Scholarly essays packed with closely reasoned arguments from the author and fellow academics, plus extensive historical...
Why do some people behave honorably and others badly? This has been a core question since the dawn of philosophy, and Ravven (Religious Studies/Hamilton Coll.; co-editor: Jewish Themes in Spinoza’s Philosophy, 2002) discusses the possibilities.
The popular answer, especially among nonphilosophers, is that we simply think matters over and behave. We have free will. Despite our upbringings, educations, hardships, group pressures and the limitations of our human brains, we choose our actions and must be held morally responsible for them. This turns out to be a remarkably parochial view that began with early Latin Christianity and quickly spread throughout the West but never caught on in other areas of the world, where fate, karma and other outside influences trump individual choice. No fan of free will, Ravven writes 10 densely argued but sometimes-accessible chapters that explore why humans act and how they justify themselves. It is often not a pretty picture. The mass shooting of Jews in Nazi-occupied Russia was carried out by ordinary German soldiers, not SS fanatics. All were told they could opt out with no penalties. A few did. Others could not stomach the killing and withdrew, but most carried on. They did not think, “what terrible things I am doing,” but rather, “this is a miserable job!” These men clearly chose their actions, but it’s a stretch to claim that they exercised free will.
Scholarly essays packed with closely reasoned arguments from the author and fellow academics, plus extensive historical analyses of thinkers from Aristotle to Spinoza to Malcolm Gladwell. Patient readers with a taste for philosophy will find that reading this book is a stimulating experience.Pub Date: May 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59558-537-0
Page Count: 608
Publisher: The New Press
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
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 “How 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
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.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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