Pierre Thévenaz (1913-1955) was Swiss. At the time of his death he was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lausanne. Earlier he had taught philosophyat the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale in Zurich, and at the University of Neuchâtel. A large part of his writings are contained in L'Homme et Sa Raison (La Baconnière. Neuchâtel 1956), De Husserl à Merleau-Ponty (La Baconnière. Neuchâtel 1966), La Condition de ia Raison Philosophique (La Baconnière.Neuchâtel 1960). A collection of his articles has been translated into English by James Edie and published under the title. What is Phenomenology? (QuadrangleBooks. Chicago 1962).

No responsible philosopher can escape reflecting upon the unique character and problems of contemporary atheism. And Philosophy Today is happy for the opportunity to present the following essay by Etienne Gilson in this area. Not only because he is one of the eminent scholars of our day but especially because hisdeep knowledge of medieval thought gives him an uncommon perspective for his personalized reflections on either the idea of God or the difficulties of atheism.The following article is reprinted from Great Ideas Today 1969, copyrighted 1969 by Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

The following are a few key-texts from Lavelle on freedom. They are all from the second book of De L'Acte (Parls: Aubiar 1946). The book dealt with "the interval". The interval bridges the gap between Pure Act (book one) and Participated Act (book three). For Lavelle. it is in this intarval that participated freedom is bom and is transformed into an act of self-creation. — Gilbert G. Hardy.

In my article, Louis Lavelle on Freedom and Participation (Philosophy Today, Spring 1969, pp. 19-25), I skwtchod the ontological stratification of human freedom as described by Lavelle. The analysis of the nature of Pure Act brought to light Being, identified with Absolute Freedom, through whose creative activity participated acts and participated freeoms are born. I must say, however, that even in this exhaustive analysis of Lavelle the mystery of human initiative still remains open. In this article, I shall attempt to probe the "mystery" of freedom in the two most elusive areas of its operation: as source of the multiplicdty of being and as creative energy behind every act of self-determination.