Mention Out Of Books Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects
| Title | : | Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects |
| Author | : | Bertrand Russell |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 266 pages |
| Published | : | October 30th 1967 by Touchstone (first published May 1927) |
| Categories | : | Philosophy. Religion. Nonfiction. Atheism. Writing. Essays |
Bertrand Russell
Paperback | Pages: 266 pages Rating: 4.02 | 17928 Users | 654 Reviews
Explanation Concering Books Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects
Dedicated as few men have been to the life of reason, Bertrand Russell has always been concerned with the basic questions to which religion also addresses itself -- questions about man's place in the universe and the nature of the good life, questions that involve life after death, morality, freedom, education, and sexual ethics. He brings to his treatment of these questions the same courage, scrupulous logic, and lofty wisdom for which his other work as philosopher, writer, and teacher has been famous. These qualities make the essays included in this book perhaps the most graceful and moving presentation of the freethinker's position since the days of Hume and Voltaire."I am as firmly convinced that religions do harm as I am that they are untrue," Russell declares in his Preface, and his reasoned opposition to any system or dogma which he feels may shackle man's mind runs through all the essays in this book, whether they were written as early as 1899 or as late as 1954.
The book has been edited, with Lord Russell's full approval and cooperation, by Professor Paul Edwards of the Philosophy Department of New York University. In an Appendix, Professor Edwards contributes a full account of the highly controversial "Bertrand Russell Case" of 1940, in which Russell was judicially declared "unfit" to teach philosophy at the College of the City of New York.
Whether the reader shares or rejects Bertrand Russell's views, he will find this book an invigorating challenge to set notions, a masterly statement of a philosophical position, and a pure joy to read.
Define Books To Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects
| Original Title: | Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects |
| ISBN: | 0671203231 (ISBN13: 9780671203238) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Out Of Books Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects
Ratings: 4.02 From 17928 Users | 654 ReviewsCommentary Out Of Books Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects
"One of the works of literature for which [Russell] was awarded the Nobel Prize is a widely read essay first delivered as a lecture in 1927 entitled, 'Why I Am Not a Christian.' ...I haven't forgotten it yet, and I have promised myself that I never will. ...If you were to read his essay, and in the interest of open-mindedness I would urge you to do so, you would find that Bertrand Russell, who is one of the world's foremost logicians as well as a philosopher and mathematician, undoes with logicIf I were to describe this book/essay in a single word, it would be 'dishonest'. A more fitting title would be 'Why I Am an Atheist'. Only 'Not a Christian' has greater shock value, generating instant PR that hypes the book and promotes sales. So maybe Bert knew what he was doing after all.Here's the deal: Burt doesn't believe in a Creator, a Supreme Being, or a Higher Power greater than himself. And he singles out Christianity to make his point. Why? Why not Judaism, or Islam, or Buddhism? Or
Nobody makes me laugh as much while reading philosophy as this incredible sir.
I probably would have liked this book a lot more if I had read it when I was younger, but now I find Russell's critique of religion profoundly disappointing. For a logician and philosopher of his caliber, his proofs--on the reasons why the basis of religious belief is existential terror, for example--are unconvincing and sometimes shockingly sloppy. They tend to rely on a straw-man caricatures that he sets up and knocks down, rather than actually engaging with the roots of faith or the
Russell "demolishes" the classic arguments (ontological, teleological, cosmological) in the quick, sweeping first few dozen pages, then digresses for the remainder, addressing vaguely the tenets of logical positivism he'd better develop in The Problems of Philosophy and The Conquest of Happiness. Overall, though, I can't help but think this is all a wanktastic waste of time. It's unknowable, and the important thing is not to kill God, but to annihilate the willingness to consider that which
Russell first defines what he means by a Christian: someone who believes in God, the immortality of the soul, and Jesus Christ. Then he explains why he does not believe. Step by step he dismisses as fallacious the arguments for the existence of God: the first cause argument, the argument from design, etc. Then he discusses whether we survive death. Then the character of Jesus, as presented in the Gospels. He agrees that Jesus was an admirable man, but not divine and not the best or wisest of
After reading most of the "new Atheist" books -- I read the ones by Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens -- this old one by Betrand Russell is still miles better than they. To be sure, I disagree with most of what he says, but his writing is much more clear-headed and articulate than the new ones. There really aren't many new arguments the new generation of atheists bring to the table, therefore I think it is reasonably fair to use Russell's as the standard bearer for them all.
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