Book Description
Parzival, an Arthurian romance completed by Wolfram von Eschenbach in the first years of the thirteenth century, is one of the foremost works of German literature and a classic that can stand with the great masterpieces of the world. The most important aspects of human existence, worldly and spiritual, are presented in strikingly modern terms against the panorama of battles and tournaments and Parzival's long search for the Grail. The world of knighthood, of love and loyalty and human endeavor despite the cruelty and suffering of life, is constantly mingling with the world of the Grail, affirming the inherent unity between man's temporal condition and his quest for something beyond human existence.
Customer Reviews:
A dark mirror into the medieval psyche........2007-05-31
Wolfram von Eschenbach gives us a glimpse into the fantasy life of the 12th century noble. His romance of Parzival, based on Chretien de Troyes Arthurian works, is the modern day equivalent of an action movie - the plot is unbelievable but the settings, ideas and characters reveal much about the society for which it was produced.
The story tells the tale of how Parsival is born, becomes a knight of the Round Table and ultimately achieves the Grail, which, it turns out, is not Joseph of Arimathea's chalice but is rather a stone. The text does not actually dwell on the description of the Grail, and aside from this oddity, follows the usual myths about the Grail quite closely. And while the Romance is entitled Parzival, he has to share his screen time almost equally with Gawan (Gawaine) who looms large in the book and generally gets all the interesting action.
The Romance is often less than romantic. No stodgy Victorian drama this, it revels in violence, dirt and sexual encounters, often much more explicit than later Arthurian writings. Parzival definitely does not fit the "my strength is as the strength of ten because my heart is pure" knightly mold. One of his first acts is a rape. Gawan, noble knight that he is, basically falls in love with anything that moves including a girl who is little more than a child. Death and destruction are all part of daily life for these guys and it becomes very difficult to tell the difference between tourneys and battles. Wounds are described in detail, including the unfortunate Lord of the Grail's rather private injury.
The plot largely concerns itself with tourneys and jousts, although there are definitely some interesting moments. The description of the Grail, the mystical Bed Marvelous (translated as Wonder Bed in this version) and the horrifying appearance of the sorceress Cundrie add some magic to the daily grind of hand-to-hand combat.
The Arab world also plays a large role in this novel, revealing a much more complex and enlightened medieval view of Islam than is commonly thought to have existed. Of course, the author seems to think Muslims worship Jupiter but, that aside, several of the main characters are Muslim and they are usually cast in very positive roles. Clearly, being a good knight had little to do with Christianity, and Feirefiz's (Parzival's brother) conversion at the end of the book seems almost an after thought by the author. The author's approach to Christianity is none to orthodox either and Parzival actually denies the existence of God at one point only to be led back to the the truth sometime later by a kindly cleric.
This translation of Parzival, originally written in German, leaves something to be desired. It often seems that the translators attempted to leave the German grammar intact. Perhaps they were seeking to leave an impression in English of the convoluted German sentence structure. Indeed, they often leave footnotes indicating that certain phrases were too tortured to translate directly and they have added information to make them more readable. The end result is that the book reads a bit like the King James Bible if you only modernized the vocabulary and left the grammar alone.
The book is also published in a rather unusual format, a very narrow paperback, with two unattributed illustrations that seem to have been added at random. It also contains a fairly extensive introduction, an extended set of text notes, a list of persons, and a set of family trees. The packaging seems intended for a general audience with some attention to artistic book headings and "Gothic" fonts on maps and elsewhere.
Overall, the story is fascinating both as a tale and as a way to understand how real knights viewed their ideal role models. The translation is tolerable, if difficult. The lack of an index or bibliography would not make this the best book for a scholar but, for fans of Arthurian legends who have the desire to study the early manuscripts and the persistence to get through them, this is a good read.
Spiritually Uplifting.......2007-02-09
Is this the greatest "novel" ever written? - the most beautifully written insight into the threefold nature of mankind via the Grail journeys of Pazival, Gawain, and Feirefiz.
Beneath the medieval skin.......2006-09-04
Hatto gives his usual accurate, precise and elegant English prose rendering of this classic German epic poem of the early 13th century.
Wolfram's Parzival is a more coherent and well-structured narrative than the Niebelungenlied, and is more courtly and refined than the Icelandic sagas of the same era. It is a lively, colorful insight into 13th century European culture. This, along with its place in the evolution of the Arthurian and Grail legends, is its main source of interest to modern readers.
Wolfram is particularly knowledgeable about military affairs and you can learn a lot from this story about what it was like (or supposed to be like) to be a knight at the time.
The Grail of this story is a stone. In Chretien's earlier story, on which Wolfram's is based, the Grail was a bowl. In other stories, it doubles as the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and the vessel used to catch the dripping blood at the crucifixion. In our own time it has served as a boon to conspiracy theorists and an excuse to cast Sean Connery in an Indiana Jones movie. Next...well, who knows what's next?
Parzival combines folk traditions - the Grail's power of providing unlimited food and drink is a favorite folk motif, most famously with the magic porridge pot - with knightly adventure, and adds a dash of mysticism. It is no more than a dash, and I think subsequent commentators have read too much into this aspect. Certainly it is a coming-of-age story and a tale of redemption, but the spiritual edifice that has since been built around it seems to me a bit of a stretch. At the time of writing this review, youth counselors in Britain are using Parzival as an allegory to teach the true meaning of manhood. Good luck to them.
Although Parzival does not have the continuity errors of the Niebelungenlied, individual sentences are sometimes mangled beyond comprehension. Presumably they sounded more acceptable when recited as poetry. Hatto wisely avoids the temptation to tidy these passages up and translates them warts and all.
History books can only take us so far in an understanding of a previous age. To get beneath the skin, to understand the anxieties, hopes, prejudices and beliefs of the people who lived then, we must share the stories that they told. In Parzival, we see how medieval man related to his own masculinity, his fellow man, his womenfolk and his god.
Long before the Da Vinci Code..........2006-03-20
...the Grail - or Gral - was a stone. Yep. It had the magic power of filling your glass and providing you with high quality cuisine.
Wolfram Von Eschenbach's Parzifal, written in the 12th Century (when knights still really did joust and women still really did wear wimples), will disappoint anyone determined to discover the hidden secrets of the Templars. Instead it illuminates in rich and exhuberant detail the desires and concerns of the aristocratic Germans of Wolfram's class while telling a timeless story of spiritual development. Parzifal, the child who knows nothing of knightly ways makes mistakes, but slowly, by learning to understand them, grows into the not-too-perfect knight who achieves the Gral through compassion.
For a modern reader who is really interested in the period it is full of fun insights into Mediaeval life - have you ever considered how rusty one gets in armour? Wolfram's ideas about women, people of colour and Muslims might surprise you too.
If, however, you're not patient enough to deal with many a joust or details of kinship lovingly described, I think this won't be the book for you.
Parsival, English tranlation.......2005-09-13
An ecellent way to meet this kind of literature (I did read it also in the original mediaeval German text), in a more understandeble version!
Customer Reviews:
The Finest Translation.......2007-08-20
Helen Mustard and Charles Passage's translation is the finest version of this book. The text reads very well and contains a good many memorable lines that just don't show up in the other versions.
If you're ready to study source material on the mysterious subject of the Grail, this is the version you want on your shelf.
Book Description
a brand-new kind of historical romance featuring a sword-wielding heroine ready for passionate battle
In twelfth-century England, St. Jude's Abbey is no ordinary holy sanctuary: it trains young women in the knightly arts. When Avisa, the most skilled of them, is asked by the Queen to safeguard her royal godson, the honor is both dangerous and seductive.
Customer Reviews:
a heroic heroine.......2007-04-27
Avisa was raised at St. Jude's Abbey, and taught knightly skills, which she learned so well that she's now teaching others, and she expects that she'll continue training and teaching for the foreseeable future. But the Queen arrives and reveals her intentions in setting up the abbey, and sends Avisa to protect a favorite godson by keeping him from the conflict between the king and the Archbishop in Canterbury.
Said godson, Christian, is eager to prove his bravery and erase the stain on his family's name after his father was branded a coward.
The Good:
The concept. I love the whole idea of St. Jude's Abbey, where women are educated and trained as knights, at a time when both were unheard of.
The conflict. What Avisa needs is in direct opposition to what Christian needs. There's no contrived misunderstanding between them--they quite simply want opposite things.
The character development. Avisa is so out of her element in the world away from the abbey, and that comes through very clearly as she tries to adapt while chafing at the restrictions imposed on women in society. Christian's desperate drive to succeed in proving his bravery is likewise very clear.
The Bad:
This is very much Avisa's story, but I missed getting to know Christian better.
The action and suspense take a while to get moving.
The Verdict:
A Knight Like No Other is a wonderful combination of history, romance, and adventure, and I'm looking forward to reading more books about the women of St. Jude's Abbey.
Please! Not another "he kisses her to shut her up" scene!.......2006-09-20
I bought this book when I found it on my discount table at my local department store. If I'd realized that this book is actually written by Jo Ann Ferguson (the name Jocelyn Kelley is a pseudonym) I would have skipped right past it. I've already tried two books by her, and found them both to be unfinishable.
Unfortunately, this one was, too. It got off to a great start (how many books are there about female knights?) with a good historical backdrop that didn't feel too "textbooky" and action that made the reader feel like they're really there. The action was fast paced, and the prose flowing. The character development felt a bit lacking, but then, it was still early in the book. Maybe it picked up later. I don't know since I didn't get very far.
The problem was with the author's clumsy attempts at putting sexual tension into the story. It just felt so contrived. The hero and heroine have known each other for barely an hour, and when she starts to annoy him, he throws her to the ground and kisses her like a sex fiend to "shut her up". And she, of course, melts in his arms. Oh, please! How many times has this stupid, lame scenerio been used before? (Even once was too many!) Are there men who actually do this? If a man had ever tried to do that to me (even if my HUSBAND tried to do that to me while we're arguing), I'd smack him a good one. And probably knee him in the crotch if the man is a stranger.
It's cliched, contrived scenes like this that give romance novels a bad name. I'm very dissapointed that I wasted money on A KNIGHT LIKE NO OTHER, especially when the premise held such promise. If you're still determined to read this, borrow it from the library. Or better yet, skip it altogether.
WOW!!!!.......2005-10-29
I know that this won't be to helpful but, this has to be the best romance book that I have read! the characters become almost real in your mind. It is just an amazing book that you just have to read!
excellent tale of a Lady warrior .......2005-05-26
Queen Eleanor wasn't a woman who believe in staying in a `woman's place'. Queen to two countries, two kings, she often was seen dressed as a man, riding a horse astride. So it was not surprising she as patron of St. Jude' Abby, where women were taught to read, write and even fight.
Lady Avisa de Vere came to the cloistered abbey when she was barely two-years-old. There she was thrived in the freedom of learning. She knows more than one language, is encouraged to speak her ideas and is trained as a warrior. One of the most skilled fighters of the Abbey, Queen Eleanor calls upon her skills. She wanted Lady Avisa to secretly guard her Godson, Christian Lovell, to prevent him from reaching Canterbury where he is to attend a wedding. The political climate is about to heat up. Becket (the troublesome priest...lol) Bishop of Canterbury has returned and King Henry is back, and Eleanor doesn't want Christian caught in the middle of the two powerful men.
Soon Lady Avisa is having Christian "rescue" her from outlaws and entreat him to join a quest to save her sister, the diversion set up to keep him from Canterbury. Christian is puzzled by this woman who uses a sword like a man, while Avisa must deals with her confusion of the world outside the cloisters and her growing desire for Christian.
Jocelyn Kelley weaves a very imaginative tale that speaks to love, honor and ancient codes that bound women yet made them want to push beyond these imaginary lines. The story might have been strengthened with Christian's POV, this is essentially a woman's tale so I understand the author's choice to eschew this. It's a strong tale that should please Historical readers.
Highly recommended for Medieval fans.
Strong woman character, fun book.......2005-03-24
Lady Avisa de Vere arrived at St. Jude's Abby when she is just 2 years old. There she has stayed and learned the knowledge of the sisters at this Abbey. This Abbey is a bit different. Queen Eleanor secretly created and funded this Abbey, where the women learn to read and write, more than one language and they are trained as a knight is to fight in sword battles as well as marital arts and archers. Lady Avisa is one of the instructors in sword fighting and is skilled enough to take down one of the Knights that the Queen brings with her when she visits to enlist Avisa in her service.
Queen Eleanor wants Lady Avisa to secretly guard her Godson and keep him away from the wedding he is traveling to attend in Canterbury. Things are about to get rather unstable in Canterbury as the Bishop of Canterbury has just returned and King Henry is also back on English soil. Christian "rescues" Lady Avisa from outlaws and soon finds his quest detoured into saving her sister, which is the diversion that was thought up to distract him.
One of the largest challenges that Lady Avisa faces is that she is brought up to be equal to Knights and doesn't understand why she can't act accordingly. She is also concerned about why she is so attracted to Christian and why he seemed to constantly be frustrated by her.
This is the first offering I have ready by this author and I was impressed. Thought some sections seemed to drag others whipped by and made me laugh. If someone is looking for a strong woman character in a medieval romance look no further.
Book Description
This hardcover edition reprints the tales of Blackhawk, ayoung military aviator, that were originally published in the 1940s. AsAmericans debated the US involvement in Europe, Will Eisner introduced anon-superhero character that sought vengeance against his family's killersby organizing his own personal militia of assistants to battle the Nazis.With his band of freedom fighters - Andre, Olaf, Chuck, Stanislaus,Hendrickson, and Chop-Chop - Blackhawk fought in the air and on land to endthe Nazi menace!
Customer Reviews:
not your 1950's Blackhawk.......2005-08-21
It's a wonderful book expressing the mood and feeling of the great war. Of course its not like Blackhawk was in the 50's when he was an Indiana Jones fighter.But the art and the tightly written stories just get better issue by issue. This was the Golden age of books so don't expect anything other than a well told story. It's definatly a treat to oldster's who bought these books as kids and the rest of us who sought old Military comics to enjoy the book. Worth getting and how can you be dissapointed with an original ???
A Reed Crandall delight!.......2005-06-21
For my money, Reed Crandall is one of the greatest comics artists who ever lived, though he never quite got that kind of recognition. This archive is "exhibit a" for that case.
Combined with his sci-fi art for various publishers in the golden age, and then work in the fabulous EC Comics that infamously set congress aquiver with images of corrupted youth, Crandall left quite a legacy of captivating (even edgy) yet remarkably accessible artwork. His beautiful illustrative style leads me to call him the "Norman Rockwell" of the golden age!
Anyway, there's a lot of nice Crandall work to be found herein. Enjoy.
A Disapointment.......2005-01-24
I fondly recall "Blackhawk" of the late 50's and early 60's. This archive is the origin of Blackhawk, and the first few issues of Military Comics, with Blackhawk as the feature lead.
Storywise, each issue is more or less the same. Something evil happens in the world, and Blackhawk and his comrades swoop in, make a few initial mistakes, and then win the day. Being expert pilots, they shoot every enemy out of the sky.
The prejudices of the day are very apparent; from the evilness of the Japanese and Germans to the depiction of Chop-Chop, the Chinese Blackhawk member who was initially there only for comic relief. Material like that today would not be tolerated.
Some things in the stories are entirely unbelievable. For instance, flying all the way around the world from their secret Atlantic Ocean based Blackhawk island (in propeller planes, no less) to land in downtown Tokyo for no known reason. Also, when they are low on fuel one time, they land on a Nazi aircraft carrier(?!), overcome all the necessary crew, refuel, and take off again. Several times someone crashlands, only to walk away each time unscathed. Come on, where is the credibility? Were the people in the '40s that gullible to accept anything?
OK, there was a war going on, and people wanted to root for the good guy, because the outcome of the war was then in doubt.
The art, meanwhile, got better and better each story. The page layouts changed, and detail got finer and finer. Kudos to the contributing artists.
If you want to feel the pulse of the early WWII, this is the book for you. For anyone of Silver Age era or later, this is how the world was then.
A beautiful slice of cultural history.......2001-12-03
Blackhawk, along with Sgt Rock, is arguably one of the finest war comics ever. Months before America entered World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor, readers thrilled to the adventures of these seven international aviators, none of them American, rallying behind Blackhawk, a Polish flying ace. While these stories are sheer pulp adventure, they possess a hard edge marking them as more than mere kiddie fare. Perhaps not as sophisticated as today's adult-oriented comics, but I found the stories to be engaging and exciting nonetheless. The emphasis is on plot and action, but there is also a surprising amount of character and emotion, compared to other stories from the period. Some of the stories hold up better than others, but overall, this is an entertaining collection.
What truly makes it special, however, is the art. In his introduction, Mark Evanier describes how the late Chuck Cuidera and Reed Crandall were responsible for making Blackhawk one of the best looking comics of its time, and he's not kidding. The art, reminiscent of the great Milt Canniff, is dynamic, expressive, detailed, and cinematic. Even the clunkiest of stories in this book is redeemed by the art.
Having said all that, politically correct readers should be warned that this volume does feature horribly negative stereotypes of Germans and Asians. While this is understandably a by-product of the time in which these stories were produced, I don't think they should simply be dismissed with a simple, "Well, that's how people thought back then." I do think these sorts of stories should be kept in print, warts and all, not just because they are good adventure stories with a great deal of artistic merit. Seeing how recently such racist attitudes were viewed as acceptable helps remind us how far we still have to go in terms of race relations. This sort of casual racism should be acknowledged as having existed, and not swept under the carpet.
Still, occasionally awkward stories and overt racism aside, this is still an excellent volume, and a worthy addition to any comics lover's collection.
Average customer rating:
- Important subject, sincere effort, but illiterate in theology
- Rational intelligence engages vacuous supernaturalism
- Fabulous........
- My goodness
- We have the power to brainwash, but which propaganda?
|
Science and Religion: Are They Compatible?
Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
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When Science Meets Religion: Enemies, Strangers, or Partners?
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Science and Religion: A Historical Introduction
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Religion and Science (Gifford Lectures Series)
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God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist
ASIN: 1591020646 |
Book Description
In recent years a noticeable trend toward harmonizing the distinct worldviews of science and religion has become increasingly popular. Despite marked public interest, many leading scientists remain skeptical that there is much common ground between scientific knowledge and religious belief. Indeed, they are often antagonistic. Can an accommodation be reached after centuries of conflict?
Among the topics discussed are the Big Bang and the origin of the universe, intelligent design and creationism versus evolution, the nature of the soul, near-death experiences, communication with the dead, why people believe in God, and the relationship between religion and ethics.
In this stimulating collection of articles on the subject, the editors have assembled the thoughts of scientists from various disciplines. Included are works by such distinguished authors as Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Richard Dawkins, Richard Feynman, Kendrick Frazier, Martin Gardner, Owen Gingerich, Stephen Jay Gould, James Lovelock, Steven Pinker, Eugenie Scott, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Steven Weinberg, and many other eminent scientists and scholars.
Customer Reviews:
Important subject, sincere effort, but illiterate in theology.......2007-05-12
This book is a collection of essays on the general subject of the compatability of science and religion. This is an important subject, which we need more intelligent discussion of. And to give credit where credit is due, the editors of the book are obviously sincere, and obviously trying very hard to give a balanced discussion. They try to include both sides of the issue. A number of the contributors are promient scientists.
None of the contributors, however, are prominent theologians. The editors of the book are plainly well educated in science, but they obviously know next to nothing about actual religion. Thus, a great deal of the book consists of straw-man arguments, where a very intelligent and well-prepared scientist will define religion as extreme irrational fundamentalism and then (big surprise) conclude that it is inferior to the rational wonders of science.
Here is an idea. If you want a real debate, invite the A Team from both sides. If you are going to have Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Dawkins from the science side, try to get Cardinal Ratzinger from the religion side. The editors of this book, well-meaning as they appear to be, have not troubled themselves to ascertain who the important thinkers are in religion. Hint: they are not fundamentalists. Fundamentalist Christians have many virtues, among them the directness and purity of their faith and morals. One virtue that they do not have, however, is deep learning in either theology or science.
Such learning, however, is available among the heavy weights of the Catholic Church. A real debate would engage seriously with Catholic thinking.
Let me give one example. A number of the essays discussed the proofs of the existence of God. Almost all of them focused exclusively on the Argument from Design, the argument that, since the Universe is extremely complex, it must have been intelligently designed. This particular argument is used frequently by fundamentalists, and the anti-religion crowd is very used to shooting it down with Darwin.
But here is the thing. The Argument from Design is not the only proof of the existence of God. In fact, it is a relatively weak and recent proof. In its present form, it dates back to the 18th century.
You want the real proofs of the existence of God, you go to Aristotle (5th century B.C.) and then St. Thomas Aquinas (with a stop over with St. Anselm for the intellectually adventurous.) Aristotle proves the existence of God from the First Cause Argument. Everything is caused by something else. Logically, the chain of causality can not go on forever. Thus, it is has to stop somewhere. Where the chain stops is with that which is not caused, but causes all else. The unmoved mover. This is God.
One or two of the essays acknowledge Aristotle's argument. What was the response? They basically said THIS is not religion; this is too rational. Religion is flat-Earth fundamentalism. This unmoved mover stuff is far too abstract and philosophic to be real religion.
Sorry, guys, you do not get to pick your intellectual opponents. The Church has been around alot longer than fundamentalism. Aristole's argument will be being studied in the schools long after you and I have been forgotten. You may not know anything about Aristotle or Aquninas, because you are scientists, but, if you are going to do a book on science and religion, you really have an obligation to learn something about religion. I do not think that I am asking alot, when I ask that you be aware of the most basic doctrines of the Church, which have not changed in nearly a thousand years.
Just because you are scientists does not mean you are literate in other fields. In fact, as scientists, you should know that you are not qualifed to just spout off about any damm thing that you like; you should not speak, as an expert, without reading at least some of the literature. Go read Ratzinger's Introduction to Christianity, and maybe you will start to know something about the subject. Until then, what you are writing is simply utterly unbalanced, one-sided propaganda.
Rational intelligence engages vacuous supernaturalism.......2007-04-24
I think that at the very root of the tree of discontent that grows between science and religion, a single word can summarily describe their differences: epistemology. The very natures of science and religion differ so markedly on this ground that there will probably never be a real reconciliation, only superficial concessions. Science is the clear winner in terms of verifiability and pragmatism. We take sick kids to a medical doctor, not a witch doctor or other holy man.
And yet religious people never bat an eye in reflection upon their severely flawed epistemology when it comes to supernatural beliefs. They never articulate the following but indeed it is the case from which we are supposed to accept their knowledge claims - that the almighty creator of the universe who made everything from ladybugs and lice to hummingbirds and hippos just needed a little help from us poor sinners in writing his book. They never analyze their own epistemological claims in depth to the point where they are forced to stand on that highly suspect and ludicrous claim.
Religious claims, unlike science, are not verifiable, not testable, nor compelling on factual grounds. Faith is often used as the excuse here; the apologists saying religion isn't supposed to be materially verifiable. But faith or belief is usually only held for two reasons: 1) belief in a proposition because it is true or 2) belief in proposition to reap the psychological benefits as if it were true. Since religious claims are by their very nature unable to comply with reason #1 with any degree of rigor, they are forced to rely upon reason #2 backed up with the quasi claim of divine inspiration which, by the way, must never be questioned. If it quacks like a duck...
This book is a great overview of just about every area of intersection between religion and science. Including essays from leaders in the fields writing about cosmology, intelligent design / creationism, and the psychology of religion - this book shies away from no topic. There are even a few countering opinions thrown into the mix by the science and religion "harmonizers" Dembski and Gingerich. Here is a list of some of the very notable authors to be found inside:
Paul Kurtz
Kendrick Frazier
Steven Weinberg
Victor Stenger
Quentin Smith
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Massimo Pigliucci
Eugenie C. Scott
Taner Edis
Daniel Dennet
Arthur C. Clark
Stephen Jay Gould
Richard Dawkins
Richard Feynman
Antony Flew
Steven Pinker
Matt Young
There are many more authors that I didn't list here but whose essays are just as much an intellectual feast as those by the big names. A highly recommended read to anyone interested in this topic.
Fabulous...............2006-06-22
A MUST READ for anyone interested about magisteria of science and religion. Well written essays (as one would expect with Kurtz as the editor) presenting both sides of this discussion. Never more relevant than today when religionists are making the claim about "biblical science", "creation science" (an oxymoron) ad infinitum. America can be a strange land where mythology and fact are allowed to mingle in some minds. This book will make you THINK.
My goodness.......2005-11-29
Yeah this is not a biased approach at all!! My eyes are rolling up in my head from the massive quantity of sarcasm....
This is not a good approach at all.....
Money is a valuable thing... don't waste it on this book.
We have the power to brainwash, but which propaganda?.......2004-02-29
This is an interesting set of blow by blow essays (at least for a Martian anthropologist studying earth science), supposedly on science and religion, but really on the Darwin debate, with the inspiration of Galileo in the background. It also includes an essay by the ID theorist William Dembski who informs us he volunteered to join M. Shermer's Skeptic to be the resident skeptic on evolution. Since Mr. Dembski is quite unacceptable (one of those people who believe weird things) for this, I should volunteer myself, think of all the free snacks.
The book opens with the standard metanarrative of science's triumph over superstition from Galileo forth, in the raised eyebrow condescending mode ("aren't we smart, why do all these people resist?"). But somehow it has never sunk in that modern science is a failure in its mission and derailed with Darwin as it entered the field of naturalistic metaphysics.
In some ways, the tone here is fine. Scientists, after all, armed with four forces for a theory of everything are now beset with a fifth, the Templeton Prize money, which has lead to so many books with the word 'god' in the title, big business.
The refusal to compromise here is admirable, but the problem is not religion, but bad science, and the mystery of why the science world view cannot deal with even the ID initiative.
My next door neighbour is a Buddhist, and I showed him the book: Yep! 'religion' means Christianity. He is a physics student but said he was fed up with being classified as 'crazy' by a legitimating science world view. One would have thought Foucault had sunk in here. Science should know better than to let 'religion' mean monotheism.
Good book anyway, with material by Gould on the magisteria that aren't supposed to overlap, Dawkins, Dennett, Lovelock, and Arthur C. Clarke, plus essays by the ediotr Paul Kurtz from Skeptical Enquirer.
Modern science is a failure and has turned the best and brightest into idiots, run roughshod over the human sciences with the result that we are given two flavors, scientism and fundamentalism. That would seem inexplicable, until you realize that corresponds to the two largest budgets for propaganda around.
The moral is that there are many ways around the science/religion divide, but both sides are satisfied with this status quo 'debate'.
Books:
- Philip Roth: Novels 1973-1977, The Great American Novel, My Life as a Man, The Professor of Desire (Library of America)
- Provinces of Night: A Novel
- Recollections of My Life
- Salt and Saffron
- Saul Bellow: Novels 1944-1953: Dangling Man, The Victim, and The Adventures of Augie March (Library of America)
- Sayonara, Gangsters
- Shakey's Loose
- Stelarc: The Monograph (Electronic Culture: History, Theory, and Practice)
- Sweet Dove Died
- Talking Funny for Money : An Introduction to the Cartoon/Character/Looping Area of Voice-Overs
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Pocket Life List: A Birdwatcher's Life List and Diary of North American Birds
- Hungary
- Beautiful Inez: A Novel
- Construction Project Management
- Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television
- History: Fiction or Science
- Five Equations that Changed the World: The Power and Poetry of Mathematics
- Creative Politics: Taxes and Public Goods in a Federal System
- Between Work and Social Citizenship
- Origins of Macroeconomics, Volume One
Arthurian Romances (Penguin Classics)
Tristan: With the Surviving Fragments of the 'Tristan of Thomas' (Penguin Classics)
The Nibelungenlied: Prose Translation (Penguin Classics)
The Quest of the Holy Grail (Penguin Classics)
The History of the Kings of Britain (Penguin Classics)
