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15th out of 32 books
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Ideas Have Consequences
In what has become a classic work, Richard M. Weaver unsparingly diagnoses the ills of our age and offers a realistic remedy. He asserts that the world is intelligible, and that man is free. The catastrophes of our age are the product not of necessity but of unintelligent choice. A cure, he submits, is possible. It lies in the right use of man's reason, in the renewed acce...more
Paperback, 198 pages
Published
September 15th 1984
by University of Chicago Press
(first published 1948)
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An amazing book, honestly. Many of the ideas propounded in the book, I had heard before and kind of taken as my own because they sounded right. However, this book explained the reasoning behind those ideas and really opened my eyes to what I had been blindly believing before. Equality is a bad thing, democracy is harmful, and Ideas do have consequences no matter how innocent they seem. This was the book that gave fuel to my senior thesis. It has proved invaluable and will continue to do so, I am...more
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It can be frustrating to read a book that is sixty years old and yet more meaningful and relevant today than it was when it orginally came out. Ideas Have Consequences is, unfortunately, such a work. The only people who should read this are those who care more for others and the wellbeing of society than for personal sensual enjoyment. Weaver makes trenchant comments on various categories of life, such as self-centered psychology, the nature of freedom, the importance of proper language/commu...more
Demolishing of all that is egotistic, 'present', ignorant. Despite the author's here and there contradictions which slightly undermine the rigor, this is one of the best reflective works I've read. Pulling no punches for a scholar-gentleman, in a masterfully coherent style.
Of course, my own fragmentary style he would condemn. Rightly so.
Sample chapter titles:
Egotism In Work And Art.
The Great Stereopticon.
Fragmentation And Obsession.
Weav...more
Of course, my own fragmentary style he would condemn. Rightly so.
Sample chapter titles:
Egotism In Work And Art.
The Great Stereopticon.
Fragmentation And Obsession.
Weav...more
Not exactly what I thought it would be. Heard about this back in college and thought it would be more of an exposition on ideas, agency, morality, etc. Which it kind of was, but not in the way I thought.
Weaver's book was written just after WWII, so that needs to be taken into consideration. This book is focused mostly upon the author's ideas of "The decline of the West", which has been addressed by many others. I guess what disappointed me was that instead of focusing on th...more
Weaver's book was written just after WWII, so that needs to be taken into consideration. This book is focused mostly upon the author's ideas of "The decline of the West", which has been addressed by many others. I guess what disappointed me was that instead of focusing on th...more
A cuttingly sharp and insightful look at modern culture. This book is still applicable today, if not even more so. Pessimistic, cynical, and in many ways right on target. Unfortunately, for all his critiques of culture, Weaver has nothing good to put in place of the bad - Weaver longs for days long gone with some measure of nostalgia. He has little optimism for the future, however. This book would be greatly helped if he had some sense of man's sinfulness and of the theological truths of Christi...more
Written in 1948, it is deep look at the first causes of our current (last 150 years) cultural sickness, decline in beliefs and standards, and the problems of Modern man. Chapter 5 ("The Great Stereopticon") alone would make this a superb piece of conservative philosophical observation and prescription. One of my favorite quotes on the media: "They are protecting a materialist civilization growing more insecure and panicky as awareness filters through that it is over an abyss"...more
If you decide to read this book, and I hope that you do, remember that Weaver wrote textbooks on rhetoric and composition. The man knows how to craft an argument, and he offers this one in less than half the space that it would take most philosophers to say the same thing. So look at this 200 page book and multiply by 2. It might be worth a quick read, but it is most definitely worth and slow and careful one.
Weaver takes an idealist approach to history, and the result is an explanation of the decline of the West tempting in its simplicity. The book is an important one in American political discourse, but should be read with a critical mind. Ideas have consequences, but people, specific people in specific times and in specific places, have ideas.
Jacob Aitken
added it
Weaver argues that our divorcing universals and particulars paved the way for a brutal secularism. It also cheapened man's existence.
This book was a tour de force, a genealogy of ethics. Weaver argues that today's man has been alienated from nature, from language, and from hope in general.
This book was a tour de force, a genealogy of ethics. Weaver argues that today's man has been alienated from nature, from language, and from hope in general.
This book is a marvel. It is an intrusion of a bygone era into the miasma of modernity. It is no wonder that the left loathes Weaver. His is a prophetic voice of denunciation against the tides of modernity assaulting human dignity and personhood.
Weaver argues that the Nominalism of William of Occam has opened the floodgates of relativism, egotism, and sentimentality upon the West, with little traction left for a revival of traditional values.
This is a remarkably dens...more
Weaver argues that the Nominalism of William of Occam has opened the floodgates of relativism, egotism, and sentimentality upon the West, with little traction left for a revival of traditional values.
This is a remarkably dens...more
I have actually read this multiple times. It seems like something I wouldn't like, since it is a classic of conservatism, but yet it has much that is admirable, and at the same time much that is way off base (hair lengths of men and women, and the subtle racism). A strange mix, that is somehow compelling.
Great read and basic thesis is right on, but Weaver goes too far in blaming nominalism for all the ills of the modern world. It was rationalism that marginalized the church during the Enlightenment. Nominalism tried to get philosophy out of theology, not theology out of public life.
Brother recommended. As my first true philosophical endeavor, it took me quite awhile to finish. Completely worth the extended effort. Underlined, shared, toted all over the state. Loved.
Perhaps the most articulate and well-argued stance for truth presented without religious language I have ever read. A must for discussion on epistemology.
Weaver seeks to give an account of the decline of the west, and a proposal for how we may begin to reverse this decline. He argues deductively, making two fundamental assumptions: that the world is intelligible, and that man is free.
Silvia
added it
I'm also enjoying this at times very challenging, at times revealing analysis of our culture. Different to The Twilight of American Culture and Poetic Knowledge, maybe a cross between them in terms of being more contemporary like The Twilight... but also more philosophic like Poetic Knowledge. Three good books to read close in time.
booklady
rated it
Read this back in December 2006 and remember how incredible it was.
This book is supposed to be a classic conservative work. It didn't resonate with me, although I'm sympathetic to the general perspective.
The author was a Southern, loosely associated with the agrarians, although he taught in Chicago, I believe.
He lost me when he denigrated jazz as so much noise. Love it or hate it, jazz, or some of it, can be quite deep. I don't need to know Weaver's prejudices; I have enough of my own.
Perhaps this is a case of the book judging me,...more
The author was a Southern, loosely associated with the agrarians, although he taught in Chicago, I believe.
He lost me when he denigrated jazz as so much noise. Love it or hate it, jazz, or some of it, can be quite deep. I don't need to know Weaver's prejudices; I have enough of my own.
Perhaps this is a case of the book judging me,...more
Prepare to have your actions challenged. This book with change the way you think about what you do and why you do it.
This book challenges a lot of commonly accepted notions about what is important in life. It is a good re-focus agent when I feel as though my comfort and convenience are the most important things in life. This is about my second or third time through it, and I am still learning from Weaver. I'm not sure if I agree with everything he says about property and the remaining areas in which we can exercise choice, but I certainly agree with his thoughts on specialization, temporal provincialism, an...more
Scott
is currently reading it
Stunning! This man was a prophet.
None
Top ten.
A classic of political thought, this book shows the progress of ideas down through time and their consequences. It is a fascination book that discusses the relevance of ideas to music, art, government, culture and social ills like welfare. It is not atheist but neither does it speak from Christianity. The final idea is do we really want to survive as a civilization because we are on a path to societal disintegration.
I don't agree with everything Weaver says (e.g., he might have a small point about jazz, but his criticism is much too harsh and general), but he's a very original thinker whose ideas merit serious consideration. If he doesn't always hit the nail on the head, I think he's ohten not far from the truth.
One of the few books that is required reading for anyone trying to understand why modern man is so lost.
Deserves only four stars since some of the examples are dated, like his critique of American jazz.
Deserves only four stars since some of the examples are dated, like his critique of American jazz.
I am reviewing this book chapter-by-chapter on my blog, http://poiemaportfolio.blogspot.com/
This is a meaty book, definitely not a quick read. It is worthy of a little extra attention and time.
This is a meaty book, definitely not a quick read. It is worthy of a little extra attention and time.
Clear and concise, this little book from 1948 is more relevant now to our jaded and searching modern times more than ever. Fuller review upon completion.
One of the best books in the world for economy. Well written, easy to follow and thoughtful. Well done.
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