No comments about Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher (Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry Series).

3 comments about This Timeless Moment: A Personal View of Aldous Huxley.

1. "This Timeless Moment" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomthy" http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy



2. After reading Huxley's books for years, we finally get a glimpse into his later years through the eyes of his second wife, Laura Huxley. It is apparent throughout the book the extent to which Laura loved and admired Aldous. Nothing wrong with that.

   We learn the truth about his alleged "blindness", his view of psychedelics and how he handled death. Although through my readings it was apparent that Huxley was a brilliant man of letters, the biography brought to light the kindness of the man. He was, according to Ms. Huxley, willing to avail himself and his knowledge to anyone who sought it (except perhaps reporters from whom he understandably sought sanctuary).

   Even though I am sure it was unintended, we also come away with some notions about Ms. Huxley. Her devotion to Aldous, open-mindedness, and self-effacing manners shine through.

   I liked the book, but somehow felt the picture was incomplete. Certainly Huxley must have had an interior struggle between his religous beliefs and his intellect. Such a struggle is not discussed in this book. Perhaps Ms. Huxley was unaware of such a struggle or perhaps Aldous had somehow transcended it by the time he met Laura.




3. It is almost as hard to write a review of this book as it must have been for Mrs. Huxley to write it. Above all else, for the purposes of reading this review or the text itself, please keep in mind that it is not a novel but a recollection of her husband that the public had decided they knew so well.

   If you haven't read Aldous' works, don't bother with This Timeless Moment as it would be as interesting and informative as reading a description of the flavour of a fruit you've never tried. If you have read his texts though and found yourself immersed in the worlds within the man's mind for all its brilliance and receptivity, then this book will give you insights you simply could not get anywhere else.

   Not being an author herself, This Timeless Moment is not well written by any technical or literary means, but nor is it meant to be. This is a recollection of a husband by his widowed wife; it explores their time together and apart, describes the man she knew for the latter half of his life, and examines the misconceptions of the renowned author as communicated through the media. It is as to the point, as it is a scattered writing as any memory translated to paper promises to be; where it loses in technical merit it gains in heartfelt sincerity.

   There is also as much in this text for the fans of Aldous Huxley's writing as there is for the man himself. The biggest gift included is the first and only copy of a novel he had begun before his death in which, it is explained, he had hoped to achieve a level of completeness previously unattained- a level he only came to understand as his illness took hold. There is also a great deal of reference to his last published novel, Island, as to how it related to the man himself and his experiences that he'd incorporated into the writing. Of interesting personal note are the many letters and transcripts of recorded conversations between the husband and wife, as well as letters by Aldous to his brother and son.

   Included among much of the book are references to Aldous Huxley's experiments with psychedics which the media has given such focus and emphasis. It must be said that she is not advocating the use of the drugs, nor is she defending his choice to use them- she speaks of his and her own experiences with LSD and the level of consciousness found within them. Another review I read here on Amazon referred to her as being "preachy" about this issue, but I found that it was anything but. As evident by his writing, Aldous Huxley was interested in virtually every facet of life and the exploration of consciousness was but one of them.

   Also check out www dot yourwords dot org for more about this text and others.

   If you're looking for something mind-blowing, read Aldous' own writing itself like Brave New World, The Doors of Perception, Island or any other, and ignore this for now. If you have read these though and want more insight into the man lining each page, read This Timeless Moment and get past the sensationalism of the media into the mind of the woman he had shared it with.

4 comments about The Education of John Dewey.

1. Jay Martin has accomplished a monumental task in his efforts to uncover the true natures of John Dewey and his colorful life. My interest is in educational psychology and pedagogy. I admit a bit of disappointment in that Dewey's theories - - philosophical, psychological, and pedagogical - - were not explored as much as I had hoped. Nonetheless, I feel that Martin's book is a good primer for anyone who is interested in not only Dewey but, also, names such as Parker, and Tyler. The biography's deep historical basis allows readers of this and closely related materials to have a better contextual grasp how U.S. philosophical, psychological, and pedagogical theories were formulated in the late 18th and early 20th Centuries.



2. Martin endeavors to write a psychological portrait of John Dewey, but falls short. Ironically, the least developed aspect of Dewey's life in this volume is that of Dewey, the psychologist. Dewey was an early member (& president) of the American Psychological Assn. His observation of the reflex arc is still a staple of introductory psychology and the social psychological concepts and models he developed with George Herbert Mead and others prefigured much of the contemporary work in social cognition. Important figures in academic clinical psychology such as George Kelly and Seymour Sarason drew heavily on Dewey's work and Sarason has remained an important champion. No mention is made that Dewey's great friend, James McKeen Catell (a recurring, but little described figure in the book), was diametrically opposed to Dewey on many important issues in psychology including the roles of inheritance and environment in the development of intelligence and the conception of intelligence, itself. Dewey's ability to remain close to people whose ideas he vigorously opposed was but one of the inspiring aspects of Dewey's character. The shortcomings of this book made me more aware than ever that a full scale biography of Dewey, the psychologist, is needed rather than another biography of Dewey the philosopher, especially a tepid, uneven one like this.
   
   Martin, a humanities professor and a practicing psychonanalyst with an eclectic background occasionally deals with psychiatric disorder in Dewey's life (and the lives of his family members) and trots out some watered down neo-Freudian interpretations of his family life. Yet much of the time, Dewey, the man, remains elusive. Martin makes a number of preposterous claims about Dewey: he tells us that Dewey was "impoverished" for most of his professional life, although his salary was far in excess of that of an ordinary wage earner of his time and his home had servants. We also are told that Dewey was unique among 20th century leftists in his rejection of Marxism and Communism. In fact, Dewey was one of many American leftists who were opposed to Marx and Communism. American socialism probably owes more to the social gospel and non-Marxist political economists like Veblen than to Marx, Lenin, or Stalin. Martin also ignores the vigorous and polemical support Dewey gave to World War I and the strains it caused between Dewey and friends like Jane Addams. Instead, we are told that Dewey was a consistent pacifist driven by a concern that war would undermine democratic values. Remarks like these demonstrate Martin's ignorance of Dewey's life, as well as an ignorance of the social and political environment in which Dewey lived. Much of the discussion of Dewey, the philosopher, is laden with academic philosophy that is insufficiently explained for the educated layperson. Many well-educated people are not familiar with Hegel or the Vienna Circle or only dimly recall these from an introductory course. Many are drawn to Dewey because of his educational ideas or his importance in 20th century demoratic socialism, hence, it is probably not reasonable to expect that readers will automatically be drawn to the various debates within academic philosophy.
   
   This book is an easier read than the dense, often turgid works of Robert Westbrook or Steven Rockefeller. On the other hand, the book lacks the breezy, often humorous, tone of Alan Ryan's biography. Ryan's book is a much better introduction to Dewey---witty and scholarly, yet extremely readable. Although Ryan also focuses on Dewey the philosopher, he is more knowledgable about many aspects of Dewey's life and environment than Martin. He recognizes, for example, the importance and the the deeply flawed character of G. Stanley Hall, who provided Dewey with an introduction to operationism and to developmental psychology. Ryan also points out the limitations of Dewey's sometimes wooly writing. One of the problems with reading Dewey is that Dewey, the philosopher, often requires an understanding of Dewey, the psychologist, or Dewey, the political activist, to understand many of the basic concepts that guided Dewey decades into his effort to develop a coherent worldview of pragmatism. The same problem occurs when one looks at him as psychologist, as a pedagogue or, as a political commentator/activist. He was all of these things in all his professional identities, to some extent. Despite the recent run of Dewey biographies and the renewed interest in pragmatism, there's still more to learn about Dewey. Unfortunately, only well-read afficionados will get much from Martin's book and many may be distracted by it's shortcomings.



3. It is heartening to see that this book is NOT subject to the "star inflation" that plagues much of this website! [I mean, do you really think a majority of books should receive 4 or 5 stars!]. "The Education of John Dewey" is a solid biography of an interesting man who played an important role in American intellectual history. However, the book just didn't grab me. Not like "Lincoln's Virtues: an Ethical Biography" for example. One note about Dewey's philosophy. I don't see what was so new about pragmatism/naturalism/progressivism or whatever you want to call it. Wasn't Dewey's emphasis on the importance of the continuing pursuit of truth just a modern version of the Socratic method????????



4. Martin's book has an interesting premise, that the life experience of John Dewey was his education. That makes logical sense. Martin was privy to documents from the Dewey Center that were just made available to the public. The book is full of thought provaking information. I especially enjoyed the parts about his high school and college teaching styles. However, the author raises several unanswered questons? Why did Dewey teach high school and college classes different? What was his espistemology? Overall, the work is a good read and helped the reader gain insights into a complex philosopher. The book so inspired me that I traveled to Oil City,Pennsylvania to see if they had anything on Dewey. All they had was an historical marker where the school was, which is now a firehouse, and a file at the library. One question lingers, what happened to Dewey's dissertation on Kant? No one knows? The mystery of History.

No comments about Sartre (Life&Times).

1 comments about Emanuel Swedenborg (Swedenborg Studies, No. 9).

1. In Emanuel Swedenborg: The Development Of His Thought, Tomas Spiers and Anders Hallengren successful collaborate to provide a superbly crafted English translation of Martin Lamm's seminal examination of the celebrated 18th century scientist and theologian, Emanuel Swedenborg. Weaving Swedenborg's scientific philosophy with his spirituality in an engaging, informative, and insightful biography, Lamm makes accessible a very highly recommended and seminal contribution to Swedenborgian studies that will well serve to introduce a whole new generation of readers to a remarkable man and his astonishing contributions to science and metaphysics that are still evident and influential today.

3 comments about Nasir Khusraw, the Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveller and Philosopher.

1. This book answered a lot of questions that I had about the people of Badakshan and surrounding areas. Extremely readable book. Age old philosophies disclosed, still relevant after 1000 years. Great poetry and translation by Alice Hunsberger. Must read by all Rumi fans.



2. Dr Hunsberger's biography of the seminal Persian poet and philosopher is a must read for anyone curious about the state of affairs in the Middle East a millennium ago. Her exhaustive research and insight gives ballast and meaning to the personality of Nasir Khusraw as well as his travels and his journals. I highly recommend Dr Hunsberger's most-amazing book to any scholar devoted to Middle Eastern, Arabic, Persian or Islamic studies. Nasir was a dedicated scholar and so is Dr Hunsberger.



3. Dr Hunsberger's book takes us on the wondrous travels of the seminal poet and philosopher who helped to shape the thinking and practices of his many readers and disciples. Her lively and insightful account of Nasir's hajj and his stops along the way make him come to life and illustrate how his experiences shaped his philosophy and influenced his timeless writing. Dr Hunsberger's artfully written book is must reading for those curious about the development of civilization in the Middle East.

No comments about The Complete Correspondence, 1928-1940.

1 comments about On Peirce (Wadsworth Philosophers Series).

1. Cornelis de Waal's ON PEIRCE provides a solid and reliable survey of the principal doctrines and concerns of the great American philosopher, Charles Sanders Peirce. As de Waal puts it, the text constitutes a trustworthy "travel companion" to Peirce, and so does not get mired in the difficult interpretive issues concerning how Peirce's "system" hangs together. Highly recommended for both philosophical novices and philosophers unacquainted with Peirce's thought.

No comments about Nietzsche and Ree: A Star Friendship.

No comments about Herbert Read Reassessed.