A wholly new theory of matter has been advanced in the last half century by modern physics, but there has been no new theory of maยญ terialism to match it. The occurrence of a revolution of such magniยญ tude in science will have to be understood as calling for a corresponding one in philosophy. The present work is an attempt to make a start in that direction. Grateful acknowledgment is hereby made to the Editors of the folยญ lowing journals for permission to reprint articles which first appeared in their pages: to Darshana for "Human Nature and Institutions"; to Diogenes for "Full Concreteness and the Re-Materialization of Matter"; to Perspectives in Biology and Medicine for "The Ambivaยญ lence of Aggression and the Moralization of Man"; to Philosophy and Phenomenological Research for "Formal Materialism Reconfirmed" (which appears here revised and extended as "Formal Materialism: The New Version"), and for "Artifactualism: The Origin of Man and His Tools"; to Philosophy Today for "How Abstract Objects Survive"; to Religious Studies for "A Religion for the New Materialism"; and to Tulane Studies in PhilosoPhy for "A Material Theory of Reference. " PART ONE INTRODUCTION AND METHOD CHAPTER I THE SUBJECTIVE DIGRESSION Every philosophy endeavors to be as comprehensive as possible, and when philosophers speak they do so for the whole world
CONTENT
one: Introduction and Method -- I. The Subjective Digression -- II. A Synthetic Method for the Study of Empirical Ontology -- two: Nature -- III. Formal Materialism: The New Version -- IV. Full Concreteness and the Re-materialization of Matter -- V. A Material Theory of Reference -- VI. How Abstract Things Survive -- three: Human Nature -- VII. Artifactualism -- VIII. The Ambivalence of Aggression and the Moralization of Man -- IX. Human Nature and Institutions -- X. Cultural Conditioning -- four: The Limits of Nature -- XI. Spirit as a Property of Matter -- XII. A Religion for the New Materialism -- XIII. God -- References
