Shorter notices
Objective Knowledge Karl Popper (OUP £4.50) Philosophers of science will find Sir Karl Popper's new collection to be essential reading. In several of these essays, mostly inaccessible or unpublished hitherto, Sir Karl explores what he describes as the "third world," that of the objectively knowable, which, like the sycamore tree in the limerick, has an existence apart from the knower. World one is the physical world, World two the world of subjective knowledge, entering our minds through the senses. Popper claims that World two knowledge is parasitical on that of World Three. The book is introduced by a chapter which gives a clear statement of Popper's views on induction, which are important for an understanding of the rest of the book.
Shakespeare: The Early Writings John Arthos (Bowes and Bowes £3)
A prolific American critic sets out to place Shakespeare, at the start of his career, in his European literary context. In the early comedies and history plays Shakespeare absorbed Roman and Italian Renaissance dramatic influences, Platonic and Christian values, in the evolution of his own humanely rich drama. C.J.G.
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