Reading through this i was really pleasantly surprised at how much i liked it. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. And much like the bestselling king james bible, which is celebrating its 400th year, his book is written in a type of english that transcends time. Ideas that matter gives brief, thoughtful and very readable insights into a wide range of subjects including religions, atheism, science, political ideas and the arts. Grayling discusses creating a nonreligious bible that draws from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both western and eastern traditions. Its aim is not to persuade readers to accept one particular philosophical point of view or theory, but to help us consider the wonderful range of insights which can be drawn from an. Grayling has done, creating a nonreligious bible drawn from the wealth of secular. A new collection of essays from grayling philosophynew coll. A secular bible, the title appearing on my copies are, the good book. Dawkinss 2006 book, the god delusion, sold around the world, so, perhaps, that answered my question. The good book begins, as it should, with a natural account of the beginnings. Ideas are the cogs that drive history onward, for good or for ill, writes renowned english philosopher a. Apr 03, 2011 the good book mirrors the bible in both form and language, and is, as its author says, ambitious and hubristic a distillation of the best that has been thought and said by people whove. It reiterates important epicurean adages like nothing comes from nothing gen.
Jul 26, 2012 the good book is a manifesto for rational thought, but mirrors the bible in both form and language. C, grayling provides both a historical look at ethics and provides a secular view to be considered. Mrs may called a general election to get a mandate for the brexit negotiations. Im used to this language being peppered with things i dont believe in, and listening to it at weddings or funerals generally gives me a lump in my stomach. This is the best general book on philosophy for university students. Grayling believes, distracts from seeking the good life in the. The most recent of his many books are ideas that matter and thinking of answers. Grayling, 97807538591, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. The substitution of grayling for god as ultimate author means that any analogy between the good book and the good book is extremely thin.
For an philosophical perspective ac grayling is good. This book is an accessible, lively and thoughtprovoking series of linked commentaries, based on a. A secular bible 1st edition by grayling, professor a. Pdf merge combine pdf files free tool to merge pdf. Grayling, in oxford, england, spent 30 years compiling the good book. Ideas that matter gives brief, thoughtful and very readable insights into a wide range of subjects including religions, atheism, science, political ideas and the. Grayling, in which he counters the arguments for the existence of god, and puts forward humanism as an alternative to religion. Having cofounded a school newspaper and been named three rivers young journalist of the year in 2010, hes since written polemics and interviews for the freethinker and the website butterflies and wheels. Drawing on the wisdom of 2,500 years of contemplative nonreligious writing on all that it means to be human from the origins of the universe to small matters of courtesy and kindness in everyday life a.
This 700 page book is written in the same format as the bible with the modern numbering of sections of the bible. Last month, i wrote about the british philosopher a. Grayling holds a chair of philosophy at birkbeck college in london and is president of the british humanist association. Ac grayling bbc video interview tackling the good book the sydney morning herald the new atheists are responding, not attacking new humanist pressing questions for our century edge ac graylings top 5 nonreligious books slate a. Satin nickel merge americana and heavy rock on shadow of doubt premiere. The philosopher ac grayling has created a secular bible, but its guidance for a good life fails to convince genevieve fox. The good book has the advantage of kjv in that its selection spans a wider range in time does not stop two millenia ago and crosses the globe. This minimum definition is a good attempt at a short summary of the humanist approach, but. This one is not as long as lucretius, of course, and is shorter than the biblical book of genesis.
Eleven extended essays have been specially commissioned from leading philosophers. Note that grayling lays his book out like the bible with similar referencing. The good book mirrors the bible in both form and language, and is, as its author says, ambitious and hubristic a distillation of the best that has been thought and said by people whove. While it is somewhat more technical than what the casual reader may want, my goal was to learn something about real philosophy, not simplified philosophy. Its principal concern is how life the good life should be lived. She thereby confessed that she did not have such a mandate already. Combine pdfs in the order you want with the easiest pdf merger available. Graylings lucid and stimulating books, based on the idea that philosophy should engage with the world and make itself useful, are immensely popular. Grayling s lucid and stimulating books, based on the idea that philosophy should engage with the world and make itself useful, are immensely popular. The challenge of things joins earlier collections like the reason of things and thinking of answers, but this time to collect graylings recent writings on the world in a time of war and conflict. Founded in 1997, has become a leading book price comparison site. He has written and edited over thirty books on philosophy and other subjects, and has written on nonwestern philosop.
Grayling may be the ultimate editor and redactor of the sources drawn together in the good book, but thats as far as a secular doctrine of inspiration can go. Stimulating, thoughtful, rational and rewarding, it is now published in a compact edition. Genesis, ch 1220 for since the quality of bodies are only known to us by experiment, we are to hold for universal all such as universally agree with experiment. A book of extraordinary audacity from a remarkable thinkera secular. Andrew lynch is unconvinced by philosopher ac grayling s unoriginal solutions to repel the sinister forces out to destroy the greatest political system ever invented. He believes that philosophy should take an active, useful role in society. The case against religion and for humanism, 2014, etc. C download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The good book is a book of insight, inspiration, wisdom, solace and commentary on the human condition drawn from the great humanist traditions of thought and literature of the world. Grayling, britains most popular and widely read philosopher, has created a secular bible. Londonbased academic and philosopher grayling to set prometheus free, 2010, etc.
The case against religion and for humanism is a 20 book by the english philosopher and humanist, a. Grayling is master of the new college of the humanities, and a supernumerary fellow of st annes college, oxford. Mar 05, 20 the good book begins with genesis, where you can see the ideas of darwin laid out in an inspirational way. While the title listed in the add is the good book. The good book is a manifesto for rational thought, but mirrors the bible in both form and language. Few, if any, thinkers and writers today would have the imagination, the breadth of knowledge, and the literary skill to conceive of a powerful secular alternative to the bible. Will bordell is an eighteenyearold student journalist studying english at trinity hall, cambridge. The good book consciously takes its design and presentation from the bible, in the beauty of its language and its pdf arrangement into short chapters and verses, offering to the nonreligious seeker all the wisdom, insight, solace, inspiration, and perspective of various secular humanist traditions. The eu referendum of june 2016, advertised to all as advisory, resulted. The good book by ac grayling of the three contemporary prophets of atheism, professor richard dawkins, christopher hitchens and professor ac grayling, i know two, hitchens and. Thousands of them jostled, competed, and merged with one another.
He is the author of the acclaimed among the dead cities, descartes, toward the light of liberty, meditations for the humanist, and thinking of answers. The books run from genesis to the good, by way of parables, lamentations, songs, histories and epistles, each broken up into chapter and verse, in mimicry of that. Grayling explains he has spent several decades on his ambitious project, distilling what he. Grayling explains he has spent several decades on his a. Human which read happy humanist or good without god. In that book, the choice of hercules, where i discuss the tension between the good life in the sybaritic sense of wine, women and song, and on the other hand the good life in the sense of the puritan virtues, my argument is that they are both important, and that a blend of the two is constitutive of a third and better version of the good life. Find 2 listings related to barnes and noble bookstore in grayling on. If the humanists are in the ascendant, then a c graylings selfhelp book for the spiritually rudderless will be snapped up photo. By professor a c grayling, master, new college of the humanities it is a troubling thought that the people who run election and referendum campaigns have given up trying to spin facts, and have gone for outright untruths and distortions instead.
It is intended to orientate, assist, and stimulate the reader at every stage in the study of the subject. It has been a while since a read the book, and i do not remember what many of the individual chapters discuss, so i will forgo my usual synopsis. Determined to make his material accessible, grayling arranged his nearly 600page good book much like the bible, with double columns, chapters the first is even called genesis and short verses. Grayling is a professor of philosophy at birkbeck college, university of london. The good book begins with genesis, where you can see the ideas of darwin laid out in an inspirational way. Jun 08, 2011 last month, i wrote about the british philosopher a. The good book 890 printed pages drawing on the wisdom of 2,500 years of contemplative nonreligious writing on all that it means to be human from the origins of the universe to small matters of courtesy and kindness in everyday life a. For a christian defence on the rationality of faith, see alvin plan. I was drawn to the text because of another popular book by a. Ac grayling bbc video interview tackling the good book the sydney morning herald the new atheists are responding, not attacking new humanist pressing questions for our century edge ac grayling s top 5 nonreligious books slate a.
The best books on being good five books expert recommendations. Grayling holds a chair of philosophy at birkbeck college in london and is president of the british humanist. Grayling has 71 books on goodreads with 110376 ratings. A spirited repudiation of pies and deities in the sky in favor of an ethic that is about this world. The challenge of things joins earlier collections like the reason of things and thinking of answers, but this time to collect grayling s recent writings on the world in a time of war and conflict. Grayling is professor of philosophy at birkbeck college, university of london, and a multitalented author. The book was designed as a secular alternative to religious text, and to be read as a narrative drawing on nonreligious philosophy, including that from ancient greek, chinese, roman, indian and arab civilizations, as well as the european renaissance and the age of enlightenment. Andrew lynch is unconvinced by philosopher ac graylings unoriginal solutions to repel the sinister forces out to destroy the greatest political system ever invented. This philosophical dictionary, while an opinionated guide, is a remarkably clear and erudite book of short essays on the power of ideas from absolutism. Download and install the soda pdf desktop app to edit, compress, split, secure and merge pdf files offline.