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117 reviews for:
Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects
Bertrand Russell
3.94 AVERAGE
117 reviews for:
Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects
Bertrand Russell
3.94 AVERAGE
Some of the essays were more interesting than others - always a risk in a collection! There was a transcription of a debate on basically the fundamentals of how philosophy and logic work, which was pretty much a snooze fest for me, personally. Which had me leaning towards a 3 star review, based on enjoyment/engagement alone, irrespective of the eye-catching title essay and it's premise. BUT, that made it especially more ridiculous to read the final part of this book, which was a historical account by the editor about the controversy around Bertrand Russell's appointment as a philosophy professor to City College of New York in 1940, and the subsequent legal case and political maneuvering to have the appointment revoked. Russell would go on to later to receive appointments at other prestigious American universities, distinctions given by his British government, and ultimately a Nobel prize... but 1940's NYC found his RADICAL thinking outside the cultural norms of that time to be an incitement to commit felonies, such that he could not be permitted to teach at a public college. While the focus of that controversy was purportedly on issues other than straight up belief in God - focusing instead on the bits that he had written during his career on topics related to sex and then skewing them to sound as salacious out of context as possible - it was interesting to learn about another example where a judicial decision was manipulated to get to the result it wanted to get to by any means possible - the ends justified the means to the judge, it was clear. A decision that at the time was capped off with it's crowning screed being that Russell could not be permitted to teach college students because he irredeemably did not think that homosexual activity should be a criminal offense has not really aged too well, I would say. So, it was, in the end, a great dichotomy to hear some of the dry, intellectual philosophical lecturing followed by the account of how 1940 New York really was beside itself in conservative fervor about not allowing this man to speak to its college students. And to see how nearly all of the things that these people had conniptions about eventually evolved to become relatively acceptable cultural norms anyway.
informative
reflective
I should start with saying I am a Bertrand Russell admirer.
This collection covers essays from late 1920s to the 1940s. Many of the points he makes in the different entries are relevant today, his warnings around religious fanaticism, wrapped in nationalism, are invariably on target.
A couple of items do feel dated, social and scientific change advanced after his dead. Based on how his views changed and adjusted to new discoveries and realities during his lifetime, I believe he would have updated those points today.
The appendix covers in detail the prosecution he received when he was offered a position at a college in NY, with a detailed analysis of the legal argument against him.
This collection covers essays from late 1920s to the 1940s. Many of the points he makes in the different entries are relevant today, his warnings around religious fanaticism, wrapped in nationalism, are invariably on target.
A couple of items do feel dated, social and scientific change advanced after his dead. Based on how his views changed and adjusted to new discoveries and realities during his lifetime, I believe he would have updated those points today.
The appendix covers in detail the prosecution he received when he was offered a position at a college in NY, with a detailed analysis of the legal argument against him.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
The first criticism of Jesus' behavior I have ever read.
Biggest practical takeaway for me was the suggestion to read a book and summarize every paragraph.
Also, lots of quotable passages:
When we have realised that Power is largely bad, that man, with his knowledge of good and evil, is but a helpless atom in a world which has no such knowledge, the choice is again presented to us: Shall we worship Force, or shall we worship Goodness? Shall our God exist and be evil, or shall he be recognised as the creation of our own conscience?
Yet, by death, by illness, by poverty, or by the voice of duty, we must learn, each one of us, that the world was not made for us, and that, however beautiful may be the things we crave, Fate may nevertheless forbid them. It is the part of courage, when misfortune comes, to bear without repining the ruin of our hopes, to turn away our thoughts from vain regrets. This degree of submission to Power is not only just and right: it is the very gate of wisdom.
We want to stand upon our own feet and look fair and square at the world -- its good facts, its bad facts, its beauties, and its ugliness; see the world as it is and be not afraid of it. Conquer the world by intelligence and not merely by being slavishly subdued by the terror that comes from it.
Biggest practical takeaway for me was the suggestion to read a book and summarize every paragraph.
Also, lots of quotable passages:
When we have realised that Power is largely bad, that man, with his knowledge of good and evil, is but a helpless atom in a world which has no such knowledge, the choice is again presented to us: Shall we worship Force, or shall we worship Goodness? Shall our God exist and be evil, or shall he be recognised as the creation of our own conscience?
Yet, by death, by illness, by poverty, or by the voice of duty, we must learn, each one of us, that the world was not made for us, and that, however beautiful may be the things we crave, Fate may nevertheless forbid them. It is the part of courage, when misfortune comes, to bear without repining the ruin of our hopes, to turn away our thoughts from vain regrets. This degree of submission to Power is not only just and right: it is the very gate of wisdom.
We want to stand upon our own feet and look fair and square at the world -- its good facts, its bad facts, its beauties, and its ugliness; see the world as it is and be not afraid of it. Conquer the world by intelligence and not merely by being slavishly subdued by the terror that comes from it.
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
Great collection of essays to really pinpoint and go after the arguments against religion. And these were 100s of years ago.
I can't say if this book is exceptional in general: all I can say is that it's exceptional for me.
I came across it when I was sixteen, in our local library, scanning through the philosophy section for some school project I no longer remember.
Upon reading the title, I was like: 'Oh, somebody has enough reasons for not being a Christian that they can make a book about it?'; and, curious, I decided to give it a try.
I was amazed. You know that feeling, when there are some ideas sprouting in your mind which are still a bit hazy and you know they will take some time to mature. And then, someone comes and makes everything clear all at once and you know that this is what you have been aiming for all the time. That's exactly what happened when I was reading this book. I remember laughing and wishing I could hug the author.
Since then, I've read many books on atheist and humanist philosophy, and, objectively, some were better, more detailed, or more thought-inspiring. However, reading none of them was so enjoyable and thrilling as this one.
I came across it when I was sixteen, in our local library, scanning through the philosophy section for some school project I no longer remember.
Upon reading the title, I was like: 'Oh, somebody has enough reasons for not being a Christian that they can make a book about it?'; and, curious, I decided to give it a try.
I was amazed. You know that feeling, when there are some ideas sprouting in your mind which are still a bit hazy and you know they will take some time to mature. And then, someone comes and makes everything clear all at once and you know that this is what you have been aiming for all the time. That's exactly what happened when I was reading this book. I remember laughing and wishing I could hug the author.
Since then, I've read many books on atheist and humanist philosophy, and, objectively, some were better, more detailed, or more thought-inspiring. However, reading none of them was so enjoyable and thrilling as this one.