What's It All About?: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy What's It All About: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on What's It All About: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

What's It All About: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life ReviewI once thought that perhaps Will Durant's book was the best introduction to philosophy, and then I thought "Sophie's World" was. Now both of those books are well worth your time if you intend to get a peek at the Western philosophical tradition.
However, I think this is the best introduction to philosophy, not merely as what philosophers think about, but as thought about meaningful stuff.
Baggini's arguments are concise to the point of dismissive, so anytime you disagree you'll long for a consideration of your objections, but he moves along briskly from one issue to the next. Even though I disagree with about 1/4 of his opinions, so I understand the feeling, I think he's got the picture in sharp focus; someone who believes (like, say, Cottingham) that religion is key to meaningful life will probably be too frustrated by this book to finish it. For a longer consideration and rejection of the theistic POV, I suppose you've got to go to Sartre.
Anyway, the point of my review is that, if you're a layperson (like me) who's interested in thinking about the meaning of life (and stuff) (like me) then this is a very good book for you. Even if you disagree with his conclusion, everyone recommends the process of thinking through your adversaries' positions. Baggini and I both went through Cottingham, and he through several others as well, for instance.
Another good feature of the text is that if you move on to other modern philosophy books, directed at the philosophy crowd rather than at laypeople, you'll find that this book has prepared you for the arguments you encounter.
A difficulty of reviewing this book is that, frankly, it has to be read to be appreciated. No concise summary is possible. Except, the meaning of life is, like, to live. You want to see it discussed intelligently?
Then I highly recommend this book.What's It All About: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life Overview

Want to learn more information about What's It All About: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Sense and Goodness Without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Sense and Goodness Without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Sense and Goodness Without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Sense and Goodness Without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism ReviewRichard Carrier is a graduate student of history (M.Phil Columbia) and a prolific essayist, publishing primarily on the well-known secular website infidels.org. In this book he surveys all that he has come to know and believe, and how he came to know or believe it. Reading it is like being given a guided tour, by a genial and charming host, through a large and well-furnished mansion of the mind.
I purchased "Sense & Goodness Without God" because of an interest in secular ethics. I was disappointed on that account to find that Carrier's discussion of morality -- although it is interesting and enlightening -- occupies only a small part of the book. The many other topics covered justified my purchase, but in order to keep others from being mislead by the title, here is a key quote from the introduction:
"This book surveys my philosophy of life, my 'worldview' ... I build and defend a complete worldview by covering every fundamental subject -- from knowledge to art, from metaphysics to morality, from theology to politics."
That Carrier even owns a complete, personal worldview makes him a rare bird. He rightly faults most of us for spending next to no time thinking through what we know and believe; and for being too willing to settle for the "factory-made" philosophies dispensed under the name of Religion, instead of taking the time to understand the big ideas for ourselves. In effect, this book is his challenge to his contemporaries: agree with me or not, he seems to say, these are topics you need to think through on your own -- and here is how to do it.
You might wonder if any writer can do justice to such a smorgasbord of ideas. Carrier does very well; he is exceptionally well-read, has thought hard on these issues, and clearly explains both the context and his own position on each point. Just the same, this is a survey, and there is much, much more to be said and thought about any of the topics he covers.
Also, Carrier does what so many other secular writers do: spends many, many paragraphs refuting religious ideas and rebutting the Christian philosophers who would deny legitimacy to his positions. The section on Morality, for example, is almost entirely cast as a point-by-point refutation of positions taken by Christian apologist J.P. Moreland. These one-sided debates eat up pages that I would far rather have seen devoted to more detailed exposition of Carrier's own thoughts. Those thoughts are generally sane, well-grounded, generous and reasonable, sometimes surprising, and always worth spending time with.Sense and Goodness Without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism Overview

Want to learn more information about Sense and Goodness Without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Unheard Cry for Meaning: Psychotherapy and Humanism (Touchstone Books) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Unheard Cry for Meaning: Psychotherapy and Humanism (Touchstone Books)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Unheard Cry for Meaning: Psychotherapy and Humanism (Touchstone Books). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Unheard Cry for Meaning: Psychotherapy and Humanism (Touchstone Books) ReviewThis was a wonderful book. I highly recommend it immediately after you read Man's Search for Meaning. This is a continuation and extension of the Introduction to Logotherapy that comprises the second half of Man's Search for Meaning. This book is more academic and less personal, but still full of insight and humanity. Frankl touches on many different aspects of life and existential vacuums that we all face. Here are some of his remarks that I thought perticularly noteworthy and that will give you a feel for the overall nature of this work.
Frankl's Definition of God
"God is the partner of your most intimate soliloquies. Whenever you are talking to yourself in utmost sincerity and ultimate solitude-he to whom you are addressing yourself may justifiably be called God." {NB: This is in the context of a non-theistic statement, Frankl notes that a religious person would assert that these are real dialogues between himself and God, while an atheist would be equally correct in insisting that they are only monologues within his own mind. Frankl, himself, I think tends toward the latter position.}
Frankl, Viktor. "Determinism and Humanism: Critique of Pan-Determinism" The Unheard Cry for Meaning. pg. 63.
Self-Trancendence
"Man is - by virtue of the self-trancendent quality of the human reality - basically concerned with reaching out beyond himself, be it toward a meaning to fulfill, or toward another human being to lovingly encounter."
Frankl, Viktor. "Determinism and Humanism: Critique of Pan-Determinism" The Unheard Cry for Meaning. pg. 80.
On the Meaning of Sex
"Human sex is always more than mere sex, and it is more than sex to the extent that it serves as the physical expression of something metasexual, is the physical expression of love. Only to the extent that sex carries out this function is it a rewarding experience." {To the extent that sex fails in this task, ie. using another person as a tool, failing to connect to that person as a subject, not simply an object, it is referred to as 'masturbatory' and 'neurotic' by Frankl.}
Frankl, Viktor. "Determinism and Humanism: Critique of Pan-Determinism" The Unheard Cry for Meaning. pg. 80.
The Pursuit of Happiness
"The more one's search for meaning is frustrated, the more intensively he devotes himself to what ... has been termed the 'pursuit of happiness.' When this pursuit originates in a frustrated search for meaning it is aimed at intoxication and stupifaction. In the final analysis it is self-defeating, for happiness can arise only as a result of living out one's self-transcendence, one's dedication to a cause to be served or a person to be loved."
Frankl, Viktor. "The Dehumanization of Sex" The Unheard Cry for Meaning. pg. 83.
Hyper-reflection and Existential Emptiness
"Paying too much attention to something is what I am used to calling 'hyper-reflection.' The patient is invited to carefully observe and watch himself; what is even more important, he is encouraged to endlessly discuss whatever he furnishes from within himself. Hyper-discussion becomes more and more a substitute for the meaning of life which is today so often missing, and missed by those who are caught in an 'existential vacuum,' a feeling of emptiness and meaninglessness." {There is also a discussion on the principle of hyper-interpretation, which subjects one to a relentless examination on one's 'real motivations.'}
Frankl, Viktor. "Critique of Pure Encounter" The Unheard Cry for Meaning. pg. 76.
The Unheard Cry for Meaning: Psychotherapy and Humanism (Touchstone Books) Overview

Want to learn more information about The Unheard Cry for Meaning: Psychotherapy and Humanism (Touchstone Books)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life ReviewThis book presents a process of analytical thinking that will help you make rational decisions. It also presents many thinking exercises you can apply immediately. Of great importance is the author's descriptions of how the brain tricks itself into making wrong decisions.
The writing is very readable and generally keeps you riveted to the material. However, you must frequently stop and think about the ramifications of what the author is presenting. Each sentence, paragraph, section, chapter is deeply thought out. There is great detail and information to consider.
The exercises were useful, although there were a few that were too simplistic. Sometimes the exercises were too repetitive to material just presented in the text (repetition of the same questions, in the same order). But overall, the exercises were most valuable and I will probably return there on later readings of this book.
There is one reviewer of this book that took issue with the sections discussing how to analyze controversial issues. I had the same reservations. After presenting detailed logic on how to think through issues objectively, I thought the authors let their own anarchist biases effect their proposed analyses of controversial issues, turning these sections into a rhetoric for their political positions. If they had said that their logic was just one analysis of the issues then that would be OK, but instead they presented their controversial analyses as the correct one. These really detracted from the power of the material as I thought of many poor assumptions made on their part.
But fortunately, the political rhetoric and controversial issues section of the book was small... at most 2 chapters.
However, there is so much to like about this book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn a process for critical thinking. It is so easy for our minds to let non-rational factors determine our decisions. Worse, we often don't realize that our mind is playing tricks on ourselves. And, this is to our detriment.
By applying the authors' rules and exercises you can help catch this flawed, mostly ego-centric thinking while its still in the midst of a crime.
John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TXCritical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life Overview

Want to learn more information about Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...