The aim of this book is to justify kindness and why we need it. I didn't like this book. I think it is well written. I found the history of kindness in philosophy and psychology interesting. But I disagreed with a main underlying premise of the authors. That is that there is no God. It is really hard to justify kindness without a God. But if you want to see someone try, read this book. The authors described Christianity as a Jewish cult that became global only because they elevated the idea of kindness. I found this disturbing, but I think I can agree to disagree. I found the aims of the book praiseworthy, but I disagree with the way the authors reach their aims. I told John that if someone asked me about this book, I would say, "Read the first two chapters (the history part), then skip to the end and read the last five pages, and you'll get all the good parts in the book." So, there you have it.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
46. On Kindness by Adam Phillips and Barbara Taylor
The aim of this book is to justify kindness and why we need it. I didn't like this book. I think it is well written. I found the history of kindness in philosophy and psychology interesting. But I disagreed with a main underlying premise of the authors. That is that there is no God. It is really hard to justify kindness without a God. But if you want to see someone try, read this book. The authors described Christianity as a Jewish cult that became global only because they elevated the idea of kindness. I found this disturbing, but I think I can agree to disagree. I found the aims of the book praiseworthy, but I disagree with the way the authors reach their aims. I told John that if someone asked me about this book, I would say, "Read the first two chapters (the history part), then skip to the end and read the last five pages, and you'll get all the good parts in the book." So, there you have it.
