludes with brief notes on Bergson, Democritus, and Leibniz and a longer essay on the thought of Vaihinger.
Although the essay included are largely philosophical in nature, none is narrowly technical. The general reader should be able to understand most of the pieces, as well as enjoy their literary quality and profit by the insights and wisdom they provide. The philosopher may draw courage from the speculative spirit of the essays and benefit by Santayana's steadfast vision and his sensitivity to distinctions.
For the serious student of Santayana's thought, this volume will prove indispensable. It contains sustained philosophical studies of causation (the only ones by Santayana anywhere), substantial elaborations of Santayana’s ideas on the relation of sensation to thought, and reflections on the nature of freedom and the spiritual life. In addition, Santayana develops here a new theory of “critical instants” and elaborates on his ideas of the nature of consciousness and its relations to time.
Sections on the philosophy of nature and the philosophy of mind are followed by groups of essays on ethics, the philosophy of politics, and the freedom of mind—in which, according to Santayana, the blessing of the good life consists. The book concludes with brief notes on Bergson, Democritus, and Leibniz and a longer essay on the thought of Vaihinger.
JOHN LACHS was born in Budapest, Hungary, and was educated at McGill University (B.A., 1956; M.A., 1957) and Yale University (Ph.D., 1961). A Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University since 1967, he taught previously for seven years at the College of William and Mary
SHIRLEY MELLOW LACHS, co-editor, with her husband, of this collection, is a native of Canada. She attended Marygrove College in Detroit and the University of Michigan (M.A., 1965).
Professor Lachs has three other full-length works to his credit: Marxist Philosophy: A Bibliographical Guide (University of North Carolina Press, 1967); another edited collection of Santayana essays, Animal Faith and Spiritual Life (Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1967); and a translation, in collaboration with Professor Peter Heath of Johann Gottlieb Fichte’s The Science of Knowledge (Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1969). He has contributed numerous articles to the Journal of Philosophy, The Harvard Theological Review, The Personalist, The Monist, The Review of Metaphysics, and many other learned journals.
Professor Lachs has been honored with a Phi Beta Kappa Award for the Advancement of Scholarship, a Ford Foundation Fellowship in the Humanities, and the Harbison Award for Distinguished Teaching. He is a member of several American and Canadian philosophical societies.
SHIRLEY MELLOW LACHS, co-editor, with her husband, of this collection, is a native of Canada. She attended Marygrove College in Detroit and the University of Michigan (M.A., 1965).
Professor Lachs has three other full-length works to his credit: Marxist Philosophy: A Bibliographical Guide (University of North Carolina Press, 1967); another edited collection of Santayana essays, Animal Faith and Spiritual Life (Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1967); and a translation, in collaboration with Professor Peter Heath of Johann Gottlieb Fichte’s The Science of Knowledge (Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1969). He has contributed numerous articles to the Journal of Philosophy, The Harvard Theological Review, The Personalist, The Monist, The Review of Metaphysics, and many other learned journals.
Professor Lachs has been honored with a Phi Beta Kappa Award for the Advancement of Scholarship, a Ford Foundation Fellowship in the Humanities, and the Harbison Award for Distinguished Teaching. He is a member of several American and Canadian philosophical societies.
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