Report on the Periodicals

Report on the Periodicals PETER P. WITONSKI > “Burke and Radical Freedom,” by Jeffrey Hart (The Review of Politics, Vol. XXIX, No. 2, Spring 1967). A distinguished professor of eighteenth-century literature has written an extremely relevant essay on the significance of Burke’s politi- cal philosophy in the modern world. For Jeffrey Hart, Burke is a contem- porary from whom much can _ be learned. “He is an issue, in a way that Locke is not, and Leibniz is not, and even Mill is not.” Hart juxtaposes Burke’s concept of freedom and cul- ture with those of Sartre, Marx, Georg Simmel, etc., and con- cludes that Burke stands in our age of revolution for the same thing he stood for in his own—the genius of the West. > “Conceptual Patterns Underlying the Vinland Map,” by Thomas Gold- stein (Renaissance News, Vol. XIX, No. 4, Winter 1966). It would be. difficult to discover a piece of rigorous—indeed, almost pe- dantic—scholarship attaining the type Freud, of notoriety that the now famous Vin- land Map did. The Map itself was thoroughly debated and discussed by hordes of eminent scholars, and still remains the focal point of a great deal of controversy. Professor Goldstein, who has already made several impor- tant contributions to the intellectual history of Renaissance cartography, ‘ cuts through much of the over-spe- cialized chatter, discussing the map in terms of Strabo, Ptolemy, and the great fifteenth-century scientist Paolo Toscanelli. > “The Rhetoric of History,” by J. H. Hexter (History and Theory, Vol. VI, No. 1, Spring 1967). One of the most lucid practitioners of the historian’s craft expostulates on “footnotes, quotations, and name lists.” These are, of course, fundamental to any scholarly discourse, and it is a rare experience to have them dis- cussed at such length by a historian as great as Professor Hexter, whose own books and articles are models of exacting and civilized historical writ- ing. This essay is a must for young historians. > “The Radical Economics of Milton Friedman,” by John Davenport (For- tune Magazine, Vol. LXXV, No. 6, June 1967). Professor Milton Friedman is the leading conservative economist in America today, and his often difficult writings have long begged for a more popular exposition so that the intelli- gent layman could better understand them. With this in mind, Mr. John Davenport has come to the rescue with a lively and articulate study of Friedman’s “radical” approach to the economic problems which plague our society. Beginning with an interesting portrait of Friedman as man and scholar, he carries us through the more complex levels of Friedman’s thinking on education, taxation, fiscal policy, monetary policy, and interna- tional exchange. > “New Developments in Phenomen- ology in France: The Phenomenology of Language,” by Paul Ricoeur (So- cial Research, Vol. XXXIV, No. 1, Spring 1967). As early as

the late Professor Maurice Merleau-Ponty had begun his investigation of the problem of language, a problem which had long OctToBerR 17, 1967

PW

About the Author

Peter P. Witonski

Report on the Periodicals PETER P. WITONSKI > “Burke and Radical Freedom,” by Jeffrey Hart (The Review of Politics, Vol. XXIX, No. 2, Spring 1967). A distinguished professor of eighteenth-century literature has written an extremely relevant essay on the significance of Burke’s politi- cal philosophy in the modern world. For Jeffrey Hart, Burke is a contem- porary from whom much can _ be learned. “He is an issue, in a way that Locke is not, and Leibniz is not, and even Mill is not.” Hart juxtaposes Burke’s concept of freedom and cul- ture with those of Sartre, Marx, Georg Simmel, etc., and con- cludes that Burke stands in our age of revolution for the same thing he stood for in his own—the genius of the West. > “Conceptual Patterns Underlying the Vinland Map,” by Thomas Gold- stein (Renaissance News, Vol. XIX, No. 4, Winter 1966). It would be. difficult to discover a piece of rigorous—indeed, almost pe- dantic—scholarship attaining the type Freud, of notoriety that the now famous Vin- land Map did. The Map itself was thoroughly debated and discussed by hordes of eminent scholars, and still remains the focal point of a great deal of controversy. Professor Goldstein, who has already made several impor- tant contributions to the intellectual history of Renaissance cartography, ‘ cuts through much of the over-spe- cialized chatter, discussing the map in terms of Strabo, Ptolemy, and the great fifteenth-century scientist Paolo Toscanelli. > “The Rhetoric of History,” by J. H. Hexter (History and Theory, Vol. VI, No. 1, Spring 1967). One of the most lucid practitioners of the historian’s craft expostulates on “footnotes, quotations, and name lists.” These are, of course, fundamental to any scholarly discourse, and it is a rare experience to have them dis- cussed at such length by a historian as great as Professor Hexter, whose own books and articles are models of exacting and civilized historical writ- ing. This essay is a must for young historians. > “The Radical Economics of Milton Friedman,” by John Davenport (For- tune Magazine, Vol. LXXV, No. 6, June 1967). Professor Milton Friedman is the leading conservative economist in America today, and his often difficult writings have long begged for a more popular exposition so that the intelli- gent layman could better understand them. With this in mind, Mr. John Davenport has come to the rescue with a lively and articulate study of Friedman’s “radical” approach to the economic problems which plague our society. Beginning with an interesting portrait of Friedman as man and scholar, he carries us through the more complex levels of Friedman’s thinking on education, taxation, fiscal policy, monetary policy, and interna- tional exchange. > “New Developments in Phenomen- ology in France: The Phenomenology of Language,” by Paul Ricoeur (So- cial Research, Vol. XXXIV, No. 1, Spring 1967). As early as

the late Professor Maurice Merleau-Ponty had begun his investigation of the problem of language, a problem which had long OctToBerR 17, 1967