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Skepticism, Psychology, And Philosophical Criteria, Kristin Shrader

University of Dayton Review

Editor's note: This paper was read at the fourth annual University of Dayton Philosophy Colloquium, held in 1974.

Throughout the ages, philosophers seem to have attempted to steer a course between the Scylla of dogmatism and the Charybdis of relativism or skepticism. Perhaps this course has been stormy because philosophical dogmatism and the making of ontological and evaluative commitments can be easily caricatured into closed-mindedness. On the other hand, the relativism sometimes implicit in the jargon of philosophical neutrality threatens to collapse Sophia into sophistry. My solution to the problem of philosophical neutrality rests on three theses, the substantiation of …

Cover And Front Matter, University Of Dayton

University of Dayton Review

Cover, table of contents

The Philosopher's Character And Praxis, Martin A. Bertman

University of Dayton Review

Editor's note: This paper was read at the fourth annual University of Dayton Philosophy Colloquium, held in 1974.

Not inappropriately, as an invitation to conversation, the title of this colloquium — “The Philosopher: Neutral or Committed?" — is ambiguous and provocative. For one, the word “neutral” opposes “committed,” thereby suggesting the conflation of the meanings of “neutral” and “uncommitted,” as the latter is the formal opposite of committed.

To understand the meaning of “uncommitted” as positive hostility and abnegation of political action, however, would bring forward few advocates: Diogenes or Sinope, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche come to mind.

Polanyi's Theory Of Commitment, Lawrence P. Ulrich

University of Dayton Review

Editor's note: This paper was read at the fourth annual University of Dayton Philosophy Colloquium, held in 1974.

Michael Polanyi capsulizes his understanding of man’s knowing activity by the phrase “personal knowledge.” In order to understand any subordinate theme, e.g., commitment, which he treats, one must first have some appreciation of the force of his central theme, namely, the “personal” feature that is present in our knowing.

Philosophy, Commitment, And Their Institutional Setting, Robert N. Beck

University of Dayton Review

Editor's note: This paper was read at the fourth annual University of Dayton Philosophy Colloquium, held in 1974.

The question before this colloquium, whether the philosopher is neutral or committed, arises in a variety of contexts and takes on multiple meanings. It can be asked more broadly so as to refer to the humanities generally, to scholarship, even to the university itself; and it can be asked with precise reference to philosophy. Having at least these two contexts, the question calls for separate, though I think interrelated, considerations. I shall begin with some broader issues, and turn to the question …

Ought Cats Be Tuesday? Reflections On The Neutrality Of Philosophers, Xavier Monasterio

University of Dayton Review

Editor's note: This paper was read at the fourth annual University of Dayton Philosophy Colloquium, held in 1974.

Should walls be brown. or white? The question is ridiculous because, as it stands, it is unanswerable. Why should walls be brown rather than white, or white rather than brown? On what basis can we decide that one color is more fitted than another for walls? In order for the question to become truly intelligible and answerable, its context needs to be specified. Tell me whether you are talking about the walls of a house or the walls of an industrial plant, …

Philosophical Commitment As Artistic Expression, Robert K. Mcmaster

University of Dayton Review

Editor's note: This paper was read at the fourth annual University of Dayton Philosophy Colloquium, held in 1974.

In this paper I will deal with and try to give acceptable answers to three basic questions that deal with the topic of philosophical commitment. The questions and the order in which they will be dealt with are:

• What is philosophical commitment?
• How does philosophical commitment develop?
• What is the best way to describe, talk about, or understand this commitment?

Should The Christian Philosopher Be Committed To Action?, John G. Thompson

University of Dayton Review

Editor's note: This paper was read at the fourth annual University of Dayton Philosophy Colloquium, held in 1974.

Should the Christian Philosopher be Committed to Action? Speculative and practical issues seem to be involved in that eternal and very contemporary question. Its two contradictory answers will mold the thought and life of the Christian philosopher in two very different ways. The problem, by the way, does not appear to be unique to him. One can think of the artist, the scientist, etc., but it appears here more crucial because of his hold on and his pretense to a rational synthesis …

The Mind-Body Problem And Philosophic Commitment, Joseph Kunkel

University of Dayton Review

Editor's note: This paper was read at the fourth annual University of Dayton Philosophy Colloquium, held in 1974.

The intent of the first half of this paper is to set forth two leading distinct theories on the mind-body problem, and to point out some difficulties with the prevailing philosophy of science as this pertains to the behavioral sciences. The outcome of such an exposition will hopefully be a fuller understanding of two sides of a significant current philosophic controversy. In the second half I will draw out some general patterns of commitment prevalent within the philosophic community when philosophers debate …

The Transcendental Phenomenologist: Neutral Or Committed?, Raymond J. Devettere

University of Dayton Review

Editor's note: This paper was read at the fourth annual University of Dayton Philosophy Colloquium, held in 1974.

From the very beginning Western philosophy has been marked by an almost constant longing for radical knowledge, indubitable truth, apodictic evidence, the ultimate ground. Edmund Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology continues this philosophical passion and advances it along the lines first opened up by Descartes. The Cartesian doubt was a philosophical method designed to achieve an absolutely certain point of departure for philosophy by applying a merciless skepticism to all our experiences which could in any way be questioned. Two important insights emerge here: …

Introduction, Raymond Herbenick

University of Dayton Review

Editor's note: This paper was read at the fourth annual University of Dayton Philosophy Colloquium, held in 1974.

In considering the theme of the Fourth Annual Philosophy Colloquium — "The Philosopher: Neutral or Committed?" — several difficulties are apparent. First, the proposed question seems to fall outside the standard areas of interest of many contemporary philosophers, although it has its roots in the classic problem of adequately understanding the nature of philosophy. Second, the proposed question seems to suffer from an ambiguity that might lead one to respond in a variety of ways to perhaps no end at all. Yet, …