Pragmatism : a reader

 Pragmatism, which editor Menand says "is an account of the way people think," is the most American contribution to philosophy, albeit, as he explains, one that many think is nearly an antiphilosophy. The foremost pragmatists were and are Americans. The great progenitors were C. S. Peirce and William James. Their immediate followers include the father of progressive education, John Dewey; the jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes; social worker Jane Addams; and the father of social psychology, George Herbert Mead. Contemporary avatars of what can seem a pragmatic revival include critic of philosophy Richard Rorty, philosopher of religion Cornel West, and legal scholar Richard A. Posner. The most important papers by all those and several less generally known figures are the contents of this reader. They aren't easy reading, but Menand's introduction is considerably more accessible; he is to be thanked for it as well as for bringing the most influential pragmatist writings together for those who feel up to their challenges. --Booklist (Check catalog)

Striking a balance : a primer in traditional Asian values

 by Michael Brannigan. Brannigan (College of Saint Rose) draws on various narratives in a discussion of Hindu, Buddhist, Zen Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian ethics, with an emphasis on bridging Western and Eastern understanding of Asian religions and balancing opposites. Hinduism's core teaching is that the true self is one with Brahman; morality consists in the ability to view others as one views oneself. The common ground of Buddhist schools is found in the Four Noble Truths and the Middle Path--also expressed in the ubiquity of suffering and the impermanence of all things, even the permanent self. Buddhist ethics' Eightfold Path is its centerpiece. Zen Buddhism emphasizes the direct experience of satori, or enlightenment, as essential. Taoists hold that breaches in the natural harmony with the Tao, the Way, mean that people must reconnect with their original nature to live in balance with all. Ren, the inner attitude of humaneness or benevolence, is the cornerstone of Confucian values; it is a balance of individual and communal values. Both Huston Smith in The World's Religions (rev. and updated, 1991) and Brannigan affirm the wisdom traditions; Smith explores both Western and Eastern religious thought. Brannigan's style is clear and engaging. Included are questions and philosophical excerpts. --Choice. (Check Catalog)

Amish peace : simple wisdom for a complicated world

 by Suzanne Woods Fisher Suzanne Woods Fisher's interest in the Anabaptist culture can be directly traced to her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin county, Pennsylvania. Suzanne has contributed to several nonfiction books, is the author of three novels, and lives in California. (Check Catalog)

Pragmatism's advantage : American and European philosophy at the end of the twentieth century

 by Joseph Margolis. This is the third book from Margolis (Temple) providing his assessment of philosophy's problems and prospects, following Reinventing Pragmatism (CH, Oct'03, 41-0859) and The Unraveling of Scientism (CH, May'04, 41-5226). A leading voice for 40 years, Margolis explains how pragmatism works as well as anyone, and he expertly exposes core philosophical issues at the intersections of pragmatism, analytic philosophy, and Continental philosophy. This book describes pragmatism's capacity for translating and bridging intellectual divides, its assistance with naturalism's maturity, its inheritance of moderate Kantian and Hegelian contributions, and its prospects for sustaining cross-tradition conversations. Because Margolis uses a wider backdrop of lingering post-Kantian controversies, he can interpret seemingly unrelated philosophical arguments from different traditions as variations on fundamental themes. All along, Margolis has his own rich and complex pragmatism, and he ably defends its merits, which consist chiefly of avoiding metaphysical dead-ends, synthesizing points that other traditions get right, and supplying leadership on ways to work out some remaining tough problems. Pragmatism, in Margolis's hands, proves to be surprisingly adaptable. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Academic libraries; lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers.

Frithjof Schuon and the perennial philosophy

 by Harry Oldmeadow. Schuon was one of the leading thinkers connected with the philosophia perennis, which holds that a common teaching and wisdom is at the core of all the world's most well-known religions and mystical traditions. This truth, as Schuon described it, does not belong to any particular system but is shared by all metaphysical systems insofar as they are true. During his long life, Schuon argued for this claim and taught it in a long series of highly influential publications. In the process, he became, along with Rene Guenon, its best-known advocate, attracting students and disciples from around the world. In the present study, Oldmeadow (La Trobe Univ., Australia), after providing a helpful biographical sketch and a discussion of other 20th-century perennialists, offers a comprehensive description and explication of Schuon's basic metaphysical assumptions and the large claims he built on them. Oldmeadow's familiarity with the wide range of Schuon's work and his clear expository style make this a valuable introduction to Schuon's thought. The serious problem he does not address adequately is whether Schuon's position is true or was built on a series of very suspect assumptions. Readers of Schuon will have to make this judgment for themselves. --Choice (Check Catalog)

God of liberty : a religious history of the American Revolution

 by Thomas S. Kidd. Kidd directs his magnifying glass on a rare slice of the American Revolution: its religious aspects. The organization of the work is more topical than chronological, giving a chapter's worth of attention to matters of racial equality, slavery, revivalism, chaplains, the Constitution, and the 1800 election of Jefferson as president. If there are common threads running throughout, they are the questions: How was the Revolution influenced by religion, and how was religion affected by the Revolution? Kidd is quite adept at providing answers while explaining the complicated connections between religion, politics, freedom, and patriotism that make up the Revolutionary period. After reading this, some may wonder why religion is so shortchanged in other Revolutionary treatments. In his epilogue, the author also has something to say about the notion of a Christian America, a topic that is particularly relevant today. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Ideas That Matter

 by A.C. Grayling. Grayling (philosophy, Birkbeck College, Univ. of London) writes technical philosophy but also contributes to wider public debates on contemporary political and moral issues through his numerous published books and commentary in magazines. His latest book reflects both of these interests and can be described as a personal dictionary of ideas: it is an A to Z listing of concepts drawn from philosophy, politics, society, religion, and science that do not hide Grayling's subjective views. Although the title of the work suggests a futuristic orientation, it is better understood as an attempt to explain the broad intellectual background of the 21st century by offering mini-discourses on very large concepts such as history, religion, truth, and war, among other subjects. That Grayling is able to offer pleasantly readable accounts of these immense topics in one or two pages is a testament to his skill as a writer for wide audiences. The personal views that Grayling most often interjects usually have to do with his secularism or atheism, which is apparent in any of the entries having to do with religion. As such the book is somewhat reminiscent of Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary, but not as funny. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Giving voice to values : how to speak your mind when you know what's right

 by Mary C. Gentile. Gentile, director of the Giving Voice to Values curriculum and senior research scholar at Babson College, offers a powerful action-oriented manifesto for living with integrity, fighting for one's convictions, and building a more ethical workplace. Arguing that if enough of us feel empowered to voice and act on our values then the business world will be transformed, she shows how to practice and perfect speaking up, thereby building skills and confidence. While Gentile's goal is unimpeachable, the vaunted outspokenness might be a harder sell to individuals in more vulnerable positions. Nevertheless, she provides sound guidance to making the workplace fairer by appealing to the sense of purpose in others, completing a self-assessment to determine risk and personal communication style, and anticipating reasons and rationalizations for questionable behaviors. For those motivated to hear her call, Gentile presents a strong-and sorely needed-case for improving corporate culture. --Publishers weekly (Check Catalog)

American grace : how religion divides and unites us

 by Robert D. Putnam.  In recent controversy over the national motto, In God we trust, Putnam and Campbell see a symptom of profound change in the national character. Using data drawn from two large surveys, the authors plumb these changes. The data show that the tempestuous sixties shook faith in religion and that the seventies and eighties incubated a strong resurgence of devotion. But the two most recent decades add another twist, as young Americans have abandoned the pews in record numbers. Still, despite recent erosion of religious commitment, Americans remain a distinctively devout people. And devotion affects life far from the sanctuary: Putnam and Campbell parse numbers that identify religious Americans as more generous, more civically engaged, and more neighborly than their secularly minded peers. But the analysis most likely to stir debate illuminates how religion has increasingly separated Republicans from Democrats, conservatives from progressives. Readers may blame the Christian Right for this new cultural fissure, but survey statistics mark liberal congregations as the most politicized. But whether looking at politics or piety, the authors complement their statistical analysis with colorful vignettes, humanizing their numbers with episodes from the lives of individual Protestants and Catholics, Jews and Mormons. An essential resource for anyone trying to understand twenty-first-century America. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

The great divorce : a nineteenth-century mother's extraordinary fight against her husband, the Shakers, and her times

 by Ilyon Woo. Seductive and willful, Eunice Chapman, a woman small only in stature, is the focal point of Woo's engaging debut historical study of one 19th-century upstate New York woman's fight for her children. Eunice married "old, disagreeable, and repulsive" James Chapman for economic survival and, through the legal doctrine of coverture, becomes civilly, and legally, dead. James, an alcoholic abuser, left Eunice in the fall of 1811 and found refuge among the Shakers, taking the children with him. Today, Shakers are remembered for their simple lifestyle and handiwork, but they were a radical, religious sect "that often swooped in on disconsolate spiritual seekers offering themselves up to hungry souls eager to rebound from their broken faiths." The life of a Shaker was about falling in line, and Eunice-when she sought out her family in the Shaker community-would have no part of any of it. Woo takes readers through Eunice's custody battle, which shook New York State, and the utopian Shaker world and larger society. Eunice obtained a divorce and regained legal custody of her three children in 1818. Verdict Neglected history comes alive in this meticulously researched and compelling story of one tenacious woman. Strongly recommended to all interested readers. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)