Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)

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Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)
Yohanan Friedmann
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521827035

Book Description

Since the beginning of its history, Islam has encountered other religious communities both in Arabia and in the territories conquered during its expansion. Muslims faced other religions from the position of a ruling power and were therefore able to determine the nature of that relationship in accordance with their world-view and beliefs. Yohanan Friedmann's original and erudite study examines questions of religious tolerance as they appear in the Quran and in the prophetic tradition, and analyses the principle that Islam is exalted above all religions, discussing the ways in which this principle was reflected in various legal pronouncements. The book also considers the various interpretations of the Quranic verse according to which 'No compulsion is there in religion', noting that, despite the apparent meaning of this verse, Islamic law allowed the practice of religious coercion against Manichaeans and Arab idolators, as well as against women and children in certain circumstances.

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Since the beginning of its history, Islam has encountered other religious communities both in Arabia and in the territories conquered during its expansion. Muslims faced other religions from the position of a ruling power and were therefore able to determine the nature of that relationship in accordance with their world-view and beliefs. Yohanan Friedmann's original and erudite study examines questions of religious tolerance as they appear in the Quran and in the prophetic tradition, and analyses the principle that Islam is exalted above all religions, discussing the ways in which this principle was reflected in various legal pronouncements. The book also considers the various interpretations of the Quranic verse according to which 'No compulsion is there in religion Ö', noting that, despite the apparent meaning of this verse, Islamic law allowed the practice of religious coercion against Manichaeans and Arab idolaters, as well as against women and children in certain circumstances.

Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition.(Book review): An article from: Journal of Church and State

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Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition.(Book review): An article from: Journal of Church and State
A.H. Mathias Zahniser
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
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Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Journal of Church and State, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2007. The length of the article is 551 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition.(Book review)
Author: A.H. Mathias Zahniser
Publication: Journal of Church and State (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 49 Issue: 1 Page: 140(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

CIVILIZATION IN ALL ITS ASPECTS For more than 2000 years the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome have captivated our collective imagination and provided fresh inspiration for every age. Now, for the first time, The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization distils the fruits of recent scholarship to provide the most up-to-date and authoritative survey of the Greek and Roman worlds in all their aspects. Drawing on the latest edition of the highly praised Oxford Classical Dictionary, this new illustrated Oxford Companion offers unrivalled access to the latest knowledge of classical civilization, making it the perfect guide for general readers interested in learning more about the very bedrock of Western culture. HISTORY AND POLITICS the events, achievements, and personalities of 2500 years of history of Greece and Rome and their immediate neighbours, as well as the underlying issues from democracy to propaganda, famine and finance, Hellenization and mercenaries, population, and slavery ETHICS AND MORALS, LAW AND PUNISHMENT individual philosophers and their schools, and ethical issues, such as corruption; prison; torture; abortion; attitudes to animals, to wealth, or to warfare; suicide; freedom; and intellectual or religious intolerance SOCIAL AND FAMILY LIFE food and drink, cookery, houses, and dress; childbirth; sexual behaviour, including rape and incest; and broader social topics such as status, kinship and the family, ritualized friendship, tourism, and urbanization LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, ART AND SCHOLARSHIP writers and poets, orators and playwrights, literacy and books, archives and education, literary genres, painting and sculpture, and the writing of history RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY Greek, Roman, and Egyptian beliefs, cults, and rituals, from oracles and curses, to sacred prostitution, together with their attendant deities and mythological creatures, mingle with Judaism and early Christianity TECHNOLOGY, SCIENCE, AND MEDICINE the birth of the scientific method in experiment, and all manner of discovery , exploration, treatment, and theorizing on disease, geography, climate, astronomy, mineralogy, navigation, sanitation, vivisection MAJOR ESSAYS and BRILLIANT ILLUSTRATION Specially designed articles on the individuals and themes of central importance provide a useful overview for the modern reader from Alexander to Xenophon, Cicero and Hannibal; and from the histories of Greece and Rome, to Christianity, and architecture. Imaginatvely chosen and striking illustrations underline further the sophistication and complextity of classical civilization, making the ancient world dramatically present.

Customer Reviews:

The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization.......2003-06-19

A stunning revelation to the classical world . this book is more of a classical hero than herakles was

A necessary resource for the student of early christianity.......2001-04-09

This book is indispendable for a person like myself who got a degree in world religions in general, and early christianity in particular, and who, therefore, lacks an in-depth background in the secular history of Greece and Rome. I hesitated a while before writing a review because I had not read a sufficient number of articles. However, the time has come for comment. I find the shorter articles informative, but at times leaving me waanting more. The longer ones are more satisfying. I was tempted to buy the longer version of The Companion (The Oxford Classical Dictionary), but decided against it after reading the reviews. I am happy with my decision. If I want more information on a topic, I can find it elsewhere. I find that The Companion covers more topics than I need, but I enjoy randomingly paging through the book, selecting what strikes my fancy before going to sleep at night. This is a treasured resource that enhances my understanding of the milieu of early christianity.

"Condensed" version still weighy volume.......2000-09-01

The publication of The Oxford Classical Dictionary, weighing in at 1,640 pages and $99.95 price tag may have told many people more about the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds more than they wanted to know. To them, this companion will be of prime interest.

To pare down the selections, the same editors who updated the dictionary relied on an all or nothing rule: either an entry would be reproduced in its entirety, or it would be dropped. Of the 40 Claudius in the original dictionary, only the Roman emperor popularized in "I, Claudius" made the cut. In addition, the editors kicked the type size up a point or two and recast the longer essays into a one-column layout with the background lightly shaded. Even at half the price, it still offers nearly 800 pages and contains a selection of maps and color photographs not found in its larger brethern. For those who were reluctant to shell out a C-note, this is an appealing alternative.

A good starting place.......2000-02-27

As a standard introductory reference text, I found the Oxford Companion invaluable as a good beginning point to pursue any line of inquiry regarding the classical age. Weighing in at nearly 800 pages, this book is a weighty tome, not something to carry around lightly. Navigation within the book is easy with appropriate cross referencing, such as pointing you at GAIUS when you look up Caligula and warning you of other articles relating to the same subject. Also classical sources are clearly cited and I have followed a number of these up in standard translations to check their opinion. Spread throughout the book are numerous colour and black & white photographs of archaeological evidence and other artefacts. Also throughout the volume and are a number of special reference entries of extended length discussing in more detail important people, places or themes. Such as sections on: Homer, painting and slavery. As in any extended encyclopaedia project, the number of contributors is huge. Inevitably, given the small amount of space available for each section, each item is unlikely to offer a full range of scholarly thought, opinion and research. As with any reference text, it should be used as a starting point for research, not as a substitute.

You cannot please everybody all the time. On balance I think you have to accept that a work of this nature is going to throw up anomalies or controversial entries which not all readers will agree with. It is the nature of academic pursuit of knowledge to encounter disagreements or views which do not match your own. I very much doubt if hardly any of the contributors listed, would completely agree with each other on the articles which they have written. This is the nature of encyclopedias.

Particularly the arena of classical history, is prone to heated debate over the most simplest of issues, due to the lack of evidence or the interpretation of what exists, such as it is. In short there are no `facts' only interpretation.

Quite helpful----with at least one serious exception........1999-07-13

With one serious exception (see below) I have thus far found The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization to be quite helpful.

Having purchased this book as a supplemental reference for my study of biblical literature, I was shocked, angered and disappointmented upon coming across the article on "Christianity," by Philip Rousseau.

The fact that Rousseau describes Christianity in unflattering terms is not nearly so significant as the fact that his "facts" appear poorly researched and loosely strung together in an obvious attempt to vilify Christianity. Summarizing the life and ministry of Jesus in terms of "the wonder-working holy man," for example, does gross injustice to both Jesus' teachings and miracle claims.

Rousseau presents Christianity as little more than an arrogant thief and counterfeiter, stealing ideas and images first from the Jews and then from secular philosophers. In so doing, Rousseau completely disregards the concept of God's progressive revelation and the fact that no one has a patent on the truth. The New Testament books, the last of which was written prior to the close of the first century A.D., are unanimous in their presentation of the gospel as God's secret plan now unveiled for all peoples in all places. Whether for good or ill, Christian apologists later sought to convey infinite Christian truths using common finite imagery. Indeed, some did try to "blend" Christian thought and secular philosophy, although even in such cases enlightenment and not deceit was their primary motivation.

By no means an historian, I am nonetheless familiar enough with "Christian history" to know that Rousseau's arguments are full of holes. Not only is his article biased in the extreme, it is also just plain wrong at several critical points. I purchased The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization for its presentation---and, unavoidably, its interpretation---of the facts. I did not know, however, that I would also be treated to a radical reinterpretation of history. Rousseau's taking extreme liberty with the facts reveals his personal ideology and makes him guilty of the very thing of which he accuses Christianity: " . . . what had happened was that the controlling element in a whole society had changed its mind about the meaning of history and experience" (pg. 158).

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THE COMPLETE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY: The world of the Greek gods and heroes in words and pictures
Guus Houtzager
Manufacturer: Book Sales
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology (The A-Z Guide to the Myths and Legends of the Ancient World)

Manufacturer: Hermes House Anness Publishing, Inc.
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ASIN: 1843094371

Product Description

A comprehensive reference to the extraordinary tales and legends of the ancient world's most fascinating and beguiling mythologies. An authoritative A to Z of the mythical figures of two continents, with copious cross-references. Over 1,000 alphabetical entries describing the central mythical figures of each culture and their importance to the ancient civilizations of their day. Illustrated with over 1,000 images spanning fifteen centures of fine art, from the ancient world to the present day, including specially commissioned artworks. Pictorial spreads on the mythical themes and symbols central to each culture.

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Excellent one volume introduction.

Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World
David Sacks , Oswyn Murray , and Margaret Bunson
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ASIN: 0816023239

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Excellent one volume introduction........1997-10-01

From the beginning of the Minoan Civilization to the Roman Annexation of c. 146bc, the Greek civilizatiuon is covered here in 550 extensively cross-referenced entries covering not only the deities and prominent historical figures, but also the development of law and democracy, philosophy, historical events, and the arts.
The authors have skillfully distilled a mass of information into a highly readable introduction to Ancient Greece suitable for the student or general reader, with bibliography and an admirable index.
(The numerical rating above is an ineradicable default setting with the format of the Site. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)

The illustrated history encyclopedia the ancient world: Discover what is was like to live in the Stone Age, ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome

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The illustrated history encyclopedia the ancient world: Discover what is was like to live in the Stone Age, ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome
Charlotte Hurdman
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Encyclopedia of the History of Classical Archaeology

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Encyclopedia of the History of Classical Archaeology
Nancy Thomson D
Manufacturer: Routledge
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With 1,125 entries and 170 contributors, this is the first encyclopedia on the history of classical archaeology. It focuses on Greek and Roman material, but also covers the early cultures of the Bronze Age Aegeans and the Etruscans and manifestations of Greek and Roman culture in other parts of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Unlike recent studies focusing on the science of excavating, this book considers archaeological study in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the modern era. It includes entries on individuals whose activities influenced knowledge of sites and monuments and sites as seen, changed, and interpreted through time; entries on major works of art excavated during the Renaissance; and works that were known in the Middle Ages.

The Facts On File Companion To Classical Drama (Facts on File Library of World Literature)

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The Facts On File Companion To Classical Drama (Facts on File Library of World Literature)
John E., Jr. Thorburn
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The Penguin Encyclopedia of Classical Civilizations

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Good books but I like the other one.
Greek, Roman, Persian, East Indian, and Chinese Influence.

The Penguin Encyclopedia of Classical Civilizations

Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Penguin Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations

ASIN: 0670826995

Amazon.com

The civilizations in question embrace not only Hellenic and Roman, for which the term "classical" is usually reserved, but also the Indic, Persian, and Chinese. Arthur Cotterell's contributors, mostly English scholars, do a fine job of showing the contact made by these far-flung cultures through trade and warfare, and the technological and artistic borrowings that took place as a result of that coming together. The authors discuss the rise of city-states and empires, chart the growth of early world religions, and explain the several causes for the decline of great civilizations. The book is richly illustrated with maps, plates, and drawings.

Customer Reviews:

Good books but I like the other one........2007-02-28

Very informative, but I like the other Penguin Encyclopedia of Ancient civitilzation better.

Greek, Roman, Persian, East Indian, and Chinese Influence........1999-12-18

A general view of the civilizations of the classical era, roughly from 550 BC to 500 AD. Sufficiently general to cover the period and the civilizations within a nicely printed 275 page book, yet with sufficient detail of life to interest the reader and draw him into the author's portrayal of those worlds.

Enjoyable and well written with numerous maps, line drawings, and color plates.

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Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World
David; Murray, Oswyn Sacks
Manufacturer: Constable and Company Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OH601M

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Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World.

Manufacturer: 0
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IBWCFM

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thinking as a game

A representative collection from an original thinker

The less of this book you read, the better off you are

A testament to old ideas

Not so much common sense as common sophistry

Against the Idols of the Age

Manufacturer: Transaction Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lives of the Mind: The Use and Abuse of Intelligence from Hegel to Wodehouse

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Book Description

Little known outside his native Australia, David Stove was one of the most illuminating and brilliant philosophical essayists of the postwar era. A fearless attacker of intellectual and cultural orthodoxies, Stove left powerful critiques of scientific irrationalism, Darwinian theories of human behavior, and philosophical idealism. He was also an occasional essayist of considerable charm and polemical snap. Stove's writing is both rigorous and immensely readable. It is, in the words of Roger Kimball, "an invigorating blend of analytic lucidity, mordant humor, and an amount of common sense too great to be called 'common.'" Against the Idols of the Age brings together a representative selection of Stove's writing and is an ideal introduction to his work.

The book opens with some of Stove's most important attacks on irrationalism in the philosophy of science. He exposes the roots of this fashionable attitude, tracing it through writers like Paul Feyerabend and Thomas Kuhn to Karl Popper. Stove was a born controversialist, so it is not surprising that when he turned his attention to contemporary affairs he said things that are politically incorrect. The topical essays that make up the second part of the book show Stove at his most withering and combative. Whether the subject is race, feminism, the Enlightenment, or the demand for "non-coercive philosophy," Stove is on the mark with a battery of impressive arguments expressed in sharp, uncompromising prose. Against the Idols of the Age concludes with a generous sampling of his blistering attacks on Darwinism.

David Stove's writings are an undiscovered treasure. Although readers may disagree with some of his opinions, they will find it difficult to dismiss his razor-sharp arguments. Against the Idols of the Age is the first book to make the full range of this important thinker available to the general reader. David Stove (1927-1994) taught philosophy at the University of New South Wales and, until his retirement in 1988, at the University of Sydney. He was the author of numerous essays, articles, and several books including Anything Goes: Origins of the Cult of Scientific Irrationalism, The Plato Cult and Other Intellectual Follies, and two posthumously published volumes, Darwinian Fairytales and Cricket versus Republicanism.

Customer Reviews:

thinking as a game.......2007-05-16

This book isn't what it seems. Rather than making a case for anyone or any particular idea, what the book is really unintentionally about is showing technic in laying out arguments. In terms of tecnique, the man is a master of the art. He can take up any position in his mind and make an impassioned case for it being the absolute universal truth.

But the problem is that its all mindless and hollow. He is all flash and techinque without a thinking mind to go with it. All we get in the book in the end is a series of him taking out mindless reactionary ideas one after the other and making a case for them. He is so flawless in presentation that many will not see through him. But he offers really nothing of value other than showing the general failure of philosophy in the last century.

He is right in his criticisms of Karl Popper but for the wrong reasons. In some sense, he suffers from the same faults in countering Popper that he accuses Popper of.

On Darwinism, he falls into the same trap that most do. He fails to see that Darwinism walks the line of being both science and a philosophy. The philosophy which has no scientific basis always hides behind the science. Its supporters will always attack the critic as being irrational and never defend the philosophy itself.

The problem with Stove is the problem with modern intellectual life. Its at its core dishonest and false. Be it Stove or Chomsky, these people are presenting empty arguments of technique to advocate a political platform of ideas. Left or right, it doesn't make a difference.

For those who want to learn the art of the disingenuous arguement, Stove is the place to start. But before going there I would really advise thinking about what you want to accomplish and the price your willing to pay to accomplish it.

A representative collection from an original thinker.......2006-08-19

This book is a collection of 12 essays, all of which have appeared before in other books by the same author. There are 4 essays from 'Darwinian Fairytales', 4 from 'Cricket versus Republicanism', 3 from 'The Plato Cult', and 1 from 'Popper and After' (later retitled 'Anything Goes'). So if you are planning to buy any of those, think twice before getting this collection. Especially since even the introductory essay by Roger Kimball ('Who Was David Stove?') can be found elsewhere (it has been reprinted in Kimball's 'Lives of the Mind'). If, however, you are looking for a representative collection of Stove's writing, this should definitely be your first choice, since it contains essays from several different fields of interest.

As most reviewers before have acknowledged, it seems impossible to be able to agree with everything Stove says. But that only adds to the enjoyment. The book may be controversial but it certainly is FUN. What's more, even when making the most preposterous claims, Stove will usually do two other things: 1) lay out his argument in an innovative, surprising and clear way, 2) make several brilliant and true observations on the side, which otherwise would probably never have crossed your mind. For instance, he may be wrong in saying that the intellectual capacity of women is inferior to that of men, but how ingenious of him to point out that this is in no way a moral statement. The book abounds in "banalities" of this sort and thanks to that it is truly an enlightening read. Recommended!

The less of this book you read, the better off you are.......2002-10-23

The simple reason Stove's ideas are often called 'unorthodox' or 'controversial' is obvious: Because most of them are wrong. The reason why they've attracted so much attention is less clear.

Editor Richard Kimball has divided this collection of essays into three thematically related sections:

The first deals with Stove's criticism of postmodern philosophers of science - In particular, Kuhn, Popper, Feyerabend, and Lakatos. He lambastes them collectively for intellectual 'sabotage', like using scare quotes to illegitimize counter-arguments, and Popper in particular for deliberately confusing the concepts of 'unfalsifiable' and 'irrefutable.'

I have to admit, in Stove's favor, much of his criticism here is valid and is enjoyable to read in the same way that it's 'enjoyable' to drive slowly past the site of a car accident. It's more of a morbid fascination with the dissection of another person's life work than the true pleasure of an epiphany. But it would have been easier to handle if Stove wasn't so quick to dismiss entire schools of thought with the wave of a hand, which he does repeatedly.

A much more interesting and better documented paper trail of the follies of postmodern philosophy can be found in Alan Sokal's _Fashionable Nonsense_ (1996), which I'd highly recommend over Stove's book on this topic, in large part because Sokal, being a physicist, is able to take liberties in his condemnation of postmodern philosophy that Stove, a philosopher, is unable to.

The second selection of essays include some of Stove's biggest attention-getters, including "D'Holbach's Dream", where he claims that atheism is the reason totalitarian governments are inclined to repress and murder (Conveniently ignoring the catholic Nazis or the muslim Taliban), "The Intellectual Capacity of Women", where he makes the unsupported evolutionary claim that "a woman does not need to use her brains to have a baby", whereas hunting and defending territory require much greater intelligence (Despite the fact that he spends the last third of the book arguing against the theory of evolution), and "Racial and Other Antagonisms", where he claims that racism is often justified ('nuff said about that). Suffice it to say, Stove makes bald and offensive statements to get attention with a frequency that would make Allan Bloom proud, without offering any support besides a well-worded insult.

The book reaches its low point in the third section, his criticism of Darwinism. As he strays further from the field of philosophy, Stove finds himself on unfamiliar ground, and often relies on the same techniques he was sharply critical of in earlier essays. The misstatements he makes, both errors of fact and errors of logic, are numerous and diverse. For instance, in the first sentence of the first essay of the section he makes both kinds of error by saying: "If Darwin's theory of evolution were true, there would be in every species a constant and ruthless competition to survive..." On the contrary, nothing in Darwin's theory precludes cooperation (Robert Axelrod has written a couple of excellent books on the subject) - in fact, it has been shown to be one of the most successful evolutionary strategies - and further, Stove makes the classical error which he himself criticizes others for making of 'level confusion' - Species don't compete to survive, individuals do.

Probably his most glaringly erroneous argument is his 'refutation' (note scare quotes) of the Malthus Principle, the idea that populations tend to grow until limited by external factors, what Malthus labeled "misery and vice." See how many errors you can spot in his argument: Based on Darwin's admission to having read Malthus' "Essay on the Principle of Population", Stove renames the Malthus Principle the "Malthus-Darwin Principle" (and then uses it interchangeably with "neo-Darwinism" in the same way that Popper did with "irrefutable" and "unfalisifiable") and claims that if it is wrong, then Darwinism is false. He asserts that the Principle implies that all populations always increase as fast as possible (and, subscribing to Goebbel's maxim that a lie repeated often enough becomes accepted as the truth, reiterates this claim as often as possible throughout his argument) and provides a list of specific cases where this is known to not be true, including: domestic pets, animals in captivity, and animals in game reserves. "Since this [population increasing as fast as possible] does not happen always and everywhere," he later asserts, as if the Malthus principle was a metaphysical truth rather than a general principle, "the Malthus-Darwin principle is false." Ergo, Darwinism is false.

And this just touches one the errors of logic he makes - The number and severity of plainly false statements easily rivals these. For example, he claims that no other species besides humans engage in infanticide (though lions have been observed to do this), suicide (which lemmings are famous for, precisely for the purpose of reducing resource shortages), or voluntary sexual abstinence (_Chimpanzee Politics_, Frans de Waals' classic study of a group of chimps living at a zoo in the Netherlands, describes a female named Puist who does exactly this). Kimball backs him up in the introduction by saying that if Darwinism were true, there would be no "abortion, adoption, or [expletive], just to start with the 'A's", even though none of these activities is believed to have a genetic component.

Again, given the transparency of his illogic, the reason why Stove's work has attracted so much attention is a mystery. But then again, I guess, anyone foolish enough to fall for Stove's sleight of hand wouldn't be reading his work in the first place.

A testament to old ideas.......2002-01-04

Stove's book is rather hard to rate. On one hand it allows one to see old ideology that is likely repugnant to anyone who is not chained to some Newtonian universe - trapped much like a fly in amber. But anyone with an iota of intelligence will likely be seriously offended by most of Stove's central themes making it hard to give a "good" rating to the book.

Stove, perhaps best known for his essay on why women are intellectually inferior to men, captures the essence of all that is (after reading the reviews here, one hesitates to use the term 'was'...) wrong with the idols of the age of modernism. Stove attacks the so-called "Jazz Age" of philosophy yet at root it is apparent that not only does he miss the point of the postmodernists but that his arguments are nothing more than blisteringly hot air.

No doubt the writing is amusing but anyone who can dismiss Plato in a sentence and Popper in a paragraph has erected a soap box made of old toilet paper rolls. I believe his essay on the "Jazz Age" should be required reading to demonstrate exactly how 'idols' and anger obviously cloud intelligence.

Stove reveals his ignorance for science in the final paragraph: "No doubt this is partly to be explained by the remoteness of their work from everyday applications." This is Stoves explanation for why theoretical scientists have seen the validity of Kuhn, Popper and Feyeraband's views on the irrational nature of science - not so much an explanation as a cry to those who understand to give up and regress to the safe old world of Newton. One wonders if he actually knew anything about science - without the theoretical scientists we would not have anything beyond Newton and certainly people like Godel, Prigogine, Einstein and Chaitin (to name very few) would not qualify as "pure" scientists under Stove's criteria.

Stove also has some interesting and childlike conceptions of cornerstones such as truth and knowledge. His essay on Idealism is interesting in that he points out the problems of arguing from "the Gem" (starting an argument from a tautology) yet seems to conveniently ignore the fact that the entire concept of truth is built upon tautology. Oh well, or, as Stove frequently wrote, "Ha ha."

Stove makes passing mention of Wittgenstein but one wonders whether he actually read any of it. Certainly he didn't understand but that doesn't seem to stop Stove in any of his work; perhaps this is one of the best points in the collection. It is better to attack (and ad hominem is certainly acceptable) with shadows and pompous gesturing than with any substance when one feels threatened.

The real reason to read Stove is the fact that he was the perfect foil to the other holy grail of his age: Darwinism. If ever one requires a yin to Dawkins' sanctimonious pandering then Stove would be my choice. He slices and, at times, bludgeons Dawkins' idiotic arguments and puffy prose to expose the rotten core. Read these essays and then return the book to the library.

Not so much common sense as common sophistry.......2001-11-28

During the fifties and sixties the United States government looked around the world for intellectuals who would support their cause in the cold war. Using the surreptitious services of the CIA they funded a number of magazines, the most famous being the journal Encounter. But they also funded magazines in France and Italy, and while the intellectuals in my native Canada were either too mediocre or too reliable to get their own special subsidy, Australia's conservative intellectuals got their own special magazine Quadrant. Now there is something deeply hypocritical in proclaiming your independence and intellectual courage while relying on patrons who, when not enjoying your latest polemic against Jean-Paul Sartre, are engaged in torture, assassination and narcotics trafficking. It is from this disingenuous milieu that the late David Stove, a philosopher of science from New Zealand worked in, and it is his collection of essays that is the subject of this book. But if hypocrisy and disingenuousness were the only problems with Stove's attacks on feminism, Sir Karl Popper, Darwinism and historians of science this would be a much more tolerable book. There is no doubt that Stove is forthright and sincere in the defence of his convictions. But he is also cheaply abusive and deeply incapable of appreciating an opposing argument.

Do we have proof of this? We do indeed. Stove has the very irritating habit of referring to opposing arguments as childishly stupid, easily refutable, patently stupid, and similar terms. It is not just myself who finds this abuse directed at Hobbes, Huxley and D'Holbach very irritating. Even Roger Kimball, the editor, agrees this doesn't really do justice to Plato or Kant. Critics of Karl Popper and Richard Dawkins should easily turn to The New York Review of Books instead of bothering with Stove's own polemics. The essay on D'Holbach is basically a truculent attack on the claim that ignorance is the greatest evil affecting man and that increasing knowledge would help reduce suffering. Stove concedes nothing in this essay, though it should have occurred to him that his not dying of smallpox is a triumph of 18th century science, much as his loved ones not dying in childbirth because of pupereal fever is a triumph of 19th century science.

As for failing to get the point of one's opponents, consider Stove's essays on Darwinism. A basic tenet of Darwin's theory starts from the fact that when living beings reproduce they do more than replace their parents. Anyone who has ever owned a dog or a cat know that litters have more than two children. Human beings do not stop having sex once they have produced two children. Insects can have thousands, possibly millions of offspring. Now if these rates of reproduction were maintained, the world would be overwhelmed not merely with humans, but with roses, eucalyptus trees, octopi, emperor penguins and panda bears. Obviously, this has not happened. There is in fact, a great struggle for existence, and it is this struggle which sets the stage for natural selection. What Stove does, however, is to amend Darwin's theory to say that Darwinism stands for the proposition that everywhere and always populations are filled to the bursting point and that populations seek to reproduce as many of themselves as conceivably possible. Having misstated the theory, Stove easily shows that it is wrong, since often people are celibate, they rarely engage in incest, pets are often neutered (though this is done to prevent them from breeding out of control) and population numbers are often kept low by predation. But Stove has not refuted Darwinism, he has simply engaged in polemical slight of hand. Likewise in arguing about the evolution of humans he argues against the idea that we have mitigated the effects of natural selection by asking why the first original men did not simply eat their mates and children. Well, at the risk of being very obvious, any species which did engage in such behaviour would very likely end up instinct, while those who avoided that would, on impeccably Darwinist grounds, be much more likely to survive.

And then there is Stove's essay on the intelligence of women. Stove's essay argues that since most of the intellectual achievement of the past was by men, it must be because they are in fact really more intelligent than women. The flaws in this argument are many and numerous. It is like arguing that since Russian literature before Pushkin had never produced a poet as great as Dryden or a novelist as fine as Swift it would never in the future. One might point out that 140 years ago there were virtually no female doctors or lawyers or conservative philosophers of science in the English-speaking world because women were excluded from the education that would allow them to hold such a position. As these barriers have dropped the percentage of doctors and lawyers who are female has risen to 5% to 15% to 25% to over 30%. Is there any reason to doubt that they will eventually reach 50%? None that Stove provides. Stove provides an argument for the intellectual inferiority of women by invoking biology. Yet I doubt whether he would invoke a biological argument designed before, say, 1960. If the intellectual inferiority of women is so true and so widely held, why is proving it so difficult? I doubt even Stove thinks Aristotle's arguments on this pass muster. Finally, if women are intellectually inferior, what does this say about their rights? Nothing from Stove on this matter, yet the conservative tradition that he supports and in contrast to the liberal tradition he sneers has from 1800 to 1950 argued that inferior intelligence or morals on the behalf of women, the Irish, African-Americans and Jews means lesser rights for them. It is rather disingenuous of Stove to evade this point.

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The Quest in an Age of Compromise (Mission For Truth)

Manufacturer: St. Joseph Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 1570582769

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Six Audio Mission For Truth Tapes that explain the fundamentals of the Faith in a clear, comprehensive and uncompromising way. Fr. Caseys presentations are simple and easy-to-understand. They will help you to develop a more meaningful, productive, happy life in Christ. You will be encouraged to think positively, to challenge your priorities in life, and be motivated to achieve your God-given potential.

Against the Idols of the Age. (book review): An article from: The Review of Metaphysics

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Against the Idols of the Age. (book review): An article from: The Review of Metaphysics
Scott Campbell
Manufacturer: Philosophy Education Society, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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This digital document is an article from The Review of Metaphysics, published by Philosophy Education Society, Inc. on June 1, 2001. The length of the article is 881 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Against the Idols of the Age. (book review)
Author: Scott Campbell
Publication: The Review of Metaphysics (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2001
Publisher: Philosophy Education Society, Inc.
Volume: 54 Issue: 4 Page: 943(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Florida instructor files discrimination charge against TV show. (faculty lounge).(age discrimination)('American Idol'): An article from: Community College Week

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Florida instructor files discrimination charge against TV show. (faculty lounge).(age discrimination)('American Idol'): An article from: Community College Week

Manufacturer: Cox, Matthews & Associates
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Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Community College Week, published by Cox, Matthews & Associates on February 17, 2003. The length of the article is 457 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Florida instructor files discrimination charge against TV show. (faculty lounge).(age discrimination)('American Idol')
Publication: Community College Week (Newspaper)
Date: February 17, 2003
Publisher: Cox, Matthews & Associates
Volume: 15 Issue: 14 Page: 16(1)

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AGAINST THE IDOLS OF THE AGE. Edited with an introduction by Roger Kimball

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AGAINST THE IDOLS OF THE AGE. Edited with an introduction by Roger Kimball
David C. Stove
Manufacturer: Transaction Publishers,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7KC9O

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This digital document is an article from Northern Ontario Business, published by Laurentian Business Publishing, Inc. on June 1, 2003. The length of the article is 949 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Park revival efforts pay off.(Chippewa Park undergoing major reconstruction)
Author: Kelly Louiseize
Publication: Northern Ontario Business (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2003
Publisher: Laurentian Business Publishing, Inc.
Volume: 23 Issue: 8 Page: 3(2)

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