Constructing a Life Philosophy: Opposing Viewpoints

Opposing Viewpoints Series

by Mary E. Williams

In this newly updated volume, thinkers such as M. Scott Peck, Niccolo Machiavelli, Paul Kurtz, and Pema Chodron offer readers an engaging overview of humanity's perennial investigation into the meaning of life. Chapters How Do Religions Give Life Meaning? What Motivates Moral Behavior? What Principles Should Guide Our Lives? (20020801)

Genres: Philosophy, Spirituality, School, Religion

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2005

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is okay, but I kept wishing for more depth. It's heavy on theology, light on everything else. But there are some good parts such as the sectioon on morality.

[Krishnan Seshasayee · Rating 1 out of 5]

How can any philosophical book that even touches on bordering religion can be taken seriously when Eastern religions are ignored? (Like Hinduism, Buddism et al). A serious revised edition is needed

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly enjoyed this book. I've always been interested in theology and philosophy, and this book serves as a really great basic primer to comparative religion. The information given was explained briefly at the start of each chapter, and then in a little more detail before each essay, and then more fully in the essay. My only complaints are that I would have liked a little bit more about some of the philosophical viewpoints presented, and that there wasn't much mention of morality in regard to Eastern Religions. Islam, also, seemed to get lumped in with Christianity and Judaism most of the time, which from what I understand of Islam, is vastly oversimplifying Islamic belief.

I liked the straightforward presentation of the material, and I liked the easier-to-read set up of the book, both in it's prose, and in the way it pared down some of the essays/excerpts in order to be as concise as possible. I also appreciated that there was a full bibliography, so that anyone who was interested in reading the full versions of the material presented could do so without too much trouble trying to track down books/magazines/articles.

I do have one quick note, and that is that this book is written for 13-19 year olds, not necessarily for adult readers, so some of the language can feel super-simplistic in the introductory prefaces especially, but in my opinion, this did not take away from the material presented.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent read! Mary gets right to the point and does not inflate chapters with university jargon. My favorite chapter was about Paul Kurtz, which persuaded me to go on a witch hunt and find out more about him. He is coined "The Father of Secular Humanism"

http://paulkurtz.net/

[Rich Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book. It gave a brief but concise overview of the different faiths and beliefs.