The Challenge of Things: Thinking Through Troubled Times

by A.C. Grayling

A. C. Grayling's lucid and stimulating books, based on the idea that philosophy should engage with the world and make itself useful, are immensely popular.

The Challenge of Things joins earlier collections like The Reason of Things and Thinking of Answers, but this time to collect Grayling's recent writings on the world in a time of war and conflict. In describing and exposing the dark side of things, he also explores ways out of the habits and prejudices of mind that would otherwise trap us forever in the deadly impasses of conflicts of all kinds.

Whether he is writing about the First World War and its legacy, free speech, the advantages of an atheist prime minister or the role of science in the arts, his essays are always enlightening, enlivening and hopeful.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Essays, History, Politics, Audiobook, Religion

297 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Anthony Clifford "A. C." Grayling is a British philosopher. In 2011 he founded and became the first Master of New College of the Humanities, an independent undergraduate college in London. Until June 2011, he was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London, where he taught from 1991. He is also a supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford.

He is a director and contributor at Prospect Magazine, as well as a Vice President of the British Humanist Association. His main academic interests lie in epistemology, metaphysics and philosophical logic. He has described himself as "a man of the left" and is associated in Britain with the new atheism movement, and is sometimes described as the 'Fifth Horseman of New Atheism'. He appears in the British media discussing philosophy.

Reviews

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book by Grayling. He is a philosopher that I can easy understand and relate to. His collection of essays is challenging, honest and very relevant.

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously Grayling is a great thinker. His analysis is often frightening true. But in this book it felt like he had to meet the needs of his publisher. As a result the depth in some of the articles was shallow. Some of the argument repeated previous ones. Still it is refreshing to read someone willing to challenge the traditional media's view of society's challenges.

[Dan Graser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grayling is one of the most important thinkers of our generation. This is an extremely interesting collection of essays and articles that only loses a star due to several inclusions that seem unnecessary or at least out of their depth with the rest of the collection.

[Joe Sampson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays on topics such as philosophy, politics, psychology and religion. Grayling is very perceptive.

[Lesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book hoping to read a series of essays that touched on some of the issues that make these "troubled times." No such luck. Instead this is a mish mash of topics that veer from book reviews to mini biographies, while in between offering some thoughts on free speech, the value of a humanities education, the rise of China and women's equality.

Oh, and if you're flying from Kathmandu to Bhutan, it's extremely unlikely that you'll see K2, which lies over 1.200km to the northwest, in Pakistan. The mountain the author saw was Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest mountain

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book of modern philosophy by AC Grayling. Grayling is refreshing with his no nonsense analysis of challenging modern issues. His stand against current ultra PC behaviour, for example, the acceptance and tolerance of radical and fundamentalist religion, is right on target. He clearly expresses that one is under no obligation to respect another person's ideas on a matter such as religion, unlike race, class and gender, religions are chosen and are therefore not above scrutiny. Many other very relevant issues also discussed. A very interesting read.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Having recently finished Grayling’s excellent history of human rights, I had high hopes of this book but it is not a coherent account of anything; it is a collection of Grayling’s newspaper columns and op-eds and, as such, it is disjointed and often repetitive. Written in 2014, it is also out-of-date, as so many of such books quickly become in our fast-moving world.

As is crystal clear from these journalistic vignettes, Grayling is a hardcore liberal atheist. What is revealed here is something beyond reasoned argument in defence of those positions. His challenges – not infrequently actual mudslinging – to anyone daring to oppose stock liberal dogma are sneering and smug. What we have here is a colossal ego writing a series of character assassinations. It’s really boring.

[Philip William · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a book by AC Grayling before and was disappointed by it; more fool me for picking up a second one.

AC Grayling is an intellectual who because he knows more than the average person on many subjects thinks that he has something to say to the average person.

Where I know about a subject I can see the holes in his arguments and say to myself 'what about...?' or "you haven't taken into account...". This means that I distrust him when I know less about the next subject he is writing about.

The author needs more wisdom and most of the time this will mean keeping quiet on most subjects.

[Chris Withers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A.C Grayling presents an interesting collection of essays on a wide variety of contemporaneous topics. In particular, I found his positions on matters of life, love and philosophy incredibly insightful - but in contrast, his political viewpoints were a little charged, especially those on China - which he aggressively describes as a "[ruthlessly] irredentist regime". That said, these positions illuminate his strong position on the fundamentals of human rights. All in all, an enjoyable read that was intellectually enlightening.

[Cassidy Curt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking collection of essays, conveyed in Grayling’s cool, stately demeanor. His love for humanism shines through as he highlights the riddles and challenges that have shaped our past and face our current world, as well as the goals and hopes we may realize if we dare to live harmoniously by learning from them. A swift and informative read, anyone familiar with Grayling’s prose will appreciate the solemn clarity with which he delivers his insights on a vast array of topics.

[Tammam Aloudat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting and very well written book by a well versed and thoughtful philosopher and author. I have enjoyed Grayling's other books including War: An Enquiry and Democracy and Its Crisis and picked this one when I saw it on a bookstore shelf.

The book is immensely interesting and the essays range in topics and tone. They are mostly before-published articles in a range of publications. The problem with many articles in a book is that any given topic is shallow and some are barely addressed but that is somewhat compensated by beautiful sentences and good argument.

[Amni Yusoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

His essays are a joy to read, not only because of his expansive analyses and insights, but also because of his graceful writing. This book gave me different and more penetrating viewpoints on topics that are central to human existence.

[Jason Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A challenging read

I think I might have chewed off a bit too much with this one. Although there were parts of greatness, a lot of this book for me was tough going in terms of being engaged. Maybe I need to try a second one of his to see for sure.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Leigh Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

When in doubt ask yourself, “what would A C Grayling do?”

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grayling is not only a great thinker but makes you as a reader think.
As a first time reader of his works, I was not sure what to expect. I had heard about him on a podcast and was suitably interested to make a purchase of this book. I found the reading challenging, in that I was confronted with ideas and thoughts not readily expressed elsewhere. There were times when I found myself easily agreeing with the arguments he presented and at other times questioning his views.
It is the kind of book that you can not rush as you need time to spend picking over the themes and theories that are presented. As it is a really interesting collection of essays and articles that are very diverse in content.

[Sharon Bakar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this as an audiobook and look forward to buying a physical copy of the book. A collection of very short pieces that encompass a whole range of issues from philosophy to politics to religion to the importance of friendship. A little taster I think of Grayling's work. I would have liked to many of the issues to be explored in greater depth (the ones that especially interested me - the need to deglobalise and the rise of China) but this makes it more likely that I'll pick up his other books!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A.C Grayling's "The Challenge of Things" is a near perfect collection of essays on philosophy, science, history, politics, religion, mythology, society, social issues, education, literature, abstract concepts, and everyday affairs; about life and the human condition. The writing is excellent, the polemics passionate and well-reasoned, and the preponderance of information gives one a helpful refresher in a dozen different subjects. One of the best books I've read this year.

[Andrew Paterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best written books I have read in years, very high quality language & grammar, covers an extremely wide variety of subjects so there is no lack of interest at anytime, short reads on essentially social sciences with a remarkable underlying sense of open debate and thought provoking angles, one of those books that you really never read and put away on a shelf - instead, you keep it near for further use.

[Stephen Mullin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some excellent, first rate analysis, marred by a tendency to set up and knock down 'straw men' when making an argument. Perhaps a degree of rhetorical 'corner cutting' is unavoidable in such short essays but it still rankled and detracted from an otherwise excellent set of pieces.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great modern topics discussed here and interesting to hear both history and opinion that isn't often covered in the main press.
Worth keeping on the bedside and picking up for a chapter here and there.

[Peter Podbielski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! AC Grayling retells history from a deeper, darker, but an enlightening perspective. His essay "The Berlin-Baghdad Railroad" provides necessary context, forgottened or obscured in modern times, to the crises in the Middle East. He offers hope.

[Andrew McJorrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superbly written defence of civil liberties. AC Grayling would have to be one of the most well read and erudite people on the planet. And for me reading his books is like talking to a wise old friend.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb analysis brought to bear a wide gamut of contemporary and relevant issues - intensely thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating....

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

short thought provoking essays by prolific and respected humanist philosopher (from uk). his overall thoughts center on liberty and justice. essential for readers thinking in similar ways

[Stan Fleetwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, although very uneven.

[Justin Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book full of essays on a range of different subjects including China, human rights, religion or the authors belief in its stupidity, and other areas of interest. I have seen the author speak on a number of occasions speak at the hay-on-wye literature festival and is always worth listening to. However, this book is full of a range of ideas with some more more interesting than others and it's a bit all over the place.

[Keen Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Grayling gets going and is on form he is as clear and as eloquent as anyone. He raises some great points, particularly regarding the emergence and ethics of China and of course one of his perennial favourites, religion. As is often the case when articles have been collected from a wide and diverse number of sources you are in danger of repeating yourself and as a result some of the topics here are given repeated coverage which is a little annoying and two or three of the articles are maybe a little dry and long, but over all this is a highly engaging and really enjoyable collection by a refreshingly frank and sane voice.