Addressing important questions that have been discussed across many times and cultures, this essay, written in a simple style, seeks to awaken you from the slumber of intellectual complacency.
Author John H.T. Francis presents a multi-disciplinary look at prevalent interpretations and fundamental questions of human interest. He tackles many of humanity’s most important and difficult topics, drawing on many fields of knowledge and action, including science, philosophy, sociology, economics, politics, anthropology, and psychology.
This study explores history, knowledge, the human mind and psyche, the nature of existence, the phenomenon of life, socio-economic and political dynamics, ethics, religions, and several current, pressing individual and collective challenges. It provides elements of answers and attempts to position subjects of general importance under a new light. Universal in his approach, Francis reaches out to those who are interested in delving deeper into the human understanding.
John H.T. Francis is a general thinker and writer. His main interests are in the condition of the modern man, human knowledge, and intellectual and social challenges. The author is universal in his calling and often relies on a multi-disciplinary and modular approach, including philosophy, science, history, and social sciences.
John H.T. Francis is the author of Reflections on Fundamental Matters: Not for the Satisfied Mind and the trilogy The Story in Three Parts. He is regularly on the move geographically and combines with his writings a career of entrepreneurship, which he hopes will one day yield similar merits in the world of action as in the world of thought. John H.T. Francis has an academic background in science, engineering, business, and economics.
When I first came across this book, I thought it would be thought provoking. However, I did not realize how much so. I found myself engrossed from the first page – sometimes in complete agreement and sometimes in complete opposition but all the same feeling highly emotionally charged based on the content. For example, the arguments on pro-life versus pro-choice had me incensed and yelling at this book, but I finally realized that John Francis really gets to the heart of provocative topics and he not only forces us to see the other side but he also indirectly allows us to see the faults with arguments that are very important hot button topics.
This book is a must-read for the foundation of many important questions of life. I wish I would have had this book when I started my studies in philosophy because it encompasses so many topics in a smart, disciplined, and approachable manner – from history to modern day to the future, events that challenge our natural social biases in an unthreatening way, expanding the mind to look at ideas from different perspectives…
I can also tell that Francis is a deep intellectual – his grasp of so many topics from history to politics to religion to philosophy to psychology and his ability to discuss and bring these ideas together shows his strength of intellectual capacity as well as his deep understanding of topics. Most normal and even educated persons would be familiar only with a narrow range of topics – this book shows that he is a bastion of knowledge who is very wise and highly educated!
The author is a highly talented and gifted writer. I cannot wait to see what else he has in store.
We live in the world of fast information consumed like fast food, in the world of the 140 characters dictatorship and the blinking news feed. It has become harder and harder to just pause in our fast paced lives and just… think! And this is exactly what ‘Reflections on Fundamental Matters’ proposes. An invitation to think. A wake-up call for the brain. Working in advertising, where concepts are only skin deep, running around in my busy social life, I found myself halted in the midst of my chaotic rhythm and pleasantly re-plunging in notions around ethics, humanity, religion, change, and many other philosophical notions inherent to life itself. It made me reconnect with a younger me that was more contemplative and maybe more profound. Non-linear, divided in independent sections, the book is accessible and friendly to the Beta non-initiated reader. Written in a simple down-to-earth style, it provokes the mind without pretension or superiority. For anyone who feels like getting back in touch with a deeper view on our world and who feels like forging a stronger culture on the concepts that shape it and define humanity in general, this is a perfect place to start.
The author shows a great talent in approaching and addressing difficult subjects in a simple, concise style. It makes this book approachable to everyone even to the novice who may not necessarily have a background in philosophy.
The stories at the start of the chapters are great, often funny, and introduce different insights to the subject of the chapter. These expand the scope of thought of the reader who may only think in a single mindset. Luckily the author doesn’t interject often with his own personal take. Indeed, he tends to stay neutral and present the viewpoints of the great philosophers, scientists, mathematicians in a seamless way.
The author is a genius to encompass so much knowledge and complicated understanding in this book.
The book is timeless and universal – the first of its kind to address a multitude of subjects and reference to external readings – and it is a definite must-have for one’s library. An impeccable book of thought!
What is captivating about this book is the multi-angle approach that the author uses to present complex and deep thoughts about our world in a clear, straight-to-the-point way. His storytelling style makes the reader go through the book in a smooth way while challenging one's thoughts and beliefs about important questions in life.
I highly recommend this book for those who are eager to think out of the box and ready to reflect in a critical way.