An inspiring and jargon-free look at how morals guide and inform our lives that were held high by every Enlightenment thinker and draws on literatu...
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Nov 18, 2008
Wendy
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When I was a freshman at Yale, Susan Neiman was one of my professors in a huge, team-taught, writing-intensive course in literature, philosophy, history, and political science called Directed Studies. What I particularly remember about her was the the other philosophy professors had an admiration for her that bordered on a schoolboy crush, in part because it was widely rumored that she actually understood the works of Immanuel Kant.
Moral Clarity is really sort of three books in one. More...
Moral Clarity is really sort of three books in one. More...
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Jun 26, 2008
Jon
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How many books are there that defend idealism? Susan Neiman gives a philosophical context for talking about idealism between the extremes of relativism and postmodernism on the left, and realism on the right.
The moral absolutes of religion have lost their influence. Relativism holds that one view is as good as another, and thus none has any special claim. Realism, as in Realpolitik, holds that we have to deal with the world as it is, rather than as we would wish it to be. Again More...
The moral absolutes of religion have lost their influence. Relativism holds that one view is as good as another, and thus none has any special claim. Realism, as in Realpolitik, holds that we have to deal with the world as it is, rather than as we would wish it to be. Again More...
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Jul 01, 2008
Kate
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Fasten a seatbelt around your grad school brain, you libruls, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. Neiman is some fellow at some fancypants institute in Germany who really knows her philosophy. Boy, I had a work out, digging up my old Anthony Flew Dictionary of Philosophy to remember who all these Old Dead White Guys were. Her basic point is that the Enlightenment offers a foundation of Moral Behavior in the 21st Century. Yes. You read that right. The Enlightenment--reviled since at least the 1980's as
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Dec 29, 2008
Mark
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Spectacularly uninvolving though I'm very interested in the subject. In the space of two weeks I attempted and failed to to get more than a couple dozen pages into this book.
Too much bible-talk for one thing. The bible has as much to do with morality as Velveeta has to do with nutrition. Just because a lot of people eat it, doesn't mean it's good for you - or real.
Too much bible-talk for one thing. The bible has as much to do with morality as Velveeta has to do with nutrition. Just because a lot of people eat it, doesn't mean it's good for you - or real.
Jan 23, 2010
Braden
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I am truly just a beginner when it comes to reading and understanding philosophy. Neiman's book has helped to push me further on up the road of understanding. I would categorize this effort as an attempt at "applied philosophy": making the works of the Enlightenment philosophers (especially Kant) applicable to the current world. It didn't accomplish the task for me until I made it through to the last page and could contemplate the work as a whole.
This in mind, I highly reco More...
This in mind, I highly reco More...
Jul 11, 2010
Jim
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Jul 29, 2011
Stephen
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Combining enlightenment philosophy, an analysis of biblical stories, a commentary on modern times and a powerful personal perspective, Neiman provides a fascinating and demanding set of arguments about the forces that form our values and the way we should respond to them. It's impressive how she manages to hold a whole range of complex ideas together and ultimately bring her conclusions down to relatively simple statements of how we might live our lives. She jumps around a lot, so you have to be
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Mar 16, 2010
Douglas
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The first thing to say about this highly intelligent book is that it is very American. The heart of the book follows a statement of the points made by opponents of the Enlightenment. These points are then examined in as muddled a manner as the Enlightenment itself much crammed with lucid thought. I would say that no clear conclusion emerges except that without the Enlightenment project our world would be much diminished. But the American wrappings in which this discussion takes place are aimed a
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Apr 15, 2010
Robin
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This book was a joy to read. I particularly like the way Neiman makes difficult philosophical theories accessible to the layman. (At one point she does suggest how difficult this is, describing how Diderot criticized Newton for his "obscure, elitist style" Neiman opines "Anyone committed to writing prose for the general public will know Diderot radically underestimated the amount of labor involved, but applaud his sally nonetheless" p208).
My only criticism of the boo More...
My only criticism of the boo More...
Jun 11, 2009
Matthew
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As much as I try not to judge a book by its cover, I am often guilty of judging a book by its title, and the subtitle of this one grossly misdirected my expectations. Even with that caveat, however, I found Neiman's work to be not particularly useful to the "grown-up idealist," unless such a person needs to justify their existence. There is, indeed, a need for grown-up idealists in the world today.
My biggest disappointment is that Neiman argues primarily that Enlightenment More...
My biggest disappointment is that Neiman argues primarily that Enlightenment More...
Oct 05, 2008
Aaron
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Like “Evil in Modern Thought,” “Moral Clarify” suffers from being two books that are not greatly linked. The first, superior, half of the book is a diagnosis of the metaphysics of modern American politics. This half starts strong, tracing the roots of the Conservative movement, while finding implications in liberalism’s decline in the theoretical framework that followed the collapse of the New Left. Unfortunately, the abrupt ending of this section prevents the book from seeing its arguments thro
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Dec 27, 2008
I bought this on the strength of the the NYTimes Sunday book review. (Sadly it wasn't available on my Kindle, so I had to wait until the next morning to start reading it.) I was attracted to the book because I'm pretty curious about the different concepts thrown around in the review, like the Enlightenment, Kant, ethics and morality, what it really means to be "idealistic," why people on the left still cling to ideologies that have killed so many millions of people, and why people on t
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Aug 07, 2008
A good review in the New York Times Book Reviews. The author says she wrote it in answer to reader responses to her book "Evil in Modern Thought."
So far I have read the introduction and am convinced it is my kind of book. I recently tried to read "What We Owe Each Other" by T.M. Scanlon. It was so defensive of peer criticism that it was unreadable for me.
Neiman's book promises a bonus of literary clarity.
The following chapter comments are n More...
So far I have read the introduction and am convinced it is my kind of book. I recently tried to read "What We Owe Each Other" by T.M. Scanlon. It was so defensive of peer criticism that it was unreadable for me.
Neiman's book promises a bonus of literary clarity.
The following chapter comments are n More...
Jun 30, 2009
Jason
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(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)
Even less than a year after it's ended, it seems that there are more and more Americans (even former supporters...er, especially former supporters) now openly acknowledging what an utter disaster the eight years of the Bush Junior administration was, and especially as more and more of the More...
Even less than a year after it's ended, it seems that there are more and more Americans (even former supporters...er, especially former supporters) now openly acknowledging what an utter disaster the eight years of the Bush Junior administration was, and especially as more and more of the More...
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Apr 03, 2009
Joshua
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This book had one serious shortcoming: its title. I always felt ridiculous while sitting on the train reading it, thinking people were snickering at me, the poor sap. I thought that maybe I was just being paranoid, except that I was openly mocked by at least three of my friends when they saw the title. (Also, the edition I had was from the library and had one of those plastic covers that makes that crinkling sound when you move it. I found the noise satisfying, but I was reading it next to my sl
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May 17, 2010
Andi
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Sep 12, 2011
Jean
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I had to work to read this, especially at the beginning, I floated in and out of comprehension. But it was worth the effort. Wish I had paid more attention to philosophy as a student. Oh well, I can be that student now.
Mar 27, 2011
Michael
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I've barely started Susan Neiman's latest offering. Just 60 pages in, I am fully engaged in her ideas regading moral thought and the justification of actions, both political and social, based upon motivation and power.
Nov 29, 2008
Mitch
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Values are real: deflationary attempts to turn them into mere illusions or empty metaphors betray a failure of character and moral cowardice. An explicitly left wing defense of value.
May 05, 2009
Jemboat7
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Intense and heavy. It is hard to read a ton of this book at a time but it does an excellent job of clarifying how to carry on as an intellectual and idealist in our society.
Jan 06, 2009
Hum, not at all sure about this one but the title caught me and it's on the 100 Notable Books of 2008 from the NYTimes. So, maybe a quick browse at the library?
Jan 13, 2009
Christina
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This book was a little tough-going at first, being mainly a survey of Enlightenment ideas for the first two-thirds of the text, but the final chapters brought everything together and referenced current events in a way I hadn't ever considered beforehand. Her discussion of the modern hero and her definition of being an adult with morals turned out to be one of the most inspiring things I've ever read. Overall: fantastic book, very educational from the philosophical end, and more than worth the
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Jan 22, 2010
Matthew
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How is possible that many liberals are today arguing against Enlightenment values with ideas that were originally formulated by conservatives? Neiman explains, and makes a fresh case for idealism, progress, and optimism. I hope a new generation of liberals takes inspiration from her work. I know that, for me, it was a welcome antidote to the poisonous varieties of post-modern multi-culturalism I encountered in graduate school.
Mar 19, 2010
Tuck
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the best part is part 3 chaps. 12 and 13. some exs of real people be "heroes", or having some backbone and integrity. lots of bible and greek examples and talk. which gets tiresome, what examples huh? of morality, the fonts of death and destruction for all of the west.
Feb 05, 2011
Audrey
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sometimes circular logic. really redundant at times. the way she makes three points five million times is impressive though.
