The Press. — London, England, 1856-11-08 00:00:00

1074 The Vocabulary of Philosophy, Mental, Moral, and Metaphysical. By W. Fleming, D.D. London : Griffin and Co. THE design and execution of this "Vocabulary" are both so excellent that we hope it may be followed by other books of a similar kind. Vocabularies of science would be especially desirable, as, through the enlargement of the boundaries of knowledge, new terms are con tinually introduced, of which sonic specific explanation is needed. Terms which, when first applied in special departments of pur suit, are purely technical are apt to come into general use as those pursuits are extended ; and this is more commonly the ease when the , pursuits are attractive in themselves, and when the terms peculiar to them readily ad mit of wider signification titan was at first accorded to them. The language of philo sophy has on the whole been less extended in m idern day than that of other sciences, many terms which have lately come into coin nom use—as objective and subjective, analysis and synthesis—having previously been well e .tablished in our tongue Other words, how ever, now commonly used, have not found a place in our standard dictionaries ; as exoteric and esoteric, aesthetic, with such logical terms as ci priori and (i postertort. It is a great merit in this vocabulary that, while it gives the signification of such philosophical terms as are not found in ordinary dictionaries, it also expressly defines the sense in which ell philo s )phical terms are used by the most exact writers ; and it, will thus help to avoid that m Aerial source of error which arises from writers attaching widely different signifiea tious to the same word. In proportion as the language of philosophy becomes fixed, we may hope that its reasoning will become more solid. and its conclusions more certain. Dr. Fleming is Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow. He sustains the reputation of his countrymen for metaphysical acuteness, and, with pardonable partiality, draws largely on the works of Scotch pro fessors for his definitions A few extracts will show his plan, and the admirable manner in which he has carried it out. Let us take A priori and A posteriori : A PRIORI, and A POSTERIORI.—" There are two general ways of reasoning, termed arguments a priori and a poste riori, or according to what is usually styled the synthetic and analytic method ; the one lays down some previous, self-evident principles ; and, in the next place, descends to the several consequences that may be deduced from them ; the other begins with a view of the phenomena themselves, traces them up to their original, and by de veloping the properties of these phenomena, arrives at the knowledge of the cause."—King, Essay, pref., p. 9. By an a priori argument a conclusion is drawn from an antecedent fact, whether the consequence be in the order of time or in the necessary relation of cause and effect. By the argument a posteriori we reason from what is conse quent in the order of time to what is antecedent, or from effect to cause. An individual may fall ender suspicion of murder for two reasons: he may have coveted the de ceased's property, or he may be found with it in his posses sion ; the former is an a priori, the latter an a posteriori argument against him.—Aristot., .llstaphys., lib. 5, cap. 11. DEMONSTRATION. Many other illustrative passages are given from celebrated metaphysical writers ; so that the person consulting the vocabulary is sure to obtain both a precise and a comprehensive sense of the signification of the term he refers to, while the student may profitably examine the book as an introduction to, or companion of, his philosophical course. The word syn cretism will afford some idea of the learning exhibited by the author in his explanation of terms : SYNCRETISM ( eTLOVITITIAO;, from I'vrxin7ifir, accord ing to Plutarch, 1)e Fraterno amore, to unite, like the Cre tans, when all the rival towns of the island united against the common foe )—is opposed to eclecticism in philosophy. Eclecticism (q. r.), while it takes from various systems, does so on the principle that the parts so taken, when bronght together, have a kind of congruity and consistency with one another. Syncretism is the jumbling together of different systems or part of systems, without due regard to their being consistent with one another. It is told of a Roman consul that, when he arrived in Greece he called before him the philosopiiens of the different schools, and generously offered to act as moderator between them, in order to bring about an agreemect. Something of the same kind was proposed by Charles V. in reference to the dif ferences between Protestants and Papists ; as if philosophy, and theology, which is the highest philosophy, instead of being a search after truth, were a mare matter of diplo• macy or compromise—a playing at protocols. But Syncre tiAns does not necessarily aim at the reconciling of the doctrines which it brings together ; it merely places them in juxtaposition. THE PRESS. Philo of Alexandria gave the first example of syncretism, in trying to unite the Oriental philosophy with that of the Greeks. The Gnostics tried the same thing with the doe• trines of the Christian religion. About the beginning of the seventeenth century, George Calixtus, a German theo• logian, attempted to set down in one common creed the belief of the Papists and the Protestants ; but succeeded only in irritating both. To him and his partisans the name Syncretist seems to have been first applied.—See Walch's Introduction to Controversies of Lutheran Church. Similar efforts were made to unite the metaphysics of Aristotle with those of Descartes. And the attempts which have fre• quently been made to reconcile the discoveries of geology with the cosmogany of Moses deserve no name but that of syncretism, in the sense of its being" a mixing together of things w.Aich ought to be kept distinct." On the evils of syncretism, see Sewell, (Christ. Morals. chap. 9), who quotes as against it the text, Deut. xxii. 9, " Thou shall not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds," ttc. Esoteric and exoteric are in like manner briefly and conclusively defined ESOTERIC and EXOTERIC (ITIN9iy, within ; 14w, without). —" The philosophy of the Pythagoreans, like that of the other sects, was divided into the exoteric and the esoteric; the open, taught to all; and the secret, taught to a select number."—Warburton, Dir. Leg., book ii., note bb. According to Origen, Aulus Genius, Porphyry, and Jam blichus, the distinction of esoteric and exoteric among the Pythagoreans was applied to the disciples—according to the degree of initiation to which they had attained, being full• admitted into the society, or being merely postulants. —Ritter, Mist. de Philosophic, tom. i., p. 298, of French translation. Plato is said to have had doctrines which he taught publicly to all—and other doctrines, which he taught only to a few, in secret. There is no allusion to such a dis- tinction of doctrines in the writings of Plato. Aristotle (Phys., lib. 4, c. 2) speaks of opinions of Plato which were not written. But it does not follow that these were secret— Ta Ta►; ).►yop.aror; ety,:a.poi; am...no-tr. They may have been oral. Aristotle himself frequently speaks of some of his writings as e.roteric ; and others as acroamatic, or esoteric. The former treat of the same subjects as the latter but in a popular and elementary way ; while the esoteric are more scientific in their form and matter. Occasionally Dr. Fleming is either too hazy or too subtle in his definitions. His explana tion of Pantheism, for example, is wanting in distinctness and in illustrative instances : Pantheism, strictly speaking, is the doctrine of the neces• sary and eternal co-existence of the finite and the infinite — of the absolute consubstantiality of God and nature—consi dered as two different but inseparable aspects of universal existence ; and the confutation of it is to be found in the consciousness which every one has of his personality and responsibility, which pantheism destroys. We can well believe Dr. Fleming when he states that, in preparing this work, " the labour has been greater than the result can indicate "or measure." He has, however, certainly no reason to be dissatisfied with the product of his toil. It is of solid value, and we venture to affirm will enjoy permanent reputation. In fact, it is a book which every person of literary taste will gladly add to his works of reference. To the students of philosophy it will be an invaluable aid, as it furnishes to some extent a manual of the science, while contributing to fix its language, and to furnish a lucid expla nation of its terms, with a learned and labo rious commentary on their origin and on their various significations PERIODICAL LITERATURE. THIS month we have an average number of Black wood, containing as usual one or two articles of first class merit. The opening essay on Mr. Ruskin is one to be read over many times, and considered deeply. The backbone of the article is the question of the identity or diverseness of truth and beauty. Mr. Ruskin is thought by the reviewer to have as serted the latter opinion somewhat too baldly, and he draws a distinction between what is a truth and what is a fact with considerable propriety, though he has not the gift of sufficiently condensing metaphysical arguments to enable him to do justice to such a topic within magazine limits. On the whole the article errs on the side of depreciation, and we are sorry to see any slight whatever thrown upon this noble testimony to the true conditions of humanity : To watch the corn grow and the blossoms set, to draw hard breath over ploughshare or spade—to read, to think, to love, to hope, to pray—these are the things that make men happy ; they have always had the power of doing these, they never will have power to do more. The world's pro sperity and adversity depends upon our knowing and teaching these few things : but upon iron, or glass, or elec tricity, or steam, in no wise. Another excellent article is one entitled " Scandi navia," ostensibly a review of the last new books on these countries, but containing some admirable ob serrations on the importance to England of cultiva ting friendly relations with her old Norse kinsmen. We quote the following passage as being so strongly in favour of that constitutional policy we have our selves advocated so constantly, and indeed couched in almost the very same words : SATURDAY, There there is no Jesuit or Republican party, embarras sing the efforts of true patriotism to realise constitutional governme ; there there is no antagonism between the Crown and the people, but they associate on a footing of easy friendship, not without undemonstrative love, like married folk who thoroughly understand one another. Respect for the gradations of ranks is there combined with the most perfect personal freedom. Equality is sacrificed to liberty, a sensible people being fully aware that they cannot coexist ; and there arc stronger feelings of regard towaras England in these States than elsewhere, because the insti tutions of England, which have solved to a great extent a most difficult political problem, are not a standing reproach and a perpetual satire on their own, but on the contrary keep them in countenance, and lend them a never-failing moral support. The two continuations, " The Athelings " and " The Scot Abroad " are both good. In" Table talk at Baden Baden," not otherwise a remarkable article, there is a good song of the Mathews school, with some easy and dextrous rhymes. Fraser this month is what many readers will, w e dare say, call insipid ; that is to say, it has no article which, either by its rollicking fun or telling argument or striking arrangement of facts, is such as to leave a permanent impression on the mind. At the same time, the whole number is a very pleasant one. " Glasgow down the Water " and " Sketches on the North Coast" are both most agreeable and readable productions. The "Journal of a Tour in the Crimea," and the review of Mr. Mansfield's " Paraguay, Brazil, and the Plate," are sound and useful papers, espe cially the last mentioned. " Meg of Elibank "is a curious bit of archaism in the shape of an autobio graphy of the wide-mouthed damsel of Border noto riety. "Ancient Gems" is as interesting as usual. The Dublin University is strong this month in political articles. The first, under the title of "How must Sardinia fight Austria?" suggests that the former should confine her efforts to a rivalship in the matter of revenue, and even hints at the great results to be obtained by a well-arranged system of smug gling on the frontier. " Neque to teneo, neque dicta refello " is all we can say to this. The last article in the number is a brief but very able and well• written disquisition upon the prospects of Spain. " Kidd on Reasoning " is an article upon logic, with the principle of which we fully agree, but the writer falls into a grave error in supposing that Aristotle requires any defence against Sir W. Hamilton, who is admitted by almost universal consent to have had the profoundest acquaintance with the Aristotelian system of any man either living or dead. The Arch bishop of Dublin, on the contrary, it is quite noto• rious has committed several very superficial blunders, which would, however, have bean of very little account except for the obstinacy with which he has persisted in them. Other works reviewed in this number are Emerson's " English Traits," Ferguson's " Northmen," and " The Life of Gainsborough.' From the first•mentioned we select the follow in g remarks on clever men : Clever men, good at devices and expedients—good at means, but unequal to tha intellectual tension demanded by the investigation of final causes—men of this stamp of course love to he told that pursuits which would other• wise proclaim their own inferiority are useless Briefly, they deny that there ate more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of iu their philosophy. Such men as these are the true ohstructives of society. By dealing with facts as they arise without condescending to reflect on their relations to theory, they constantly produce re sults which do not work, and w hich either have to be undone at a vast cost and waste of time, or are perpetuated as a burden and a clog to future generations. Of " The Fortunes of Glencore" we have an excel• lent instalment. Of the Eclectic Review considerably more than half is occupied by two articles, "Studies of Foreign Literature," and " Goethe." The first is principally confined to Italian writers. The second is evidently intended to be an exhaustive essay upon a theme deferred so late. As far as we can judge, it seems well written. The notices of books, chiefly theolo gical, embrace Mr. Barry's " New Introductinn to the Old Testament," Mr. Whitehead's " Church and the People," and a few others of less note. Of the North British, the article which has most attracted our attention—we cannot say has most pleased us—is the review of Mr. Froude's "History." It bears the marks of substantial ability, and the style is pure and vigorous ; but we think that both Mr. Fronde and his critic have set before themselves an impossible task. What right has any one to derhum against sophistry who can say with the reviewer that "it is just as senseless to say that Henry cut off Anne " Boley-n's head as that Queen Victoria hanged Pal " mer"? In another place the reviewer says : We are not inclined to debate Henry character, or any other subject, as between Mr. Fronde and an author of the Obscurantist or pseudo-l: inserrat i v e school. Mr. Fronde is a Liberal, and so are we. We wish to look at the question between Mr. Fronde and other Liberals. and therefore, of course, first between Mr. Fronde and Mr. Hallam. Why only mention pseudo-Conservatives' This is a very cowardly way of writing. Either the criuo believes in real Conservatives and dare not say so, or