A magisterial book.
An analysis of secularism from Canadian philosopher Taylor (Modern Social Imaginaries, 2004, etc.), winner of the 2007 Templeton Prize.
If the author had accomplished nothing more than a survey of the voluminous body of “secularization theory,” he would have done something valuable. But, although Taylor clearly articulates his disdain for the view that modernity ineluctably led to the death of God, he goes far beyond a literature review. Insofar as belief in God is a choice, he argues, the West is now a profoundly secular society, and even the most devout in America partake of secularity. How did the West change from a society in which “it was virtually impossible not to believe in God” to one in which belief is optional? What Taylor is after in asking that question is the conditions for belief: Today, one’s “construal shows up as such”—that is, 600 years ago, people wouldn’t have reflected much on or even noticed the fact that they believed in God, but now everyone’s beliefs and non-beliefs are chosen, and they are thus both noticeable and noticed. In tracing the rise of secularism, Taylor ranges through the Reformation, the development of perspective in painting and, more recently, the creation of a youth market and post–World War II America’s obsession with authenticity. Our current society is “schizophrenic,” he concludes. We live in an “ideologically fragmented” world in which both belief and non-belief are under pressure to harness their moral sources to nurture human well-being and to reject violence. In addition to its conceptual value, this study is notable for its lucidity. Taylor has translated complex philosophical theories into language that any educated reader will be able to follow, yet he has not sacrificed an iota of sophistication or nuance.
A magisterial book.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-674-02676-6
Page Count: 896
Publisher: Belknap/Harvard Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2007
Diminutive sex therapist ``Dr. Ruth'' presents a sex guide for Orthodox and traditional Conservative Jews. ``People pick up the Bible for many different reasons but rarely, if ever, as a sex manual. That is their mistake,'' writes Westheimer. Here, with Jewish Week associate editor Mark, she sets out to correct this error. Westheimer begins by explaining Judaism's attitude toward sex, one which she considers particularly healthy. Judaism doesn't exalt celibacy; in fact, it frowns upon it. Women's satisfaction in marriage is not only discussed among the Talmudic sages, it is absolutely required of the husband. Lust and sexual impropriety are acknowledged and treated within Jewish law. In addition to the commandment against coveting thy neighbor's wife, Westheimer finds many explicit and implicit references to sex in the Hebrew Bible and rabbinical literature, focusing in particular on Genesis, Ruth, Song of Songs, and Talmudic and Kabbalistic sources. This last especially provides much fodder for the author. Westheimer also covers the commandments, the ritual bath, or mikvah, weddings, and the Sabbath, a day on which it is a special mitzvah (commandment) to have sex. Here the author offers a lovely metaphor for the relationship between husband and wife on the Sabbath: At the beginning of the day, the woman lights and blesses two candles, which according to Westheimer may represent the man and woman. At the end of the Sabbath, another blessing is made by candlelight, only this time the two wicks are joined together, often intertwined, representing the married couple, who have been brought closer through their sexual union. But this small gem is a rarity in a basically didactic and monotonous little book.
Pub Date: Nov. 6, 1995
ISBN: 0-8147-9268-5
Page Count: 188
Publisher: New York Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1995
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Fellow philosopher Michel Foucault once opined that ``maybe one day we'll see the century as Deleuzian.'' This awkward collection of interviews, letters, and the occasional essay does its best to prove him wrong. Like many modern French intellectuals, Deleuze (Masochism, 1971, etc.) formed his ideas and ideology largely in the crucible of France's May '68 protests. But more than a quarter century later, he has yet to move on; even his most recent work has a tattered, time-capsule quality to it. His Marxist concern with modes and means of production, for example, seems hopelessly quaint. And while his emphasis on power and control might currently enjoy a fading vogue on American campuses, in Parisian intellectual circles such ideas fell from favor long ago. Deleuze is habitually difficult, and though this volume is presented by his publisher as a ``point of entry'' into his work, those not familiar with his substantial oeuvre will find it barely comprehensible here. Book- length arguments are alluded to in a sentence, vital concepts and terms go unexplained except for the occasional footnote. Deleuze himself seems to know everything and understand nothing. His style is high French academician—pompous and full of hair-splitting categorizations and incessant abstractions: ``All processes take place on the plane of immanence, and within a given multiplicity: unifications, subjectifications, rationalizations, centralizations have no special status.'' In many of his recent interviews, Deleuze has expressed worries about modern life—the decline of the academy, the ubiquity of media culture and its possibilities for social control. It never occurs to him that his own convoluted, gnomic pensÇes might be part of the problem. After all, it is so much easier to turn on a television set than to wade through outdated, obscure, and unexceptional philosophy from a B-side thinker.
Pub Date: Nov. 16, 1995
ISBN: 0-231-07580-4
Page Count: 202
Publisher: Columbia Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1995
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