RE: Books You Can't Shut Up About
February 10, 2015 at 4:15 pm
(This post was last modified: February 10, 2015 at 4:19 pm by Pyrrho.)
I usually do not bother trying to get people to read books, because it rarely has any effect.
Some great ones:
Candide, by Voltaire http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19942?ms...e_stranger
A superb disemboweling of Leibniz's absurd idea that this is the best of all possible worlds. And it is a fun read. And gives good, practical advice for how to live one's life.
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume (Selby-Bigge edition) http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/341
One of the greatest works of philosophy ever, by one of the greatest philosophers ever. Contains a great section showing the absurdity of belief in miracles that really annoys religionists. Hume is very droll.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Far better than any of the adaptations on film. Jane Bennet is better in the book than in any of the films, which always change her to be less intelligent and less pretty, evidently to ensure that the viewer will prefer Elizabeth Bennet. The book starts with a very famous and memorable first sentence. A delight to read. Austen is a keen observer of human nature.
Letter to Menoeceus by Epicurus http://www.epicurus.net/en/menoeceus.html
Brilliant, practical, and surprisingly modern. Less well-known than he deserves, largely due to successful Christian propaganda against him. The propaganda has been so successful that the word "epicurean" in English means almost the opposite of what he actually advocated.
"The Ethics of Belief" by William Kingdon Clifford http://ajburger.homestead.com/files/book.htm
Brilliant essay on the immorality of having faith (i.e., belief unsupported by evidence). Religionists hate him, because they hate the idea that one should have evidence for one's beliefs. Usually, they deny that he gives reasons for his position, which is absurd and ridiculous. But making such a false claim is easier than trying to argue against his position.
I would be happy to discuss any of these works if you wish. Just start a thread on whichever one interests you, and send me a PM if I do not find it on my own (which will be likely enough, since I have no idea where you will post it, nor do I expect that you will actually start such a thread at all).
Some great ones:
Candide, by Voltaire http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19942?ms...e_stranger
A superb disemboweling of Leibniz's absurd idea that this is the best of all possible worlds. And it is a fun read. And gives good, practical advice for how to live one's life.
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume (Selby-Bigge edition) http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/341
One of the greatest works of philosophy ever, by one of the greatest philosophers ever. Contains a great section showing the absurdity of belief in miracles that really annoys religionists. Hume is very droll.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Far better than any of the adaptations on film. Jane Bennet is better in the book than in any of the films, which always change her to be less intelligent and less pretty, evidently to ensure that the viewer will prefer Elizabeth Bennet. The book starts with a very famous and memorable first sentence. A delight to read. Austen is a keen observer of human nature.
Letter to Menoeceus by Epicurus http://www.epicurus.net/en/menoeceus.html
Brilliant, practical, and surprisingly modern. Less well-known than he deserves, largely due to successful Christian propaganda against him. The propaganda has been so successful that the word "epicurean" in English means almost the opposite of what he actually advocated.
"The Ethics of Belief" by William Kingdon Clifford http://ajburger.homestead.com/files/book.htm
Brilliant essay on the immorality of having faith (i.e., belief unsupported by evidence). Religionists hate him, because they hate the idea that one should have evidence for one's beliefs. Usually, they deny that he gives reasons for his position, which is absurd and ridiculous. But making such a false claim is easier than trying to argue against his position.
I would be happy to discuss any of these works if you wish. Just start a thread on whichever one interests you, and send me a PM if I do not find it on my own (which will be likely enough, since I have no idea where you will post it, nor do I expect that you will actually start such a thread at all).
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
