Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

2022.06.06 View this Review Online   View Other NDPR Reviews

Jonathan Gilmore, Apt Imaginings: Feelings for Fictions and Other Creatures of the Mind, Oxford University Press, 2020, 258pp., $78.00 (hbk), ISBN 9780190096342.

Reviewed by Moonyoung Song, National University of Singapore Jonathan Gilmore’s book makes important contributions to a range of debates related to imaginings, especially imaginings in the context of engaging with fiction and artwork. The main question this book pursues is whether the norms that govern the aptness of our engagements with fiction are continuous or discontinuous with those governing the aptness of our engagements with the real world. Gilmore argues for discontinuity, in the case of both affective norms about emotional responses toward real versus fictional objects and epistemic norms about believing what is true in the real world versus imagining what is true in a fiction. This…

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Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

2022.06.04 View this Review Online   View Other NDPR Reviews

Babette Babich (ed.), Reading David Hume’s “Of the Standard of Taste,” De Gruyter, 2019, 333pp., $25.99 (pbk), ISBN 9783110585643.

Reviewed by Stephanie Ross, University of Missouri–St. Louis  This book edited by Babette Babich is a welcome addition to scholarship focusing on Hume’s famous piece on aesthetics. Babich has assembled 12 papers as well as a copy of Hume’s 1757 essay that the papers address. The selections are grouped in three clusters titled “Of Taste and Standards,” “Causal Theory and the Problem, Dispositional Critique and the Classic,” and “Comparisons, Art, Anatomies,” but the collection might just as easily have been partitioned differently.

Read the review! Read some Hume. . .

“At its best, McPherson’s book calls us to recognize the importance of an objective view of the good, one that deserves our recognition and respect and that imposes limits on the ways in which we navigate the world. As such, it is a contribution to an important strand of ethical thought.”

“Sent on behalf of Dr. Deborah Saucier, President and Vice-Chancellor, and Dr. Carol Stuart, Provost and Vice-President Academic

Today, the Jarislowsky Foundation announced that VIU is one of five universities in Canada selected to lead the creation of a network focused on training tomorrow’s leaders in government, politics, and the public service. At the heart of this network will be five Chairs endowed at each institution as the prestigious Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership. 

The VIU Chair will be supported by a $2-million gift from the Jarislowsky Foundation to ensure the development of a robust program of scholarship that will expand knowledge and training in the ethical practice of politics, fiduciary responsibility and democratic governance for VIU students.

This initiative, focused on the role and responsibilities of public policy makers, is aimed at attracting students who are interested in politics, as well as at anyone who wishes to eventually work, or already works in public administration, the public sector or for any order of government.

The network of universities will aim to professionalize ethical and fiduciary responsibility in political and public service by developing certification in trust and political leadership, and providing the foundation for successful and impactful careers in politics and public service.

Global, national, and local current affairs illustrate the importance of devoting resources to critical and conscious thinking for future leaders, and we are honored to be one of the universities entrusted with this crucial investment in the social sciences. This Chair will make a significant contribution in the social sciences and to ensuring VIU’s position as a regional hub for expertise.

We would like to thank to the Jarislowsky Foundation for recognizing the potential of VIU to fulfill this mandate. The Jarislowsky Foundation, headed by Stephen Jarislowsky, promotes, supports, and fosters excellence and ethics in education, medicine and the arts, and the environment and climate change. The Foundation supports programs that allow students from diverse backgrounds to discuss contemporary issues with mentors and recognized experts.    

Recruitment of the Chair will begin immediately with a September 2022 commencement date. The Chair will be a faculty member in the Faculty of Social Sciences and be supported through the Office of Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity. 

Please join us in celebrating the announcement of this prestigious Chair and thanking the Jarislowsky Foundation for their generous support.”

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Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

2022.05.05 View this Review Online  

Paul Noordhof, A Variety of Causes, Oxford University Press, 2020, 574pp., $110.00 (hbk), ISBN: 9780199251469.

Reviewed by J. Dmitri Gallow, Dianoia Institute of Philosophy Paul Noordhof’s book presents and defends a counterfactual theory of causation. It is incredibly detailed; Noordhof dots every possible ‘i’ and crosses every possible ‘t’. The book contains an extended discussion of Humean supervenience, dives deep into the theory of counterfactuals and the metaphysics of events which the theory presupposes, contains detailed discussion of so-called ‘negative’ causation, causal processes, the non-symmetry of causation, the relationship between causation and agency, causation and laws of nature, the metaphysics of chance, and much else—more than I can concisely list in this review. Readers interested in any of these topics will find stimulating discussion…

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