Serious pieces that serve as counterweights to the frothy blogosphere.
Philosophy made relevant by writers grappling with thorny issues.
For this eclectic, lively gathering of essays, New York Times online opinion editor Catapano and philosophy professor Critchley (New School for Social Research; Faith of the Faithless: Experiments in Political Theology, 2012, etc.) have selected 133 pieces from about 350 published in the Times’ online series The Stone. Launched in 2010, the series invites contributions “on issues both timely and timeless” from writers who may or may not identify themselves as philosophers. Any thinker will do, including journalists moved by the urgency of current events. The series’ name comes from the “legendarily transformative” philosopher’s stone, a magical, mystical material with the power of changing base metals to gold. That etymology suggests a grander project than these editors have in mind. Their goal is to publish thoughtful, provocative, accessible pieces that may persuade readers that philosophy—defined broadly—matters. Critchley is a major contributor, with eight essays on topics such as love, faith, and the desire for revenge incited by 9/11. University of Notre Dame philosopher Gary Gutting also appears repeatedly, with essays on mind (depression, consciousness), existentialism, and the controversy over gun control. Readers will find some familiar names among contributors—biologist E.O. Wilson, activist Peter Singer, cognitive psychologist Stephen Pinker—but many are academic philosophers able to make Hegel, Spinoza, Schopenhauer, and Simone Weil relevant for general readers. The editors provide a preface for each of four sections: on the discipline of philosophy; the contribution of science to “the riddle of the human species”; vexing questions about religion, morality, and God; and society, which includes reflections on economics, politics, family, race (including the killing of Trayvon Martin), violence (including the Sandy Hook school shootings), and America’s fierce attachment to what Firmin DeBrabander calls “robust individualism and self-determination.”
Serious pieces that serve as counterweights to the frothy blogosphere.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-63149-071-2
Page Count: 768
Publisher: Liveright/Norton
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
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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