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This volume seeks to explore our understanding of the Renaissance, starting with the text that defined our conception of the period, Burckhardt's classic work, The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy (published in 1860).A particular concern is the 'revival of antiquity' which Burckhardt saw as one of the definitive features of Renaissance culture.This is explored through a reassessment of the role of humanism, with detailed case studies in music (Josquin Desprez), moral philosophy (Valla, Castiglione, More) and political thought (Machiavelli). ... Read more

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This engaging, deeply personal book, illuminating the search for meaning in today's world, offers a rare insider's look at Soka Gakkai Buddhism, one of Japan's most influential and controversial religious movements, and one that is experiencing explosive growth around the world. Unique for its multiethnic make-up, Gakkai Buddhists can be found in more than 100 countries from Japan to Brazil to the United States and Germany. In Encountering the Dharma, Richard Seager, an American professor of religion trying to come to terms with the death of his wife, travels to Japan in search of the spirit of the Soka Gakkai. This book tells of his journey toward understanding in a compelling narrative woven out of his observations, reflections, and interviews, including several rare one-on-one meetings with Soka Gakkai president Daisaku Ikeda. Along the way, Seager also explores broad-ranging controversies arising from the Soka Gakkai's efforts to rebuild post-war Japan, its struggles with an ancient priesthood, and its motives for propagating Buddhism around the world. One turning point in his understanding comes as Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai strike an authentically Buddhist response to the events of September 11, 2001. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

A personal journey into one of Japan's largest lay orders
I bought "Encountering the Dharma" not knowing I'd just finished another of the author's books.If I had, I might have skipped it.And in doing so I would have missed a good story - in spite of not being the kind of bookI was expecting.While Seager introduces Soka Gakkai's theology, as well as some of the issues that have made the organization controversial in Japan, neither topic is covered in much detail.

After 17 years in Japan I feel somewhat ashamed of having learned little about one of the nation's largest religious organizations.I knew people in SG and to their credit their proselytizing was low key, consisting of nothing more than a few English language pamphlets.It seems American author/researcher Richard Hughes Seager knew about as much as I did.Maybe even less.At least I had lived in Japan, speak Japanese, met some SG members, knew about their political party, saw a few promo videos, and heard other Japanese speak about SG (most somewhat suspiciously).To his credit, Seager is forthright about his ignorance of Japan, which may just make you wonder about the value of a book about Soka Gakkai from a researcher on a Soka Gakkai grant.

Not having any particular agenda, Seager doesn't have any bones to pick or axes to grind.He has done the reader a great service in describing scenes and offering impressions that we might never have, short of several trips to Japan, the US, Singapore and Brazil, as well as access to much of SG's leadership.He records not only what he learns about SG, but how he learns - the situations, the people, his personal state of mind.It is very much a contemplative account of one reseacher's encounter with SG.And because this research was done shortly after the death of his wife, you can feel how open he is to questioning everything, especially himself.

One issue Seager raises midway through the text but never gets back to exploring is the organization's relevance to the 21st century.It seems that while the SG's great success has come from an ability to tap into the needs and concerns of the world's upwardly mobile middle class, it does so by offering a "soft-sell Buddhism." In the context of war-time and reconstruction Japan, a spirtual program rooted in nonviolence made radical sense.But as Seager observes, there's nothing too challenging (or even spiritual) about SG today."Who in the middle class, Japanese or American, is not for global peace, culture or education?"

One answer seems to lie in simply being Japanese.Where western culture has tended toward hyper-individuation, Japan is a modern nation that has maintained a strong commutarian culture.Perhaps what Soka Gakkai has most ably demonstrated is the exportablity of Japanese forms of social organization and consensus building.

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Something Is Missing
This is a much better book than I thought it would be.In fact, it's so well written and interesting it's hard to put down.My problem with it, however, is that while Professor Seager does a wonderful job of dealing with Soka Gakkai historically, theologically, organizationally and personally in an easily undertandable yet objective way, he leaves unanswered what I think is an important question about their actually practices.So, here it is:It seems clear that Soka Gakkai and President Ikeda do sincerely pursue peace in the world as one of the highest objectives.Yet, nowhere in the book, not anywhere else that I've seen, is there any evidence that Soka Gakkai is involved in peace demonstrations, peace groups or even issuing statements supporting specific actions that will lead to peace or, conversely, condemming actions leading to war.Frankly, it seems to me that while they've enshrined the objective of peace, other than talk about it and promote it amongst themselves and have leaders meet and have photo ops with leading political figures, they really don't do much of anything.

A good start for people interested in the SGI - and skeptical
In his lack of objectivity, Professor Hughes Seager provides a unique perspective on the Nichiren Buddhism as practiced by the SGI. (I am a member.) Professor Seager interweaves his exact 'subjective' experiences in researching this book into his academic look at the SGI. He freely admits the SGI hired him to write the book and he frequently wonders if situations have been orchestrated to make sure he would see things in a positive light. Any reader can ask themselves the same questions; that's what makes it a particularly good book for anyone who is interested in the practice but also skeptical--and that probably covers everyone.

An Engaging Narrative of the Advancement of Buddhism in Modern Times
From outside the SGI, Seager supplies historical context and validates Daisaku Ikeda's status as the leading interpreter of Buddhism in modern times. As Seager points out, Ikeda has made the practice of Nichiren Buddhism into a dominant force for advancing humanism in the world and made the religion accessible as a means to happiness and self-realization. I recommend it to anyone who wants additional information on the evolution of the Buddhist lay organization, Soka Gakkai International

What a Great Book
As a member of the SGI, i learned a lot about our organization, from reading this book. This is a really good book to buy you wont regret it. I found it hard to put this book down, one of the best books i have ever read. ... Read more

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This book makes the case that Secular Humanism is a full-fledged religious worldview. It looks at historical positions of Secular Humanist leaders and shows how, in the past, they promoted their views as a religion in order to gain the perks of other religions, such as tax-exemption. Now that other religions have been forced out of the educational arena, Secular Humanism has been granted privileged access to government-sanctioned schools while claiming to be morally neutral, scientifically derived, and educationally fruitful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A FACTUAL book: can't argue with black and white facts!
This is a book that actually shows you, page after page, what the humanists themselves say, complete with dates, sources and all references and even reprints of the relevant passages.

The best one is that the Humanist Association was registered as a RELIGIOUS organisation! And that their local chapters' objective is to spread humanism. What's more, they have their doctrines clearly printed in the Humanist Manifesto, including the idea that humans hold their own destiny and are their own gods. So there you have it: they worship themselves (gods), have a "church" (local chapters), a "bible" (Humanist Manifesto) and they "evangelise" (spread humanism to communities) and even registered as a religious organisation.

So we are replacing one religion with another in the classroom, quite blatantly...

An excellent revalation of the Secular Humanist strategy
This book by David Noebel was to me a very interesting experience. It made clear a lot of philosophical aspects that I have sensed throughout my later years in school, but not been able to completely describe. It documents, through extended quotes and exhibits, some of the thoughts and strategies of the Secular Humanist movement in America at the start of the 20th century, and really is a wake-up call to teachers and students alike. ... Read more

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Is it moral to sacrifice one's life for a higher goal? Why do many in the U.S. think it admirable to join the army but despicable for Palestinians to sign up with Hamas? How can we actually determine "evil" and "good" in the daily world? These practical questions cut to the heart of what it means to be human. John Ralston Saul, in his matter-of-fact discussion of six basic human qualities - ethics, common sense, intuition, imagination, memory, and reason - confronts basic concepts in a manner not done since Thomas Paine more than two centuries ago. In an easy-to-understand style, Saul explains why essential qualities of being human cannot exist in isolation but instead depend on and enrich each other. On Equilibrium persuasively explores morality and how it can be used to foster equilibrium for the self and achieve an ethical society. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Vague notions hiding behind vague, incomprehensible writing
I stopped reading this book after the chapter on 'Common Sense'.. in it Saul argues that there is a common body of knowledge in the world that cannot be transcribed by language and that transcends reasoning. He bemoans the increasing specialization of knowledge away from "common sense" and the worship of reason. I can't help but think of all the times when what was 'common knowledge' has been disproved or changed by what he derides as 'pure reasoning'.. e.g., the flat-earth idea, racial hierarchy, the planet being less than 5000 years old, etc. I also fail to see how knowledge is 'common', seeing as how it is tainted by our own views and prejudices. To be fair to him, he does try to differentiate his idea of 'common sense' from superstition, but doesn't specify where the line is drawn.. is it common sense that women are bad drivers or is it just superstition.. or is it a prejudiced world view that can be disproved by objective reasoning?

He fails to take into account the fact that as our body of knowledge has increased (through understanding and objective reasoning), we have come to rely on it more than on gut instinct and perceived common sense. There is a lot that we know but we don't understand but we rely on the fact that someone, somewhere has understood it. I know that human beings evolved from single celled organisms - I don't claim to understand it completely, but I know that someone, somewhere does and if I wanted to I could look it up. If I claim that it is common knowledge that the world is ruled by invisible purple monkeys, who is going to be the arbitrator of that claim? Science by majority voting?

In all the writing doesn't flow smoothly and I decided that it wasn't worth deciphering his ideas - it's just another case of "I don't understand it so it must be wrong".

Challenging and Mind-Expanding
I really enjoyed this book.Saul's writing is somewhat challenging, but with effort it becomes rhythmic.I valued his perpectives on human orientations and how they balance each other.The notion of "equilibrium" in human activities is a sound one, especially in these times, in which we face so many imbalances in the environment, wealth, power, justice, and opportunity.

Vague, wandering and self-indulgent
John Ralston Saul does not like rationalism. For him reality is too complex to be captured within any rational scheme. Instead he says that we should embrace the complexity and be guided by our common sense (shared knowledge), ethics, intuition etc. We must keep all of these qualities in equilibrium since by embracing one we will be captured by ideology.

Does this sound vague and ultimately self-justifying? Does the maintenance of an equilibrium between vaguely defined qualities and the rejection of rational analysis seem to be a means of justifying one's own favorite beliefs? This book certainly seems to answer these questions in the affirmative. Ralston Saul begins with general questions but the answers that he comes up with always justifyhis social democratic positions on the political issues that were current at the time that this book was published in 2001. Who knew that the anti-globalization movement found its justification in common sense? Who knew that there need be no debate on anthropogenic global warming since it is common sense.

This book is vague, wandering and self-indulgent. There is no philosophical or political insight here that could not be found in a coffee shop conversation.

This book is not worth buying.

It's true; we need each other
Saul's main idea is that there are six qualities - common sense, ethics, imagination, intuition, memory, reason - we need to keep in appropriate balance ("equilibrium") if we are to live in prosperity and peace.What this comes down to in overly simple terms is that we need to be aware that other people have points of view that are not identical to ours, but are not all that distant, either.In other words, we should pay attention to, and take seriously, what others have to say.Saul believes that when we make wealth our primary goal, we ignore the differences presented by others and force the world into our vision of it.This makes for dullness.He has a great point; we don't reach the good life by marching to our own beat.We get their by sharing shoes with others.The book can be frustrating at times, since he digresses every now and then.But there are many gems.

Unnecessarily obscure
Saul presents some intriguing and pertinent ideas in Equilibrium. Moreover, they are understandable ideas. At least they would have been understandable if he had taken the time to write a book that didn't have to be deciphered. ... Read more

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Nobel laureate Erwin Schrödinger was one of the most distinguished scientists and philosophers of the twentieth century, and his lectures are legendary. Here the texts of two of Schrödinger's most famous lecture series are made available again. In the first, entitled "Nature and the Greeks," Schrödinger offers a historical account of the scientific world picture. In the second, called "Science and Humanism," he addresses fundamental questions about the link between scientific and spiritual matters. As Roger Penrose confirms, these are the profound thoughts of a great mind, and as relevant today as when they were first published in the 1950s. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Thoughts of a Distinguished Scientist
Erwin Schrodinger was a major contributor to the development of quantum physics. He, Werner Heisenberg, and many other giants of modern scientific thought, were very conscious of their enormous intellectual debt to Greek philosophy. Shrodinger's lectures on Greek ideas about Reason and the Senses, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, the Atomists, and much more besides, is a wonderful historic account that enables contemporary readers to understand and appreciate the forgotten grounding of science within philosophy. ... Read more

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Wild and Robust explicates the principles of Christian Humanism developed by McNamara throughout his long career. Rather than constricting the broad range of humanism, the qualifying word Christian enlivens, enriches, and extends the concept to the horizons of the universe and the pinnacle of human striving. McNamara's vigorous presentation will inform Christian and non-Christian seekers alike with his powerful and loving insights. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

For General Information
In response to the first reviewer's use of the term "Father," Mr. William McNamara was laicized by the Holy See several years ago and may no longer function or present himself as a priest of the Roman Catholic Church or as a member of the Carmelite Order.

Wild and Robust: The Adventures of Christian Humanism by William McNamara
Sixteen months ago at the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, CA, I met Father William (Willie) McNamara, a fellow retreatant.He invited my family and me to stay for two weeks at his Corpus Christi Hermitage in New Pine Creek, OR, which we did last August.So, I have come to know him well.

"Wild and Robust" represents the culmination of Father Willie's work as an author.In it, he summarizes and refines material from his previous books, and also adds new material, such as in the chapter on "meeting."The fruition of a long and holy life, "Wild and Robust" brims with eloquent wisdom.If I could own only one book by William McNamara, this would be it.

Father Willie de-mystifies mysticism, making it accessible to every person on an experiential level.Wisely, he does not negate our vital energy, but teaches us to know God by becoming "disciplined" wild men.Thus, I have grown more aware of God's nearness and come to appreciate the central importance of contemplation as a way of being.

I recommend this book!

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Customer Reviews (1)

recommendable book
It is interesting to read this kind of book.The book's thesis is that the Renaissance defined humanism in homoerotic=Knabenliebe terms.If there were more illustrations, it would be better and more interesting volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

How to atain fulfillment of personality
In the dialogue with Pinchas Lapide Frankl formulates that man is becoming himself, is realizing himself, is purely man exactly to the same degree as he does not try to realize himself or his own luck, rather he should be in the process of giving himself away to something else (or somebody else). Frankl`s extension of psychotherapy to transcendence comes from Jewish, Biblical thinking. It wants to set man free from his self-centerdness, which spoils his ways and removes him from God.
This kind of thinking is somehow biblically designed and practised in therapy. In the manner of Jesus for example who said: "who finds his life will lose it, and who loses it for my sake will find it". Lapide mentions this relation to the New Testament in his conversation with Frankl.
Nothing what is important for man, be it motherhood, a commandment, love, nothing is allowed to serve as an idol, Frankl teaches. Only in the extended view of the transcendence these things attain their fulfillment.
Frankl explains Saint-Exupery who had said: "Love means not to stare in the eyes of one another, but to look into the same direction together" in this way: "The real lovers look parallel into the eternity, they pray together. Love is a mutual prayer, a prayer for two."
The key for a complete life is the conscience, the "organ" to find meaning. Given that the non-religious man who has also conscience and responsibility is a man who ignores the transcendency of the conscience, he misses yet the question of responsibility for what? And of conscience from who? He takes conscience as the last thing in front of which he has to be responsible, but he ignores that it is only the last but one, because the last is God.
Pinchas Lapide respects the manner how Frankl consumed the concentration camp experiences, because he brought them into an interesting context with the question about God:
"Since Frankl had to drain the cup of suffering and yet was able to survive it without hatred and with love for mankind he must be a living prove on two feet for the existence of God... then also Dorothee Sölle and the so called "God-is-dead-theology" are wrong." This would mean that concentration camps and their abominations are a chance to see God rather than to deny his existence! Which makes sense since only a living God can help.
Frankl perceives the crises of meaning of the many singular people also as a society problem. In the existential vacuum which arises where the human existence does not find any sense and does not realize any values something else starts to pore in: frustration, desperation, hatred, violence. Frankl is concerned: "Will spiritual poverty be the poverty of the 21st century?" I will be not the only one to be affirmative.

Deepening Insight into the Ultimate Search for Man's Meaning
This 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.
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This is the second of the three volumes comprising, Scholastic Humanism and the Unification of Europe. Focussing on the period from c.1090-1212, the volume explores the lives, scholarly resources, and contributions of a wide sample of people who either took part in the creation of the scholastic system of thought or gave practical effect to it in public life.

• The second volume of a compelling, original work which will redefine our perceptions of medieval civilization, the renaissance and the evolution of modern Europe.


• Written by a man who was widely regarded as the greatest medieval historian.

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As humanity becomes increasingly interconnected through globalization, the question of whether community is possible within culturally diverse societies has returned as a principal concern for contemporary thought. Lorenzo Simpson charges that the current discussion is stuck at an impasse--between postmodernism's notions of fragmented cultural difference and what some see as humanism's homogeneous versions of community.Simpson proposes an alternative--one that bridges cultural differences without erasing them.He argues that we must establish common languages for articulating aesthetic and ethical standards that incorporate a sensitivity to difference if we are to achieve cross-cultural understanding. ... Read more

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humanism /'hju:meniz(e)m/ n. an outlook or system of thought concerned with human rather than divine or supernatural matters.

Albert Einstein, Isaac Asimov, E.M. Forster, Bertrand Russell, and Gloria Steinem all declared themselves humanists. What is humanism and why does it matter? Is there any doctrine every humanist must hold? If it rejects religion, what does it offer in its place? Have the twentieth century's crimes against humanity spelled the end for humanism?

On Humanism is a timely and powerfully argued philosophical defence of humanism. It is also an impassioned plea that we turn to ourselves, not religion, if we want to answer Socrates' age-old question: what is the best kind of life to lead? Although humanism has much in common with science, Richard Norman shows that it is far from a denial of the more mysterious, fragile side of being human. He deals with big questions such as the environment, Darwinism and 'creation science', euthanasia and abortion, and then argues that it is ultimately through the human capacity for art, literature and the imagination that humanism is a powerful alternative to religious belief.

Drawing on a varied range of examples from Aristotle to Primo Levi and the novels of Virginia Woolf and Graham Swift, On Humanism is a lucid and much needed reflection on this much talked about but little understood phenomenon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The BEST contemporary book on humanism
What a pity that this excellent little book is apparently out of print except for the obscenely over-priced library (I presume) edition.Richard Norman's discussion of humanism is both elegantly written and cogently defended.It is by far the single best recent defense of humanism available.(I might also add that all the other volumes in the series, "Thinking in Action," to which this belongs are also quite good.)

In five accessible but rigorous chapters, Norman provides a short history and definitional clarification of humanism; a defense of the superiority of scientific over religious methodology and first principles; a materialistic (but nonreductionistic) philosophical anthropology; a sketch of a godless morality based on the twin values of care and respect; and an analysis of the meaningful life that focuses on provisionality, particularity, and tragedy.

I foud Norman's chapter on morality to be the strongest in the entire book, with his discussion of science and religion and human nature close runners-up.The final chapter, on the meaning of life within a humanistic context, I found the least satisfying--not because I actually thought Norman's arguments were bad, but because I thought they needed to be fleshed out more fully.I was surprised, for example, given the importance for Norman of "narrative," that there was no discussion of philosopher Richard Rorty's discussions of "edifying narratives."

Still, one book can't do everything, and what Norman's book does is really excellent.It's as elegant a defence of humanism as we're likely to see for quite a while.

Intellectual defence of Humanism
This is a good book that realistically assesses Humanism. It argues strongly against the existence of God. It also shows that life can be meaningful without necessarily believing in the supernatural. ... Read more

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"One's own experiences the ultimate teacher." This significant statement by a great world leader opens Dr. Sohail's sensitively written book. Its the cornerstone of Sohail's belief. It can be heard in all its variations in the many cultures of the world.The author, born into an insular Muslim society, was taught only the Quran and accepted it dutifully until the day when his questions began in medical school. This first step, on a long journey of learning that continues to this day, brought him tithe acceptance of secular humanism.Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and the rest of the world's formal religions live side by side with millions who opted out of their religious birthright. These "brothers and sisters," once adherents to concepts which required they submit themselves and their families to the strictures of only one" rightness", no longer live within that belief.His desire is that men and women of all confessions would read his book with an open mind, loosening the fetters of acceptance to decide for themselves if there is journey beckoning to be taken. If the world is to fulfill its promise of becoming a place of love and respect for everyone, it is through the introspection flowing through his book that individuals will be helped to practice such understanding and respect.

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This book argues for a more engaged deconstruction, one that grapples with actual social institutions and practices while not compromising in its articulation of the difficulties of Jacques Derrida's texts. Against more aestheticised versions of deconstructive politics, Martin argues for a fundamental relation of theory to practice. Using more revolutionary and unorthodox theories and practices of Marxism as a standard for engaged theory, Martin asks if radical deconstruction can develop a sense of urgency without falling into the reductivism and narrowly interest-oriented utilitarianism of more orthodox forms of Marxism. The book develops significant encounters with the work of Susan Bordo, Jean-Luc Nancy, Alex Callinicos, as well as Bataille, Blanchot, Foucault, Habermas, and Rorty. But the larger aim of the book is to reground the politics of anti-imperialism and internationalism in a post-Eurocentric frame. This work is a most extended engagement on deconstruction and social theory; it will therefore be of interest to social theorists and others interested in the ethical and political implications of the work of Jacques Derrida.While scholars and theorists in academia will find this an important work, the book also aims to make sense of the politics of deconstruction for those outside of the academy. ... Read more

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Today's physicians are medical scientists, drilled in the basics of physiology, anatomy, genetics, and chemistry. They learn how to crunch data, interpret scans, and see the human form as a set of separate organs and systems in some stage of disease. Missing from their training is a holistic portrait of the patient as a person and as a member of a community. Yet a humanistic passion and desire to help people often are the attributes that compel a student toward a career in medicine. So what happens along the way to tarnish that idealism? Can a new approach to medical education make a difference?

Doctors Serving People is just such a prescriptive. While a professor at Rush Medical College in Chicago, Edward J. Eckenfels helped initiate and direct a student-driven program in which student doctors worked in the poor, urban communities during medical school, voluntarily and without academic credit. In addition to their core curriculum and clinical rotations, students served the social and health needs of diverse and disadvantaged populations. Now more than ten years old, the program serves as an example for other medical schools throughout the country. Its story provides a working model of how to reform medical education in America. ... Read more

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Essential for understanding modern thought
Lanham writes eloquently about the Renaissance consciousness and how people 500 years ago related to language and performativity and subjectivity. He discusses the rhetorical and serious sides of being andhow they functioned.

This book has been essential to my intellectuallife--especially when it comes to understanding central themes inShakespeare.

This book is well worth the time spent for an out-of-printsearch. ... Read more

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Challenging Hegemony: Social Movements, and the Quest for a New Humanism in Post-Apartheid South Africa is a collection of essays by leading social movement activists and scholars that analyzes the emergence of new political struggles in post apartheid South Africa. The volume reflects on the mushrooming of new movements that represent what Frantz Fanon called “the untidy affirmation of an original idea propounded as an absolute:” a quest for a new humanism which is manifested in the movements’ most simple and basic of demands for land, housing, and medicine.A central problem addressed in the volume is how the challenge to hegemony can possibly be connected to the quest for a new humanism (or a “true humanity” in Steve Biko’s words). The essays investigate how new movements (including organized “social forums” as well as local movements) are not only challenging neo-liberal capitalist globalization, but also attempting to articulate alternatives and raise the question of what it means to be human. Whether reconnecting electricity, or struggling for housing or for HIV/AIDS anti-virals, the movements are a challenge, in the most human of ways, to the mantra that “there is no alternative” to capitalist globalization.This collection of essays edited by Nigel Gibson brings together some of the most outstanding intellectuals writing on the rise of social movements in South Africa. The writers whose work is collected in this volume include the cutting edge of intellectuals who have shown tremendous courage in their quest to be not only commentators but activists in this emerging anti neo-liberal movement. There is something valuable in every page of this collection and those interested in thoughtful and provocative analyses of the South Africa transition will be well served. Out of the dystopia of apartheid followed by neo-liberal South Africa emerges the story told in these pages of an incredible resurgence of resistance.—Ashwin Desai, author, author of We are the Poors: Community Struggles in Post-Apartheid South Africa ... Read more

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Answering the critics who find humanism lacking the power to inspire, Murry brings a new vision of religious humanism?one that evokes compassion, spirituality and a language of reverence while grounded in reason, community, social responsibility, science and ethics. Along with an accessible account of humanism's historical development, theological challenges and future directions, on these pages readers will discover a more open and inclusive humanism, one that speaks to the heart as well as the mind. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

a neat and timely little book
"Naturalism" of the early modern period meant that matter was in some sense alive - contained in itself a vital power that was the source of its motion, rather than that matter as such is inert and subject to force (Newton). However, that sense of naturalism has little to do with the movement called Naturalism today, which merely claims that nature is all that is, there is no "super-nature" or divine either in matter or beyond this life, and to which we must appeal for meaning or to secure an ethics (theology is superfluous: myth-making at best, ideological manipulation at worst) nor simply to explain the natural world (metaphysics is unnecessary given the success of natural sciences).

The book makes a very reasonable claim that we should seek to restore our sense of awe and wonder at the universe.Philosophy (the break from mythological explanation to rational) begins with wonder, Plato noted so long ago, when we had only the naked eye to stoke our fascination.The contemporary scientific account of the cosmos is like a fountain of awe and wonder, heretofore not fully tapped by humankind as a whole, and which can sustain and elevate our childhood awe at the night sky throughout adult life. Consider that with the naked eye, on a good night away from the city, we can see about 6000 celestial objects. But we now know there are billions upon billions of stars in the universe and innumerable galaxies lying at unimaginable distances beyond our own. The naked eye and the Hubble telescope are not in competition for our wonder. They are two roads to the same thing.

The book and its proposed Humanistic Religious Naturalism is precisely a response to the problem of the theoretical science of nature itself being, in a strict sense, non-moral or a-moral; this does not mean anti-moral (against morality), but that it concerns itself with nothing either moral nor immoral: that is, pure science is interested in "just the facts," not what we ought to do about them. Practical and applied science takes facts and creates machines of all sorts, including biological and medicinal technology, to ease life; so that doctors can produce health, etc. Here the fields of ethics and certainly bioethics need to be brought in to regulate how we transition from facts to morals - not something one can do in a simple logical maneuvre (David Hume's insight; can't derive an "ought" from an "is"). So Science gives us the Truth of Nature & there is no God in any traditional sense ("God" at best a metaphor for stuff like love, goodness, etc. - so if it's a metaphor, why do we need the theology language?Why not just talk about love and goodness? is one nice idea in the book); hence we need a system of morals. The book attempts to demonstrate that aspects of the legacy of religious and atheistic Humanism can coherently be woven into the current of contemporary Naturalism at the level of the big political issues of our time as well as at the personal level, and thus we can avoid the problem of nihilism without regressing to "clinging to guns and religion."

I don't agree with every detail but think the author makes an excellent case and the book is an inspiring and pleasant read. It is certainly good to know that there are people out there talking about this stuff in a serious way, in contrast to being aggressive polemical snoots about it and with inflammatory geo-strategic, not to mention personal, agendas (to draw an example from thin air, for instance... Chris Hitchens).At the same time, the book offers a solid worldview for the informed layperson who might be dissatisfied with certain out-of-date humanisms, and nicely threads the needle between anti-monotheistic obscurantism and hard-core Naturalism, which is a bit stale and sometimes a tad crazy - like it's only the privileged domain of biological specialists who are the only ones truly "in the know."Definitely worth checking out.

From this book I also discovered the author's previous book, which is pretty good too: "A Faith for All Seasons" (not to be confused with another book of the same title). It's a fine supplement to this volume, as it deals with more personal crisis-of-life and life-purpose matters in pragmatic and sensitive but non-classically religious terms.(I had no idea Unitarians were so interesting until I read this guy!)A faith for all seasons: Liberal religion and the crises of life

muted spirituality
I was worried that a book like this one will come along. Basically, it hit me on the head. A wake up call. Two words: "naturalism" and "responsibility". Now "naturalism" didn't affect me much. Especially, because I don't have a strong Christian back ground. But I can see, this book will liberate and empower a lot of Christians who decide to look into UU.Still "naturalism" is quite a radical idea. It kind of reminds me of idealism, that everything in this world is spirit. Naturalism says everything in this world is a miracle. Then we should be in awe of the universe as it is. Biology should be awe inspiring as much as cathedrals do. Now "responsibility" is a heavy word. And the book tells us that we should be responsible of the universe. Responsible of fellow humans, and also ecology, the nature that produces us. And all this comes after rejecting the monolithic God. invokes awe. One must be on top of science. Science can be intimidating. Science can be dry. It is one thing for a scientist to explain us how many stars are in the universe. It is another to feel wonder at the night sky.
The issue that is hanging is: what is the relationship between science and religion. This is quite a touchy subject. On the one hand, it seems to liberate science and promise everything. On the other hand, its opening up the Pandora's box. Just think of genetic manipulation. This might be the key to cure of cancer. But also we may create a deadly deadly virus that has never been. But the book says nothing of this. Perhaps too big a topic. Tho, being muted has its place.

Emboldening a new old vision
REASON AND REVERENCE by the Rev. William R. Murry was written with the express intent of revitalizing humanism within Unitarian Universalism by grounding it in religious naturalism.The book is getting mixed reviews among 'old-school' humanists, apparently, as I've read comments to the effect that there's nothing that needs revitalizing, that Murry is succumbing to the rage for spirituality by diluting classical humanism with a touchy-feely naturalism, and so on.I've also read comments by theists chiding Murry for his unabashed nontheism.

Murry feels that classical humanism, the humanism of 1933 Manifesto, was overly optimistic about social progress and unmindful of the human capacity for evil.Additionally, he feels that its anthropocentrism and disregard for the intrinsic value of nature have been complicit in nature's despoliation.Further, he feels that by neglecting the affective component of human religiosity, particularly its capacity for awe and reverence, humanism has become dessicated and unresponsive.

Murry insists that not only does humanism need religious naturalism, naturalism needs religious humanism to add an ethical dimension not immediately derivable from amoral nature.He feels that peace, justice, and particularly reverence for life are properly humanistic values which, when added to a religious response to nature, complete a stance he calls humanistic religious naturalism.

I have not done justice to the book in these paragraphs.I would hope people in addition to UUs would read it.In my very humble opinion this book is a milestone in nontheistic liberal religion and I heartily recommend it.

a little trite, but all true
This is a fine statement of the principles of religious humanism. If you wonder what religious humanism is, the answer is here. There is a history of humanism, a discussion of "the epic of evolution," and several chapters essentially on ethics and well-being.

Nothing especially revolutionary or inspiring here, just the solid truth, simply stated.

Here're an excerpt, sort of the thesis statement of the book, to give you an example of the writing style:

"To be religious does not require that one accept the existence of a supernatural being. To be religious is a matter of one's attitude toward all of life. The religious aspect of humanism consists of an appreciation of the dignity and worth of every person; reverence and wonder at the world of nature, at human creativity, and at life itself; a sense of the unity of all things; joy in human community; and a commitment to a cause that transcends the self (p. 11)." ... Read more

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Exploration of our Calling as Human Beings
From the back cover:"What if in the incarnation God really did give us the privilege and burden of being co-redemptors with Christ?What if our affirmations that only God will bring the kingdom, and that in his own time, are really pious denials of our vocation as responsible persons and Christians?Marney gives us an incisive perspective after which we cannot think of human life as without purpose.We are called to nothing less than co-redeemership with the incarnate, crucified One.Church is where that vocation is being taken up, and where persons -- in obedient identification -- are priesting others toward healing, wholeness, and justice."Good stuff!Highly recommended. ... Read more