Unity in Diversity

Which should have priority: the whole or the individual? The two major aspects of organized entities are represented in this volume under the headings Unity and Diversity: wholes, such as nations, states, and international systems, which integrate human beings; and parts, such as individual persons and groups acting independently. Under Unity, Wolfgang Koerner analyzes the usefulness of general systems theory in thinking about society; Toivo Miljan proposes a new way to conceptualize the world political system; Erik Wang considers the United Nations' definition of aggression and use of force; Hubert Campfens evaluates the contemporary welfare state; and Karl Aun attempts to clarify the concept of nation-state. Under the heading of Diversity, Robert Alexander asks what kinds of rights children should have; Loren Calder gives an account of the impact of Hegelianism on Yuri Samarin, a nineteenth-century Russian Slavophil; Rod Preece reviews John A. Macdonald's contribution to political philosophy; Charles C. Brodeur argues for an approach to knowledge which would integrate the rational and the intuitive; and Josephine Naidoo examines the position of South Asian women in Canadian society.