An attempt to prove by scientific methods that the soul exists, by a physicist who has explored this terrain before, in The Eagle's Quest (1991) and The Dreaming Universe (1994). Wolf certainly succeeds in pointing up the limitations of the old Newtonian science. Logical, objective, materialist science gave us industrialization, and one of industrialization's undeniable results is a polluted world in which the majority of inhabitants live in poverty. Thus science in its objectivity, the author asserts, fails to provide any usable moral compass. But Wolf indicts science for an even more profound and damaging failing: its contribution to our sense of ``spiritual isolation, to a feeling of depression,'' and to the conviction that life is pointless. He wants somehow to quantify those manifestations that are universally felt but cannot be seen: the diminishment one feels after the death of a loved one; sudden insights that lead to greater knowledge; dreams that transform consciousness as surely as cold logic. Such conditions are real and have real effects, he argues, even if they are subjective. The old science describes static conditions and cannot deal with the fluid nature of reality except to deny its existence. Quantum physics, however, allows us to begin to grapple with fluid reality, because it recognizes that the observed object changes even as it is observed. Does such a recognition suggest the realm of the soul, ebbing in some unmeasurable, timeless constant? The argument is essentially this: We cannot see the soul, but we can fleetingly observe its effects on consciousness. Therefore, it's real. Wolf's language is, thankfully, quite clear, his presentation of ideas deft, including an entertaining tour of theories of the soul from Plato to Einstein. In the end, however, he sounds less like a scientist than a Buddhist—or, to be precise, he tries to use Buddhism to explain what science has been unable to describe. Trendy, but earnest and appealing as well.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-684-81200-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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