Philosophy Word of the Day — Modus Ponens/Modus Tollens

Modus Ponens: (Latin for: mood that affirms.)  In its basic form, an argument that runs ‘If p, then q. p.  Therefore q.’

For example,

If today is Tuesday, then I will go to work.

Today is Tuesday.

Therefore, I will go to work.

Modus Tollens: (Latin for: mood that denies.)  In its basic form, an argument that runs ‘If p, then q.  But not-q.  Therefore not-p.’

For example,

If I miss the train, I take a taxi.

I didn’t take a taxi.

Therefore, I didn’t miss the train.

Definitions, but not examples, taken from Antony Flew, ed., A Dictionary of Philosophy, rev. 2nd ed., 236.

Book Review — Life in the Spirit

Paperback: 270 pages

Publisher: InterVarsity Press (March 5, 2009)

Amazon

Christianbook.com

IVP Page, with Sample Chapters

Life in the Spirit, edited by Jeffrey P. Greenman and George Kalantzis, is an excellent collection of essays on the Holy Spirit and Christian spirituality.

Topics in Life in the Spirit are varied, and are grouped under the headings of “Theological Contours,” “Historical Approaches,” “Spiritual Practices,” and an epilogue.

The “Theological Contours” section includes two essays on spiritual formation, and an essay entitled “Getting the Spirit Back in Spirituality.” This latter essay was written by Gordon Fee and it is, in my opinion, the best essay in the volume. Fee urges readers towards the realization that the Holy Spirit is fully active and alive in the church and to open ourselves up to the presence of God. Fee’s article was simply fantastic, and this entire section on Theological Contours is perhaps the highlight of the book.

The “Historical Approaches” section features four essays that focus on Christian spirituality throughout history. I found each of these essays interesting, particularly Lawrence Cunningham’s “The Way and the Ways” which discusses Roman Catholic spirituality. His insights on different “Ways” within Christianity and spirituality were enlightening. His points could be equally used for other denominations, such as his advice to analyze Catholic spiritual practice by asking, “Do we follow Christ by this practice, or by reading that book, or by participating in the liturgy, or by seeing Christ in others? By the use of that criterion we can then judge whether this vast panoply of Catholic devotional, ascetic, spiritual, liturgical and diaconal practices . . . are worthy of attention” (96).  I urge readers to consider the various “schools” or “Ways” Cunningham discusses. My single complaint about this section is that it seemed a little unbalanced to have two out of four essays on Roman Catholic spiritual practice. Surely there are other spiritual traditions worth exploring within Christianity! Catholicism would obviously be one of the top choices, but to dedicate half the essays on the historical perspectives to it seems a little extreme.

Part 3 focuses on “Spiritual Practices” and features five essays on the topic. These essays are wonderfully diverse. I was particularly excited to see that the essays weren’t all on topics that were to be expected, such as prayer (though the essay on prayer by James Wilhoit is great). Of particular interest to me was David Gushee’s essay on “Spiritual Formation and the Sanctity of Life” in which he urges Christians to “establish . . . the sanctity of human life as our utterly fixed, unshakable and immovable moral standard” (215).

There are difficulties with reviewing a work of such a broad scope, as it seems unfair not to deal with each essay individually. I trust this doesn’t reflect on this fantastic work, but instead on my inadequate review. I highly recommend Life in the Spirit for both interested laypeople and scholars. The diverse array of topics alone makes it worth buying, but the incredible insights the authors offer make the book essential.

— Reviewed by J. W. Wartick.  J. W. blogs on philosophy and theology at Always Have a Reason.

* Thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing a review copy.

Current Bestsellers in Philosophy

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Library Journal lists the top 20 from October ‘09 to July ‘10. These are the top 10:

1) Machiavelli’s Ethics
Benner, Erica
Princeton University Press
2009. ISBN 0691141762 [9780691141763]. $75

2) Maimonides in His World: Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker
Stroumsa, Sarah
Princeton University Press
2009. ISBN 0691137633 [9780691137636]. $39.50

3) Reason in Philosophy: Animating Ideas
Brandom, Robert
Belknap: Harvard University Press
2009. ISBN 067403449X [9780674034495]. $29.95

4) Heidegger: The Introduction of Nazism into Philosophy in Light of the Unpublished Seminars of 1933–1935
Faye, Emmanuel
Yale University Press
2009. ISBN 0300120869 [9780300120868]. $40

5) On Evil
Eagleton, Terry
Yale University Press
2010. ISBN 0300151063 [9780300151060]. $25

6) Friedrich Nietzsche: A Philosophical Biography
Young, Julian
Cambridge University Press
2010. ISBN 0521871174 [9780521871174]. $45

7) The Brain and the Meaning of Life
Thagard, Paul
Princeton University Press
2010. ISBN 0691142726 [9780691142722]. $29.95

8) Who Was Jacques Derrida? An Intellectual Biography
Mikics, David
Yale University Press
2009. ISBN 0300115423 [9780300115420]. $30

9) The Beast and the Sovereign. Vol. 1
Derrida, Jacques
University of Chicago Press
2009. ISBN 0226144283 [9780226144283]. $35

10) On Compromise and Rotten Compromises
Margalit, Avishai
Princeton University Press
2010. ISBN 0691133174 [9780691133171]. $26.95

(continue to the top 20)

If you’ve read any of these, please share your appraisal.

Philosophy Word of the Day — Logos

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“A Greek word, of great breadth of meaning, primarily signifying in the context of philosophical discussion the rational, intelligible principle, structure, or order which pervades something, or the source of that order, or giving an account of that order.  The cognate verb legein means ‘say,’ ‘tell,’ ‘count.’  Hence the ‘word’ which was ‘in the beginning’ as recounted at the start of St. John’s Gospel is also logos.

The root occurs in many English compounds such as biology, epistemology, and so on.  Aristotle, in his Nichomachean Ethics, makes use of a distinction between the part of the soul which originates a logos (our reason) and the part which obeys or is guided by a logos (our emotions).  The idea of a generative intelligence (logos spermatikos) is a profound metaphysical notion in Neoplatonic and Christian discussion.”

— Nicholas Dent, “Logos,” in The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, 511-512.

On John’s use of logos in the prologue to his gospel, William Temple writes that the Logos “alike for Jew and Gentile represents the ruling fact of the universe, and represents that fact as the self-expression of God.  The Jew will remember that ‘by the Word of the Lord were the heavens made’; the Greek will think of the rational principle of which all natural laws are particular expressions.  Both will agree that this Logos is the starting point of all things.”

— William Temple, Readings in St. John’s Gospel (London: Macmillan, 1939) 4, quoted by Millard J. Erickson in The Word Became Flesh: A Contemporary Incarnational Christology (Baker, 1991), 26.