A Secular Age

[MadArchitect]

I'm not suggesting this for an official discussion for two very obvious reasons (it's nearly 900 pages, and it wouldn't get picked even if it were only 90), but take a look at those reviews! This one is definitely on my to-read list: A Secular Age, by Charles Taylor.

[Mr. P]

I'm not suggesting this for an official discussion for two very obvious reasons (it's nearly 900 pages, and it wouldn't get picked even if it were only 90), but take a look at those reviews! This one is definitely on my to-read list: A Secular Age, by Charles Taylor.

Eh...reviews are reviews. I rarely take them too seriously. I prefer to judge on my own. But I can definitly see why you would like this book.

New York Sun : A salutary and sophisticated defense of how life was lived before the daring views of a tiny secular elite inspired mass indifference, and how it might be lived in the future.
--Michael Burleigh

Cleveland PLain Dealer: Its subject is a philosophical history of the past, present and future of Western Christendom. As such, it begins with a deceptively simple question: How did it become possible for anyone to not believe in God?...

Let us know what you think when you get around to it...

Mr. P.

[Mr. P]

This book popped up as an "Other Interest" when I was looking at the book Mad posted about. Seemed interesting.

The Stillborn God: Religion, Politics, and the Modern West

Mr. P.

[MadArchitect]

Actually, with regard to "A Secular Age", I was more interested in its account of the rise of secular thought through the Enlightenment and modernity.

[Mr. P]

Actually, with regard to "A Secular Age", I was more interested in its account of the rise of secular thought through the Enlightenment and modernity.

I was busting your balls...I have it on order from the library, BTW. Dont know if I will read the whole thing at this time, but I wanted to look it over for now.

Mr. P.

[bradams]

Charles Taylor is always a provocative thinker. Have you guys read Sources of the Self or The Ethics of Authenticity? They've both been enormous influences on my thinking.

A Secular Age is definitely on my "to read" list. I'll probably buy a copy eventually (the hardcover is AU$69.95), but for now I'll be looking to the libraries. I'll probably read it after I finish A.C. Grayling's Towards the Light, which will be the book after the one I'm reading now.

[bradams]

MadArchitect, I just thought I'd point out that, although is long, the books is shorter than the upcoming fiction selection Atlas Shrugged and probably easier to read.
Is there a reason why you think it wouldn't be picked even if it were only 90 pages long?

[MadArchitect]

Bradams, we've had some difficulty with finishing longer books in the past. I don't think it's a problem with anyone's attention span or intelligence -- it's just harder to coordinate a discussion about a book that long, particularly when you're dealing with people you don't see face to face. On the whole, I've come to believe that the ideal book length for the kind of discussions we have here falls in the range of 150-400 pages. Anything bigger than that and you'll tend to find people starting and finishing to far apart to have much to discuss, people reading a vastly different rates, and people losing interest just as others are starting to get involved. (And, yeah, I kinda think "Atlas Shrugged" is going to lead to the same problems -- maybe even worse since fiction comes with its own discussion difficulties.)

As for the other reason that "A Secular Age" isn't likely to get picked, the fact of the matter is that the author is a theologian, and a lot of long time regulars on this site are atheists who won't go out of their way to read anything written by an author involved in religious thought. Even if Chris okayed "A Secular Age" as a suggestion, I doubt it would garner enough support to make it as a candidate for discussion. Which doesn't matter all that much anyway, since, as I said, I think it's too long to make for a workable discussion on BookTalk.

[bradams]

Thanks Mad, that all makes sense.
I think I have to defend Charles Taylor against the "charge" of being a theologian! He is a (retired) philosopher who did most of his work in social and political philosophy, but he also happens to be a practicing Catholic. He was also a prominent member of the New Left in his younger days and ran for parliament several times in his native Canada.