. SHAW AND STAFF
n construct a model of
and that avoids those
. "idea" (the kind of acred in terms of a com•. The first, by Charles
il differences between
s's philosophy, and
'cond, by Mark A. Kulin mediating Leibniz's
Hoeltzel,
~as.-Steven
'1Jival of Culture: PerR. Dee, 2002. xi + 258
, volume, free of acaneral reader, are in the
~m exemplified by the
alive today in the New
were originally pUbnd insightful smvey of
emphasis on the por
IT
SUMMARIES AND COMMENTS
631
root principles) centered on the statesmanship of Lincoln. Robert
Bork's chapter on the "adversary judiciary" limns the extent to which
judges have gone from being the guarantors of the rule of law to the
most effective antagonists of traditional institutions and values. Finally,
Roger Kimball fittingly recalls the original Ciceronian understanding of
culture as the development of the mind analogous to the cultivation of
the earth, and connects it with the celebrated (and now largely abandoned) program of criticism proposed by Matthew Arnold.
If there is a dominant theme of the collection, it is the trahison des
clercs that has had such a formative (or rather deformative) impact on
contemporary culture. That theme is central to what I take to be the
three anchoring essays by Minogue, Steyn, and Kimball. There is also
another threat looming over these essays. Most were written soon after
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and carry an urgency deriving from that terrible day. The loss of confidence that has come over the
elites of the contemporary West becomes even more striking when not
only the political and cultural order but the very physical existence of
the West is under attack from an enemy explicitly dedicat~d to its destruction.
If there is a desideratum in the volume it perhaps is the lack of more
treatment of the fine arts, music in particular. Still, much is covered between the covers of the Survival of Culture and one of its principle
achievements is to show that,· as bad as things may be, there are plenty
of witnesses who know what the alternatives are and thus can serve as a
source of preservation and renewal. Culture sUIVives.-V. Bradley
Lewis, The Catholic University ofAmerica.
~eated.
)akeshottian reflection
.me passive spectators
modes of identity and
nuinely contemplative
lis with a judicious aplSsociated with the adny Daniels provides a
ices and dilemmas of
typically accompanies
s's essay recounts the
logies that shadowed
he potentially destrucect of European intef ideologies currently
rom vulgarizations of
d's influential body of
k Steyn contributes a
of Western intellecturistic of his splendid
n Burke manages to
orn that is the animatand practice. Diana
Cal philosophy to the
of its now obscured
LANGE, Marc. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Physics: Locality,
Fields, Energy, and Mass. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2002. xvii +
320 pp. Cloth, $64.95; paper, $29.95-This clear and engaging book,
with useful diagrams, sidebars, and discussion questions, can be used as
a textbook for philosophy of physics courses. Lange's philosophical
topics should be ·accessible to undergraduates. Nonetheless, even with
Lange's explanations, students without a physics background might find
the pages of equations daunting. Moreover, the book lacks an introduction and conclusion, and so do most of its chapters. Thus it is not al. ways easy to see how Lange's discussions fit into his unifying theme.
That theme is that effects should be spatiotemporally local to their
causes, and so electromagnetic and strong nuclear forces in particular
cannot act at a distance. Lange's key step in arguing for spatiotemporal
locality is to argue that fields produced by these forces are ontologically
real, contacting the objects causing, and affected by, those fields. In the
process of his argument, Lange discusses classical, special-relativistic,
and quantum mechanics, as well as metaphysical topics such as realism
and causality. Lange also provides a sociological critique of the sometimes inconsistent, sometimes dismissive, attitudes of some scientists
632
ELIZABETH C. SHAW AND STAFF
and textbooks toward questions of realism. Lange generally succeeds in
convincing the reader that such questions are relevant to both philosophy and physics.
Chapter 1 introduces the concept of spatiotemporal locality and attendant metaphysical concepts such as cause, event, and relational and
intrinsic properties.
Chapter 2 argues that electric and magnetic interactions obey spatiotemporallocality if electric and magnetic fields are ontologically real.
For so understood fields extend from the objects causing, to those affected by, them. Nonetheless Lange explains that fields may be interpreted as nonreal in two senses: mere dispositions, and shorthand for
mathematical expressions (compare the nonreality of any specific average American family with 2.1 children). Lange considers whether potentials and lines of force might be interpreted as real, concluding that the
reality of fields is the best hope for establishing spatiotemporal locality.
Chapter 3 examines the first nonreal interpretation of fields, namely,
as mere dispositions. Lange argues against understanding dispositions
as themselves causally efficacious. But then if fields-real or otherwise-are interpretable as causally efficacious (which, ex hypothesi,
they are), they should not be interpreted as dispositions.
Here Lange might have concluded that fields should be interpreted as
either real or nonreal in the sense of being shorthand for mathematical
expressions. Instead, chapter 4 asks why one would think action at a
distance impossible in the first place. Chapter 5 answers: it seems to violate the laws of energy and momentum conservation. But, Lange
claims, energy and momentum might themselves be mere calculational
devices that can be added or'subtracted from a system to preserve conservation laws. Action at a distance, and so the nonreality of fields, is
still possible.
Chapters 6 and 7 are interchapters. Chapter 6 asks whether there
might be anything fundamental in the universe beside fields; Lange remains agnostic. Chapter 7 explains how special relativity unifies elec. tricity and magnetism.
Chapter 8 argues that according to relativity neither energy nor momentum is real but are different aspects of the same real thing, namely,
mass. Lange then discusses how to understand "E = mc2." What does
this have to do with establishing spatiotemporallocality via establishing
the reality of fields? Lange argues that attributing mass to the strong nuclear force field in an atomic nucleus accounts for discrepancies in
mass during atomic decay. But if a field has mass, then that field must
be ontologically real. Lange generalizes to cases involving electromagnetic force. And so spatiotemporal locality is preserved in cases concerning either force.
Chapter 9 observes that quantum mechanics poses a different challenge to locality. Lange notes that interpreting quantum mechanics as
complete, as the Copenhagen interpretation does, allows it to violate
spatiotemporallocality. But Lange also notes that interpreting it as incomplete cannot leave room for hidden variables that might obey locality. For Bell's argument shows that as long as quantum-mechanical predictions match nature, there is no room for hidden variables obeying all
of Bell's assumptions, notable among which is spatiotemporal locality.
Lange then
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3HAW AND STAFF
~enerally succeeds in
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lteractions obey spaIre ontologically real.
causing, to those afc fields may be interlS, and shorthand for
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ltiotemporallocality.
ion of fields, namely,
standing dispositions
fields-real or otherwhich, ex hypothesi,
tions.
)uld be interpreted as
and for mathematical
)uld think action at a
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stem to preserve conlonreality of fields, is
3 asks whether there
!side fields; Lange rerelativity unifies elec~ither energy nor mone real thing, namely,
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,cality via establishing
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), then that field must
involving electromageserved in cases con-
oses a different chalLlantum mechanics as
3, allows it to violate
t interpreting it as inthat might obey localntum-mechanical preobeying all
latiotemporal locality.
1 variables
SUMMARIES AND COMMENTS
633
Lange then offers his own suggestion for preserving spatiotemporal locality, closing with problems to that suggestion. Some conclusion, to
the chapter and book,. would have been welcomed.
An Introduction to the Philosophy ofPhysics is a good introduction,
as its subtitle suggests, to the concepts of locality, fields, energy, and
mass. It is also a good introduction to certain concepts in metaphysics.
Nonetheless, unless students have some background in physics, Lange's
book requires a good instructor to explain the physics, as well as to
highlight how Lange's theme of· spatiotemporal locality unifies his
book.-Nathaniel Goldberg, Georgetown University.
LAWLOR, Leonard. Derrida and Husserl: The Basic·Problem ofPhenomenology. Studies in Continental Thought. Bloomington: Indiana University
Press,2002. xii + 286 pp. Cloth, $49.95; paper, $19.95-In ".The Original
Motivation: Defend the Derridean Faith," which serves as the book's
preface, the author openly acknowledges that the book often has "the
tone of 'setting the record straight'" (p. 7).· . Yet Lawlor's aim is· not to
take sides ina sterile polemic between defenders and critics of
Derrida's reading of Husserl. Instead, what he provides is a thoroughly
informed reconstruction· of the development of Derrida's early thought,
much of which, as is well known, took shape through an Auseinandersetzung with Husserl.
Despite its title, then, Derrida and Husserl is primarily about Derrida,
and only secondarily about Husser!. A reader who approaches the book
with the hope of gaining some perspective on the Husserl-Derrida debate will come away disappointed: the Husserl one finds is in every case
Derrida's Husserl, and no attempt is made to see things through
Husserl's eyes. Consequently, where Husserl is concerned, Lawlor's
analysis comes off as a something of a broadside. Where· Derrida is concerned, on the other hand, the book has much to offer.
The chapters are in effect mini-commentaries on different Derridean
texts. After preparing the way for Derrida with a discussion of Eugen
Fink, Lawlor turns to an investigation of Derrida's "'Genesis and Structure' and Phenomenology" (1959). In this essay, he argues, Derrida engages in a "phenomenological critique" of Husserl, that is, a critique that
makes use of phenomenology's own "principle of all principles" in order
to uncover residual "dogmatisms" in Husserl's thought. Derrida's basic
claim is that in seeking the origins or genesis of "the world," Husserl was
forced in various ways to transgress his self-imposed restriction to evidential givenness: "genesis overflows phenomenological evidence" (p.
27).
These themes are developed further in Lawlor's investigations of
Derrida's Le Probleme de la genese dans la philosophie de Husserl
(1953-54) and Introduction to Husserl's "The Origin of Geometry"
(1962). Mter rich examinations of Tran-Duc-Thao and Jean Cavailles,
we are told that Derrida wants to "up the ante" on their dialectical