Review by Booklist Review
Why would the nation's premier newspaper sponsor a weekly series of online essays exploring topics David Hume had in view when he remarked, New discoveries are not to be expected in these matters ? Yet this stimulating collection of 133 essays fully validates the New York Times' decision to launch The Stone, a column devoted to twenty-first-century philosophy in all its perplexing diversity. Many of the principles the Stone essayists deploy do go back to Plato and Aristotle, but the questions explored economic inequality, sexual aggression, religious conflict, immigration, neuroscience spring from and lend meaning to today's headlines. When, for instance, Occupy Berlin protesters snarl traffic in the German capital, what does probing reflection reveal about how political movements can transform language? When an anti-Muslim video sparks riots, what can philosophy teach us about the ethics of blasphemy? As they ponder an impressive range of topics, the Stone writers remind readers that long after Socrates challenged his students in Athens' agora, philosophy still speaks to our deepest human concerns.--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
This is a collection of essays from the New York Times philosophy blog, The Stone. The editors of the blog, Catapano (opinion editor, New York Times) and Critchley (Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy, New Sch. for Social Research; The Book of Dead Philosophers) write that the purpose of the blog, and this collection, is to show what philosophy is and why we should care about it. The pieces are organized into subject areas; most are short and can be read alone. There are also others, such as the section on Naturalism, which are responses to other blog posts. The comments section of the Stone is fantastic-it's probably one of the only one of its kind in an online newspaper worth reading-and while the editors couldn't replicate those discussions here, they do a commendable job of guiding the reader into seeing the different facets of philosophy. VERDICT This collection shows the wide range of topics that philosophy encounters. With the popularity of the blog, this book will appeal to readers who want to think about and discuss modern topics and philosophy.-Scott -Duimstra, Capital Area Dist. Lib., Lansing, MI © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Philosophy made relevant by writers grappling with thorny issues. For this eclectic, lively gathering of essays, New York Times online opinion editor Catapano and philosophy professor Critchley (New School for Social Research; Faith of the Faithless: Experiments in Political Theology, 2012, etc.) have selected 133 pieces from about 350 published in the Times' online series The Stone. Launched in 2010, the series invites contributions "on issues both timely and timeless" from writers who may or may not identify themselves as philosophers. Any thinker will do, including journalists moved by the urgency of current events. The series' name comes from the "legendarily transformative" philosopher's stone, a magical, mystical material with the power of changing base metals to gold. That etymology suggests a grander project than these editors have in mind. Their goal is to publish thoughtful, provocative, accessible pieces that may persuade readers that philosophydefined broadlymatters. Critchley is a major contributor, with eight essays on topics such as love, faith, and the desire for revenge incited by 9/11. University of Notre Dame philosopher Gary Gutting also appears repeatedly, with essays on mind (depression, consciousness), existentialism, and the controversy over gun control. Readers will find some familiar names among contributorsbiologist E.O. Wilson, activist Peter Singer, cognitive psychologist Stephen Pinkerbut many are academic philosophers able to make Hegel, Spinoza, Schopenhauer, and Simone Weil relevant for general readers. The editors provide a preface for each of four sections: on the discipline of philosophy; the contribution of science to "the riddle of the human species"; vexing questions about religion, morality, and God; and society, which includes reflections on economics, politics, family, race (including the killing of Trayvon Martin), violence (including the Sandy Hook school shootings), and America's fierce attachment to what Firmin DeBrabander calls "robust individualism and self-determination." Serious pieces that serve as counterweights to the frothy blogosphere. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
