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The Reality of Knowledge

Name: The Reality of Knowledge
Author: George Towner
ISBN: 978-0761854838

THE WAYS IN WHICH LIFE CONSTRUCTS REALITY SO IT CAN BE KNOWN

by George Towner ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2011

A book that aims to show readers how they arrive at their conceptions, which aren’t always as complete as they might think.

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This third book of a philosophical trilogy by Towner (Process of Knowledge, 2001, etc.) explores the constructions, visualizations and limitations of human knowledge.

Towner tackles a dense, nuanced topic in a way that’s simultaneously inventive and relatable, which is no small feat. In his introductory chapter, he gently lays the groundwork about the potentially overwhelming subject of how humans perceive and ultimately shape their reality. He supports each subsequent chapter with extensively researched examples and vivid, clarifying metaphors; for example, he uses the analogy of the transformation of wood into charcoal to illustrate how knowledge helps us to track the transformations of objects. Without knowledge, Towner argues, the different stages of wood would seem to exist independently of one another; instead, knowledge allows us to understand that burning is a transformational process. Towner’s precisely worded treatise also uses the example of how computers process and display information: Humans can build machines to hold “reality in perspective” and “we can understand how the machine works”; a human similarly assembles and constructs knowledge about reality and builds on previous experiences. Most intriguingly, Towner proposes that closed circuits of human knowledge can create impenetrable worldviews, which gives rise to a false sense of “completion.” His division of human reality into the three basic categories—physical, behavioral and ideal—provides an excellent overall framework. The book doesn’t have the pop-cultural swagger of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time (1988), nor does it embrace a Foucault-like academic extremism. But the highly intellectual tenor of the work makes it suitable for academics and other readers interested in how we form and navigate our way through a constantly changing environment.

A book that aims to show readers how they arrive at their conceptions, which aren’t always as complete as they might think.

Pub Date: May 20, 2011

ISBN: 978-0761854838

Page Count: 278

Publisher: University Press of America

Review Posted Online: April 24, 2014

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

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ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

by Timothy Paul Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2005

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

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A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.

This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is â€œHow We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005

ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

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THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS

AND OTHER ESSAYS

by Albert Camus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 1955

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This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.