Graeme Nicholson

The Commune of Being and Time

One cannot determine whether a book is a work of political philosophy merely by glancing at its contents. Heideggers Being and Time is a case in point. It offers no discussion of the topics which are commonly thought to constitute political philosophy—the state, the nature of law, human rights, and so on. But particular themes such as these reflect in large part the actual conditions which prevailed at certain times and places, fourth-century Athens and seventeenth-century England, for example, so they must not be thought to constitute an outline of the eternal problems of political philosophy. When a philosopher embarks upon a new line of thought at a different time and under novel circumstances, he may find himself instituting a new vocabulary for the problems of the human community.

On the Manifold Meaning of Truth in Aristotle

When Aristotle treats true and false statements in his logical treatises, he shows that truth and falsity are the pre-supposed, non-discursive grounding for statements themselves. His ethical treatises show that intellectual virtues are constituted by truth. The Metaphysics shows that truth in thinking is sustained by the truth of being. All these diverse studies can be connected to one another by way of the Greek term for truth, aletheia, as Heidegger has treated it.

Friend of the Universe

We today are not used to thinking of diplomacy as a way of maintaining friendship. The terrors of the twentieth century made us see it instead as our last refuge against universal doom. In addition, the Realpolitik of modern nations has often reduced diplomacy to the naked pursuit, or the concealed pursuit, of national interest. But at some periods in the past, if only rarely, diplomacy could be the exercise of alliance, co-operation, friendship, and, if we are fortunate, this possibility may be realized once again in the future. I would define the positive work of diplomacy as mediation - where distinct parties, each of them, arrange their goals in some order of priority, communi? cate them clearly to one another, expecting that some of their own priorities will be achieved, conceding that some would be sacrificed. There is also mediation in intellectual work, a sort of diplomacy that can be exercised as well in a spirit of friendship. The combativeness of the mod? ern intellectual scene calls today for some relief. Among those who have exercised a most persuasive mediation, friendship and diplomacy is Fred Dallmayr. Moving between two continents and two powerful nations, pub? lishing and discussing in three languages, a mediator between the disciplines of philosophy and political science, and, within philosophy itself, a mediator among rival tendencies that at times have been virtually at war, Dallmayr practices a diplomacy that has the power to kindle friendship. In encourag? ing mediations, Dallmayr is evidently seeking to lead us beyond the fixed ego, the limits of our private claims - i.e., beyond our subjectivity. His most characteristic and best-known book is Twilight of Subjectivity (1981) and his other works continue to exemplify a spirit of mediation and a philosophy of friendship. I shall refer to some of these as illustrations of his excellent pursuit.