E. W. F. Tomlin – författare

Originally published in 1947. This book looks at contemporary conundrums in philosophical tendencies, bringing the reader a first-principles review of the purpose of such enquiries in relation to modern life. It presents the importance of the history of the development of philosophical thought, beginning in Part 1 with perception. Significant definitions and theories are identified and later refinements discussed – in particular conceptualism and its development from the Greeks through Berkeley to modern realism and its limitations and critiques. Part 2 brings problems identified by past thinkersto the fore, from Plato’s forms to Christian theology, in an examination of the apparent dichotomy between metaphysics and scientific methods. Part 3 examines the Rationalist and the Empiricist attacks on Scepticism and Kant’s reconciliation of the differences of both. This provides the context and structure for discussion of the works of Hegel, and ultimate refutation thereof as a confusion between metaphysics and theology. Part 4 identifies the developments in thinking of Positivism, both Modern and Logical, and the New Synthesis of Alexander and Whitehead as the most recent approach.

Originally published in 1947. This book looks at contemporary conundrums in philosophical tendencies, bringing the reader a first-principles review of the purpose of such enquiries in relation to modern life. It presents the importance of the history of the development of philosophical thought, beginning in Part 1 with perception. Significant definitions and theories are identified and later refinements discussed – in particular conceptualism and its development from the Greeks through Berkeley to modern realism and its limitations and critiques. Part 2 brings problems identified by past thinkersto the fore, from Plato’s forms to Christian theology, in an examination of the apparent dichotomy between metaphysics and scientific methods. Part 3 examines the Rationalist and the Empiricist attacks on Scepticism and Kant’s reconciliation of the differences of both. This provides the context and structure for discussion of the works of Hegel, and ultimate refutation thereof as a confusion between metaphysics and theology. Part 4 identifies the developments in thinking of Positivism, both Modern and Logical, and the New Synthesis of Alexander and Whitehead as the most recent approach.

Originally published in 1969, this project had Wyndham Lewis’ personal approval and is a comprehensive anthology of his prose writings, especially those which are difficult to access. There are extracts from some of Wyndham Lewis’ remarkable books such as Paleface, The Art of Being Ruled and Men Without Art. Lesser known works such as Filibusters in Barbary, The Diabolical Principle and The Dithyrambic Spectator, Blasting and Bombardiering, and Rude Assignment, are freely drawn upon and there is a section devoted to writings on the USA, a country which Lewis knew well.

Originally published in 1969, this project had Wyndham Lewis’ personal approval and is a comprehensive anthology of his prose writings, especially those which are difficult to access. There are extracts from some of Wyndham Lewis’ remarkable books such as Paleface, The Art of Being Ruled and Men Without Art. Lesser known works such as Filibusters in Barbary, The Diabolical Principle and The Dithyrambic Spectator, Blasting and Bombardiering, and Rude Assignment, are freely drawn upon and there is a section devoted to writings on the USA, a country which Lewis knew well.

First published in 1950, The Western Philosophers presents the life of philosophical thought in the Western world. From Socrates to Spinoza, from John Locke to Nietzsche, the author gives a good introduction for anyone who is wondering what philosophy is about and provides an initiation into the subject. The author argues that philosophy is not simply the collective works of great philosophers. Philosophy is an attitude of mind; at bottom it is nothing but that irrepressible impulse towards enquiry, that itch to probe at the meaning of things, which is the spur behind science itself. This book is an essential read for students of Philosophy.

First published in 1950, The Western Philosophers presents the life of philosophical thought in the Western world. From Socrates to Spinoza, from John Locke to Nietzsche, the author gives a good introduction for anyone who is wondering what philosophy is about and provides an initiation into the subject. The author argues that philosophy is not simply the collective works of great philosophers. Philosophy is an attitude of mind; at bottom it is nothing but that irrepressible impulse towards enquiry, that itch to probe at the meaning of things, which is the spur behind science itself. This book is an essential read for students of Philosophy.

First published in 1952, The Eastern Philosophers provides a straightforward account of the life and work of the great thinkers of the East and attempts to show, in terms intelligible to the ordinary reader, with what remarkable insistence the greatest of these thinkers dwell upon common themes. It discusses themes like Babylonia and Israel; Zoroaster; Hinduism; the Buddha and Buddhism; the Hindu systems; the Chinese Sages and Mohammed and Islam. The book raises three fundamental questions –what are the basic differences between Eastern and Western thought? What does the Western World owe it to the thought of the East and vice versa? In the third place, to what extent is a rapprochement possible between the two worlds of thought? This book is an essential read for students of Philosophy in general and Eastern Philosophy in particular.

First published in 1952, The Eastern Philosophers provides a straightforward account of the life and work of the great thinkers of the East and attempts to show, in terms intelligible to the ordinary reader, with what remarkable insistence the greatest of these thinkers dwell upon common themes. It discusses themes like Babylonia and Israel; Zoroaster; Hinduism; the Buddha and Buddhism; the Hindu systems; the Chinese Sages and Mohammed and Islam. The book raises three fundamental questions –what are the basic differences between Eastern and Western thought? What does the Western World owe it to the thought of the East and vice versa? In the third place, to what extent is a rapprochement possible between the two worlds of thought? This book is an essential read for students of Philosophy in general and Eastern Philosophy in particular.

Originally published in 1985, this distinguished and constructive critique of modern culture introduced into our language a brand-new term, ‘PN’, standing for ‘psychic nutrition’, which at the time promised to become a household expression.

Drawing on his first-hand knowledge of oriental civilizations; on discoveries of Jung, especially his concept of psychic energy; on the ideas of the cultural anthropologists; and not least on the New Science implicit in microphysics and microbiology, E.W.F. Tomlin, whose philosophical books have been translated into several languages, shows how the human psyche requires its own kind of nourishment just as urgently as the body needs food. In the industrial societies of the West, this need has often been ignored. Reformers, in their earnest though sometimes inept endeavours to create a better world, have too often exposed us to the dangers of psychic starvation and the noxious effects of what may be called ‘neg-PN’. Here lie the roots of violence and the lack of direction so conspicuously afflicting modern man and woman. Examples of PN, positive and negative, are given, lending the book an immediacy and practical character often lacking in studies of this kind.

In the new scientific approach here adopted, the divisions between matter and life, and life and mind, are discarded, and the old conflict between science and religion shown to belong to an out-of-date world view. The result is a radical reappraisal of the nature and function of religion and art, the two great psychic forces in history. Indeed, the present crisis is shown to originate in the psychic sphere rather than in the political and economic order. Deeply felt and elegantly written, yet not lacking in wit and humour, the book ends with some concrete ideas on how a more balanced culture may be achieved.