Essays and Reviews

Bernard Williams held Chairs of Moral Philosophy at Cambridge, Berkeley, and Oxford. He died in 2003.

• Foreword Michael Wood xi 1 Plato Today, by R.H.S. Crossman, Spectator (1959) 3 2 English Philosophy since 1900, by G. J. Warnock, Philosophy (1959) 5 3 Thought and Action, by Stuart Hampshire, Encounter (1960) 8 4 The Theological Appearance of the Church of England: An External View, Prism (1960) 17 5 The Four Loves, by C. S. Lewis, Spectator (1960) 24 6 Discourse on Method, by Rene Descartes, translated by Arthur Wollaston, Spectator (1960) 26 7 The Individual Reason: L'esprit laic, BBC Radio 3 talk, Listener (1961) 28 8 What Is Existentialism? BBC World Service talk broadcast in Vietnamese (1962) 35 9 Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions, by Jean-Paul Sartre, translated by Philip Mairet, Spectator (1962) 38 10 Sense and Sensibilia, by J. L. Austin, reconstructed by G. J. Warnock; Philosophical Papers, edited by J. O. Urmson and G. J. Warnock, Oxford Magazine (1962) 40 11 The Concept of a Person, by A. J. Ayer, New Statesman (1963) 45 12 Two Faces of Science, BBC Radio 3 talk in the series Personal View, Listener (1963) 48 13 The English Moralists, by Basil Willey, New York Review of Books (1965) 52 14 Universities: Protest, Reform and Revolution, Lecture in celebration of the foundation of Birkbeck College (1968) 55 15 Has 'God' a Meaning? Question (1968) 70 16 Russell and Moore: The Analytical Heritage, by A. J. Ayer (1971) 75 17 Immanuel Kant, by Lucien Goldmann, Cambridge Review (1972) 77 18 A Theory of Justice, by John Rawls, Spectator (1972) 82 19 Beyond Freedom and Dignity, by B. F. Skinner, Observer (1972) 87 20 What Computers Can't Do: A Critique of Artificial Reason, by Hubert L. Dreyfus, New York Review of Books (1973) 90 21 Wisdom: Twelve Essays, edited by Renford Bambrough, Times Literary Supplement (1974) 101 22 The Socialist Idea, edited by Stuart Hampshire and L. Kolakowski, Observer (1975) 104 23 Anarchy, State, and Utopia, by Robert Nozick, Political Philosophy (1975) 107 24 The Ethics of Fetal Research, by Paul Ramsey, Times LiterarySupplement (1975) 115 25 The Moral View of Politics, BBC Radio 3 talk in the series Current Trends in Philosophy, Listener (1976) 119 26 The Life of Bertrand Russell, by Ronald W. Clark; The Tamarisk Tree: My Quest for Liberty and Love, by Dora Russell; My Father Bertrand Russell, by Katharine Tait; Bertrand Russell, by A. J. Ayer, New York Review of Books (1976) 125 27 Reflections on Language, by Noam Chomsky; On Noam Chomsky: Critical Essays, edited by Gilbert Harman, New York Review of Books (1976) 133 28 The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins, New Scientist (1976) 140 29 The Fire and the Sun: Why Plato Banished the Artists, by Iris Murdoch, New Statesman (1977) 142 30 The Logic of Abortion, BBC Radio 3 talk, Listener (1977) 146 31 On Thinking, by Gilbert Ryle, edited by Konstantin Kolenda, London Review of Books (1979) 152 32 Rubbish Theory, by Michael Thompson, London Review of Books (1980) 157 33 Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life, by Sissela Bok, Political Quarterly (1980) 161 34 Logic and Society and Ulysses and the Sirens, by Jon Elster, London Review of Books (1980) 165 35 The Culture of Narcissism, by Christopher Lasch; Nihilism and Culture, by Johan Goudsblom, London Review of Books (1980) 169 36 Religion and Public Doctrine in England, by Maurice Cowling, London Review of Books (1981) 173 37 Nietzsche on Tragedy, by M. S. Silk and J. P. Stern; Nietzsche: A Critical Life, by Ronald Hayman; Nietzsche, vol. 1, The Will to Power as Art, by Martin Heidegger, translated by David Farrell Krell, London Review of Books (1981) 179 38 After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, by Alasdair MacIntyre, Sunday Times (1981) 184 39 Philosophical Explanations, by Robert Nozick, New York Review of Books (1982) 187 40 The Miracle of Theism: Arguments for and against the Existence of God, by J. L. Mackie, Times Literary Supplement (1983) 197 41 Offensive Literature: Decensorship in Britain, 1960-1982, by John Sutherland, London Review of Books (1983) 200 42 Consequences of Pragmatism (Essays 1972-1980), by Richard Rorty, New York Review of Books (1983) 204 43 The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, vol. I, Cambridge Essays 1888-99, edited by Kenneth Blackwell and others, Observer (1984) 216 44 Reasons and Persons, by Derek Parfit, London Review of Books (1984) 218 45 Wickedness: A Philosophical Essay, by Mary Midgley, Observer (1984) 224 46 Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation, by Sissela Bok; The Secrets File: The Case for Freedom of Information in Britain Today, edited by Des Wilson, foreword by David Steel, London Review of Books (1984) 226 47 Choice and Consequence, by Thomas C. Schelling, Economics and Philosophy (1985) 231 48 Privacy: Studies in Social and Cultural History, by Barrington Moore, Jr., New York Review of Books (1985) 236 49 Ordinary Vices, by Judith Shklar; Immorality, by Ronald Milo, London Review of Books (1985) 241 50 The Right to Know: The Inside Story of the Belgrano Affair, by Clive Ponting; The Price of Freedom, by Judith Cook, Times Literary Supplement (1985) 246 51 Taking Sides: The Education of a Militant Mind, by Michael Harrington, New York Times Book Review (1986) 252 52 A Matter of Principle, by Ronald Dworkin (1986) 256 53 The View from Nowhere, by Thomas Nagel, London Review of Books (1986) 261 54 What Hope for the Humanities? Times Educational Supplement (1987) (edited version of the Raymond Priestley Lecture [1986]) 267 55 The Society of Mind, by Marvin Minsky, New York Review of Books (1987) 274 56 Whose Justice? Which Rationality? by Alasdair MacIntyre, London Review of Books (1989) 283 57 Intellectuals, by Paul Johnson, New York Review of Books (1989) 288 58 Contingency, Irony and Solidarity, by Richard Rorty, London Review of Books (1989) 295 59 Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity, by Charles Taylor, New York Review of Books (1990) 301 60 The Need to Be Sceptical, Times Literary Supplement (1990) 311 61 The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life, by Kenneth J. Gergen, New York Times Book Review (1991) 318 62 Realism with a Human Face, by Hilary Putnam, London Review of Books (1991) 320 63 Political Liberalism, by John Rawls, London Review of Books (1993) 326 64 Inequality Reexamined, by Amartya Sen, London Review of Books (1993) 332 65 The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics, by Martha Nussbaum, London Review of Books (1994) 339 66 Only Words, by Catharine MacKinnon, London Review of Books (1994) 345 67 The Limits of Interpretation, by Umberto Eco; Interpretation and Overinterpretation, by Umberto Eco, with Richard Rorty, Jonathan Culler, and Christine Brooke-Rose, edited by Stefan Collini; Six Walks in the Fictional Woods, by Umberto Eco; Apocalypse Postponed, by Umberto Eco, translated and edited by Robert Lumley; Misreadings, by Umberto Eco, translated by William Weaver; How to Travel with a Salmon & Other Essays, by Umberto Eco, translated by William Weaver, New York Review of Books (1995) 352 68 On Hating and Despising Philosophy, London Review of Books (1996) 363 69 The Last Word, by Thomas Nagel, New York Review of Books (1998) 371 70 Wagner and the Transcendence of Politics, New York Review of Books (2000) 388 71 Why Philosophy Needs History, London Review of Books (2002) 405 Acknowledgments 413 Acknowledgments to Copyright Holders 414 Index 415

One of Flavorwire's 10 Best Books by Academic Publishers in 2014 "[A]ffords a different, and especially advantageous, perspective from which to consider the animating ideas of Williams's humanism."--Joel Isaac, Times Literary Supplement "[A] dazzling intellectual feast... Williams's quickness, insight and wit are no surprise. More surprising, perhaps, is his rare capacity for intellectual empathy. Even more valuable are the non-review essays, which address the role of philosophy, and the humanities more generally, in human life, making a powerful case for their indispensability."--Martha Nussbaum, Times Literary Supplement "[Williams'] essays accommodate the world and the reader, and unlike the world, give one confidence and delight in good argument."--Geoffrey Hawthorn, London Review of Books "[A] stimulating read for anyone who cares about the condition of the world. With characteristic clarity, insight, and humor, the author tackles a wide range of topics as diverse as philosophy, religion, science, the humanities, and pornography."--Wan Lixin, Shanghai Daily "This rigorous collection of essays and reviews reveals the brilliant and critical mind of Bernard Williams... In these reviews and essays Williams achieves something that philosophy always promises but seldom delivers: a view from the perspective of reason, on a cultural landscape where reason is only one of the landmarks."--Roger Scruton, Telegraph "Illuminating and instructive essays and reviews. This is a book which should inspire readers to go and read--or perhaps reread--Williams's other works."--Alasdair Palmer, Standpoint "The titles that Williams reviewed read from a who's who of late 20th century philosophy. His reviews of Rawls' Theory of Justice and Nozick's Anarchy, State and Utopia are relevant today, thirty years after they were written... Reading short reviews of these classic philosophical volumes in such a clear, accessible tone is a great pleasure, and the editors of this volume should be congratulated for making them available in this format."--Robert Robinson, San Francisco Book Review "[E]xtremely welcome collection ... all of which show his punchy, interogative genius in full swing... [B]rilliant essays."--Seamus Perry, Literary Review "[A]n excellent new collection... The essays can be savored piecemeal but are more powerful in number. To flip through them is to flip through the past forty years of our intellectual history by way of its seminal texts."--Walker Mimms, New Criterion "The work of forty-three busy years, the essays in this volume attest to both what analytic philosophy has to gain from the humanities, and what the humanities have to gain from philosophy. Entirely free of kitsch or easy comfort, they leave us with the cumulative impression of a lifetime of truthfulness prosecuted with wit, subtlety, and stylishness."--Nakul Krishna, Cambridge Humanities Review "For anybody wishing to undertake philosophy as a humanistic discipline, this collection of essays is an excellent place to start. But it will take many years to get up to speed, and the task will never be finished. Not for the first time, I am left wishing that Williams, who died in 2003, could have had another decade to show what a lifetime of learning can achieve."--Paul Sagar, Oxonian Review "Posthumously published essays and reviews often feel like stale leftovers, but Bernard Williams was such a good philosopher and writer that his remain fresh and delicious. This collection gives not only a marvelous record of intellectual milestones across 43 years, but also a sense of immediacy."--Jane O'Grady, Times Higher Education "I cannot recommend this volume highly enough to anyone interested in what the humanities have to offer."--Constantine Sandis, Times Higher Education "[A] showcase of the philosopher's distinctive acumen and wit."--Adam Ferner, Philosophers' Magazine "Williams's literary and philosophical skills are well on display."--John Schwenkler, Commonweal