by Luc Ferry. No dry academic, Ferry restores to philosophy a compelling urgency. That urgency, manifest in the probings of the ancient Stoics and still animating the strivings of postmodern phenomenologists, springs from the need to surmount the fear of death and to find meaning in life. As he traces the evolution of philosophy, from Crates' demonstration of harmony in the cosmos by making love to his wife in public, to Husserl's discovery of transcendence in a six-sided matchbox, Ferry highlights philosophers' commitment to formulating a theory of the world, identifying means of knowing truth within that theoretical world, and finding ways to live wisely. Insistent that those performing this three-fold task cannot be guided by divine grace, Ferry joins Nietzsche in rejecting salvation of the immortal soul in heaven. Yet he glimpses philosophic salvation in this world in the wisdom that post-Nietzschean humanists develop through love. In rejecting faith, albeit with surprising wistfulness, Ferry parts company even with believers, including Augustine, Kant, and Pascal, from whom he has learned much. But in a conclusion that warns against both dogmatism and skepticism, readers will sense Ferry's abiding solidarity with all who seek horizons large enough to encompass human perplexities and corresponding human hopes! --Booklist (Check Catalog)
Friday, February 17, 2012
A brief history of thought : a philosophical guide to living
by Luc Ferry. No dry academic, Ferry restores to philosophy a compelling urgency. That urgency, manifest in the probings of the ancient Stoics and still animating the strivings of postmodern phenomenologists, springs from the need to surmount the fear of death and to find meaning in life. As he traces the evolution of philosophy, from Crates' demonstration of harmony in the cosmos by making love to his wife in public, to Husserl's discovery of transcendence in a six-sided matchbox, Ferry highlights philosophers' commitment to formulating a theory of the world, identifying means of knowing truth within that theoretical world, and finding ways to live wisely. Insistent that those performing this three-fold task cannot be guided by divine grace, Ferry joins Nietzsche in rejecting salvation of the immortal soul in heaven. Yet he glimpses philosophic salvation in this world in the wisdom that post-Nietzschean humanists develop through love. In rejecting faith, albeit with surprising wistfulness, Ferry parts company even with believers, including Augustine, Kant, and Pascal, from whom he has learned much. But in a conclusion that warns against both dogmatism and skepticism, readers will sense Ferry's abiding solidarity with all who seek horizons large enough to encompass human perplexities and corresponding human hopes! --Booklist (Check Catalog)
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