Prevailing Worldviews of Western Society Since 1500

by Glenn R. Martin

Prevailing Worldviews of Western Society Since 1500 (06) by Martin, Glenn R [Perfect Paperback (2006)]

Genres: Philosophy, College, Nonfiction, Politics, School, Textbooks, History

270 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Km Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the privilege of Studying under Dr. Martin this book is a good rendering of his lectures into a book. I would recommend those who have read the book to listen to his lecture series. I have used this book to teach a worldview class to a home school coop. The student have been challenged to think deeper about the applicability of the God of the Bible to all of life. I would highly recommend this to the Christian as well as the non-Christian.

[renping · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unbearably anecdotal and possessing an astounding number of editing errors. It's like reading a Christianity Today op-ed. Glenn cites "Alexander Solzhenitxyn" and on the same page, says that God "could care less" about his opinion. Grumbling about technical errors may seem pedantic, but being technically accurate is the very least that a textbook should offer. Silly mistakes like that just add to the unprofessional tone of this textbook. Hire an editor, kids.

[Vance Ginn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Martin provides a detailed overview of the major worldviews of Western Civilization since 1500 AD from Biblical Christianity to Relativism to Transcendentalism to Communism.

The journey through these worldviews was a good reminder of the basis for my mental model of how I see the world. I give this book 4 stars because it tends to be a bit redundant at times but overall it is an interesting read. Check it out for yourself.

[Noah Perrault · Rating 1 out of 5]

A solid attempt gone wrong. Martin totally ignores the dichotomy between Continental Rationalists and the British Empiricism, going so far as to call Locke and Newton Rationalists. I daresay nothing could be farther from the truth. He demonizes the left and creates entirely new definitions for words simply to fit into his book. For example, in chapter four, he defines eternity and infinity. As he defines it, eternity is "the reality that I can begin at any given point and go out from that point and never get there", and infinity is "the recognition that I can begin at a given point and go in and never get there". These are nonsense definitions that haven't any basis in reality!

There are so many flaws in this book that it almost isn't worth reading. Take an introduction to philosophy course if you really want to know the prevailing views of western society, for God's sake. Martin completely mangles the philosophy of egalitarianism in favour of buttering up his case. In fact, he completely ignores 'rationalists' like Thomas Hobbes when talking about humanism (Martin seems to think that all rationalists thought humanity is inherently good - Hobbes thought quite the opposite).

Don't waste your time on this book. If you want a quick summary of the history of philosophy, go read Sophie's World. It's far more interesting, anyway.

[☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ ѕℓιм ☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for my GOVT 200, class.

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this for a college Government class. Excellent! Informational and easy to understand

[David Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful read to understand the cultural impact of how we think and believe.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely would not recommend. Reads like a grumpy old man rambling...

[Christopher Merritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting insights on communism and socialism

[Parker Ambrose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview of many prevailing worldview notions which have shaped (and damaged) Western Civilization.

[Candice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book.

[Jessica Beckett · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing!