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Hustwit, Ronald E.
About the editor: Ronald E. Hustwit is a Professor of Philosophy at The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. He was a student of O. K. Bouwsma at both the University of Nebraska and Texas in the 1960s, the co-editor of Bouwsma’s papers with J. L. Craft, and author of Something About O. K. Bouwsma. J. L. Craft resides in Austin, Texas. He was a student of O. K. Bouwsma at the University of Texas, and is co-editor of Bouwsma’s papers. The editors have previously published Bouwsma’s Notes on Wittgenstein’s Philosophy with The Edwin Mellen Press in 1995.
1995 0-7734-8885-5Bouwsma's notes focus on sections of the Philosophical Investigations and Blue Book with the aim of helping a reader understand the unique insights which Wittgenstein brought to philosophy. Wittgenstein's writing is indirect, fragmented, and presupposes an occupation with specific philosophical problems. Established philosophers argue over the simplest interpretations, such as whether he was an empiricist, nominalist or skeptic. Bouwsma's work helps the reader appreciate Wittgenstein's insights. Bouwsma understands and can demonstrate how to apply Wittgenstein to the theories of other philosophers such as Descartes, Plato, and St. Augustine. This volume will be useful as a reference for philosophers and students working with the Philosophical Investigations and Blue Book.
2001 0-7734-7502-8
This edition of collected remarks (from the many thousands of pages of notebooks from 1950 to 1978) reflect Bouwsma’s concern with the role of philosophy in education, particularly liberal arts education and the role of reading literature in it. Entries on these and related subjects reflect Bouwsma’s engagement with Wittgenstein – his conversations with him and his reading of Wittegenstein’s philosophy. Over his fifty year teaching career, Bouwsma frequently discussed the value of teaching and studying literature, and kept track of such discussions in his notebooks. His views on this subject were always controversial and guaranteed a lively discussion. The editors have also included some additional general discussions of what a university education is, and some of his commentaries on contemporary society.
2005 0-7734-6181-7
Alburey Castell, a significant Twentieth Century American philosopher, turned his attention to issues in education at mid-point in his academic career. Engaged in an enduring polemic with scientism's effort to abolish personhood, most notably in B.F. Skinner's thought, Castell forged the concepts of "agency," "activity," and "process" to stake out the claims of personhood. Carrying such concepts as tools into the field of education, Castell drove a wedge between the humanities and the sciences. The person, or "self," reasons, while processes in the natural world are reasoned about. Logic is the description of the reasoned "activities" of the self, while laws of science are descriptions of the "processes" of nature. Applications to the everyday concerns of educators abound. Understanding the daily tasks in teaching presupposes knowledge of the logic of coming to know. Students are not stimulus-response mechanisms, but resourceful reasoners assembling connecting links to conclusions. The role of social science is exposed as a complex and open question. The issue of the aims of education is directed to the development of the individual person as a free and rational agent. This individual must come to understand himself and his place in the modern world. The modern world is aptly described as requiring a professional and managerial class with special educational needs. Castell then describes the function of the liberal arts college as providing the foundations for the special, further educational skills acquired at the graduate and professional school level.