false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223626658m/1454152.jpg 1454152 1 Little known outside his native Australia, David Stove was one of the most illuminating and brilliant philosophical essayists of the postwar era. A fearless attacker of intellectual and cultural orthodoxies, Stove left powerful critiques of scientific irrationalism, Darwinian theories of human behavior, and philosophical idealism. He was also an occasional essayist of considerable charm and polemical snap. Stove's writing is both rigorous and immensely readable. It is, in the words of Roger Kimball, "an invigorating blend of analytic lucidity, mordant humor, and an amount of common sense too great to be called 'common.'" Against the Idols of the Age brings together a representative selection of Stove's writing and is an ideal introduction to his work. <P>The book opens with some of Stove's most important attacks on irrationalism in the philosophy of science. He exposes the roots of this fashionable attitude, tracing it through writers like Paul Feyerabend and Thomas Kuhn to Karl Popper. Stove was a born controversialist, so it is not surprising that when he turned his attention to contemporary affairs he said things that are politically incorrect. The topical essays that make up the second part of the book show Stove at his most withering and combative. Whether the subject is race, feminism, the Enlightenment, or the demand for "non-coercive philosophy," Stove is on the mark with a battery of impressive arguments expressed in sharp, uncompromising prose. Against the Idols of the Age concludes with a generous sampling of his blistering attacks on Darwinism. <P>David Stove's writings are an undiscovered treasure. Although readers may disagree with some of his opinions, they will find it difficult to dismiss his razor-sharp arguments. Against the Idols of the Age is the first book to make the full range of this important thinker available to the general reader. David Stove (1927-1994) taught philosophy at the University of New South Wales and, until his retirement in 1988, at the University of Sydney. He was the author of numerous essays, articles, and several books including Anything Goes: Origins of the Cult of Scientific Irrationalism, The Plato Cult and Other Intellectual Follies, and two posthumously published volumes, Darwinian Fairytales and Cricket versus Republicanism. 1444913 24 8 1999 Against the Idols of the Age total:5|5:4|4:1| 5 24 10 2 1454152 0765800004 9780765800008 5 2 4.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223626658m/1454152.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1454152.Against_the_Idols_of_the_Age 5 0 false Sun Feb 22 12:28:57 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 12:29:28 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1454152 0765800004 9780765800008 5 2 4.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223626658m/1454152.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1454152.Against_the_Idols_of_the_Age 4 0 false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Sat Jan 31 20:55:31 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 20:56:37 -0800 2009 1454152 0765800004 9780765800008 5 2 4.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223626658m/1454152.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1454152.Against_the_Idols_of_the_Age 0 0 false Fri Nov 20 23:50:47 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 23:50:47 -0800 2009 1454152 0765800004 9780765800008 5 2 4.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223626658m/1454152.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1454152.Against_the_Idols_of_the_Age 5 0 false Fri Aug 28 20:50:54 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 20:50:54 -0700 2009 1454152 0765800004 9780765800008 5 2 4.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223626658m/1454152.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1454152.Against_the_Idols_of_the_Age 5 0 false Sun Jun 28 16:24:28 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 16:24:34 -0700 2009 1454152 0765800004 9780765800008 5 2 4.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223626658m/1454152.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1454152.Against_the_Idols_of_the_Age 0 0 false Wed Jun 24 22:21:23 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 22:21:23 -0700 2009 1454152 0765800004 9780765800008 5 2 4.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223626658m/1454152.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1454152.Against_the_Idols_of_the_Age 0 0 false Sun Apr 05 08:36:16 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 08:36:16 -0700 2009 1454152 0765800004 9780765800008 5 2 4.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223626658m/1454152.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1454152.Against_the_Idols_of_the_Age 0 0 false Thu Feb 05 14:39:30 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 14:39:30 -0800 2009 1454152 0765800004 9780765800008 5 2 4.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223626658m/1454152.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1454152.Against_the_Idols_of_the_Age 5 0 false Wed Dec 10 07:57:27 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 07:57:27 -0800 2008 1454152 0765800004 9780765800008 5 2 4.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223626658m/1454152.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1454152.Against_the_Idols_of_the_Age 0 0 false Wed Jul 23 18:18:32 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 23 18:18:32 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1454152