Offers an exciting path for escaping intellectual ruts.
With his dog, Bella, serving as muse, questioner and devil’s advocate, Fisher aims to generate a new way of thinking about science, politics, economics and religion.
Fisher (Logic of Economic Discovery, 1986) begins by warning readers about the radical nature of his book, which encourages an intellectual rebellion against the siren song of social conditioning. “History is chock full of stories of those who have been shunned and punished for…thinking differently,” he cautions. This admonition may cause some readers to assume that the book will overflow with angry, anarchistic railings at all social convention. Such is not the case. With a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University and a degree from Harvard Law School, Fisher is well-equipped to discuss the power and process of intellectual discovery. Although he uses a light, conversational tone, with frequent interruptions from Bella that are alternately amusing and annoying, it’s a weighty subject. Drawing examples from Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Karl Marx and other well-known thinkers, he systematically explores the role of science and its relationship to truth. Ideally, Fisher writes, science is a process. Conjecture should be constructively criticized; this criticism should engender more conjecture and, ultimately, new growth in understanding. This cycle of examining ideas requires an intellectual courage that, Fisher argues, is on the decline; the loss of such courage sets us on a path of blindly following self-appointed experts who gradually rob us of our liberties simply by creating a dependency on their so-called “rational” expert opinions. Intellectual rebellion, however, is not reserved for science alone. Fisher further applies this same process in his analysis of a wide range of topics—capitalism, economics, politics, race and religion. Paralleling Marx’s views on class consciousness, Fisher presents a rational, thorough analysis of modern thinking: Modern “experts”—those who believe they are the best qualified to determine what is rational and ultimately true—“mistake their own interests for a set of universal values.” Anyone who thinks otherwise is inherently irrational, and it’s this suppression of individual thought and discovery that will be this century’s greatest struggle.
Offers an exciting path for escaping intellectual ruts.Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-1479156498
Page Count: 390
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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