2 comments about Kahlil Gibran: Man and Poet.

1. Well, I have to admit I have just ordered the book. I haven't read it yet... What I want to share, though, are my impressions from a presentation of Dr. Suheil Bushrui I attended last night. Dr. Bushrui is a man who has the enormous talent to love and inspire. Truly, I envy his students. If the goal of his lecture last night was to inspire more people to read the poetry of Kahlil Gibran, he surely succeeded. He succeeded in sparkling my interest in Arabic poetry and in partucular, the poetry of Kahlil Gibran. More importantly though, he succeeded in making me look at poetry as the point where the truth meets the heart, and at poetry as the path of spirituality to building a world based upon unity in diversity.



2. Dr. Bushrui is the world's top Gibran scholar. He has done justice to Gibran like no other person in history with this thorough biography. He has succeeded in grasping the historical aspects of Gibran's life, and most importantly, the spiritual essence. I have had the luck and pleasure of hearing Dr. Bushrui speak in person and can say he is a truly amazing orator, poet, and scholar. He lived in Lebanon, like Gibran, and has taught at Universities such as Oxford. This mix of eastern and western culture is the pivotal attribute of anyone who desires to truly understand Gibran.

1 comments about Descartes, Bacon, and Modern Philosophy (World of Philosophy).

1. It wil open your mind and your eyes to a whole new world. The concepts in this book is what modern philosophy is based on! It is as painful as a root canal to read but if you can read a fully comprehend the concepts you have achived more than you can ever imagine. I was truly blown away!

No comments about Nietzsche and Jewish Culture.

3 comments about Orestes Brownson: Sign of Contradiction.

1. Orestes Brownson was one of the most original, and eccentric, American philosophers of the 19th century. It has been his unfortunate fate to slide into obscurity in the 20th century. Now he has been brought to vibrant life in sn excellent new study of his life and works by R.A. Herrera. The strength of this book lies in its interweaving of Brownson's life and thought, taking care not to tip the scales in favor of either. The importance of this method cannot be stressed enough because of the obscurity into which Brownson has fallen. Herrera is not out to rehabilitate Brownson; far from it. But he does provide an insightful new look at this iconoclastic thinker who was always swimming against the intellectual tides of his times. Highly recommended.



2. Orestes Brownson was a writer, philosopher,and cultural critic. He was also an Catholic during a period in this country when it was not publically orthodox to be a Catholic. Never more than an intellectual gadfly to begin with, Brownson's intellectual star faded soon after his death and he entered a sort of intellectual purgatory, becoming the subject for obscure Ph.D theses and academic biographers in search of a subject no one else had tackled. Now Brownson is brought back to life in a rather charming portrait by, all of people, a fellow teaching alumni. Orestes Brownson had taught at Seton Hall University, in New Jersey, for a brief period of his life, as did his current biographer, Robert Herrera. Perhaps it's the Seton Hall connection that's responsible, but Herrera does a nice job of breathing life back into the old boy and letting us see him warts and all. Instead of conforming Brownson to his image, Herrera instread conforms to Brownson's image and what emerges is a full, rich portrait of both the man and his times, of the critic and the subject of his criticism. Another selling point for this book, besides its brevity (Why do academics feel they have to give us every nugget of their subject's life?), is its refusal to bend to the politically correct winds that currently constitue the Public Orthodoxy of our squalid intellectual times. If you love American intellectual history (and, no, that is not an oxymoron), you will love this charming little tome.



3. This little book has the same problem as much of the materialcoming out of academia these days. All complexity and jargon, and noability to tell a story or relate the insights to the broader, contemporary flow of ideas at the time our subject lived. Where a simple word would suffice, Herrera uses arcane words that often leave you grabbing for a dictionary. More importantly, however, we get mostly opinions from the author, and after having slogged through 200 pages, know very little about Orestes Brownson, and his times. I learned more about Brownson's thinking from two short extracts of his writings from a primary source book on religion in America, then I did in this entire work. Instead of decent quotes from his writings, and other primary sources, we unfortunately are fed repetitive blather, and sketchy analysis about Orestes' often changed views, his contradictions (to wit the title), and the usual overly critical analysis from today's modern scholars. My copy of this rather expensive little book... is now being contributed to my local library. Otherwise, it would have ended up in the wastepaper basket. A much wiser investment would be to obtain a synopsis of Brownson's actual writings even if the cost was more than this overpraised book as contained in the other reviews.

2 comments about Aristotle.

1. Sir David Ross' explication of Aristotle's philosophy is most helpful. Aristotle's works that have survived to today seem to be post-lecture notes, a sort of "here's what I covered in today's lecture" recap. As such, Aristotle's books are sometimes confusing, occasionally contradictory and often just plain difficult to understand. In addition, Aristotle was a scientist first and philosopher second. This makes his works, which we read for their philosophical content, more difficult to grasp in some cases. Further, as with any translated works, various translators convey Aristotle's assertions in different ways, some of them more useful than others.

   Ross' deep understanding of The Philosopher, gained through years of study, teaching and translation, gives him the background needed to help the reader understand more clearly Aristotle's position on various subjects. Ross is able to reconcile some apparent contradictions, to point out some of Aristotle's underlying assumptions and make confusing passages clear.

   As a graduate student in philosophy, I find Ross' work to be very helpful and expect to use it extensively as background material for my thesis. But the value derived from reading and understanding Aristotle is not limited to students or philosophers, and the value of Ross' book is wide-ranging as well. Aristotle will be helpful to students, teachers or lay readers interested in philosophy but struggling with some of the archaic attitudes presented in many translations of The Philosopher's work.




2. Unfortunately I can not be extremely positive about this work of Ross. Still how you will benefit from the work will depend on your expectations. If you need some summary to draw upon in an undergraduate course, this work will be helpful. But the work will not give you real insight, either because it does not intend it, or simply because it can not achieve it. Sorry that I have to talk like this on a great scholar's book.

1 comments about On Adam Smith (Wadsworth Philosophers Series).

1. This is a very good "Short Notes " type introduction to Smith which succeeds in demonstrating that there never was any Adam Smith problem( a supposed conflict between the Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations )because Smith's concept of self interest(if Smith had used the term " enlightened self interest " the " Adam Smith Problem " would never have occurred.It is very similar to the economists' incredible misinterpretation of Keynes's term " nonnumerical" probabilities,by which Keynes meant interval estimates using 2 numerals and not one) has absolutely nothing to do with greed,selfishness,avarice,or exploitation.Second,the author shows the close connection Smith saw between economics and ethics(morals).Economic decision making involves ethical considerations.It is the Benthamite Utilitarian(the modern version of Benthamite Utilitarianism is the subjective Bayesian approach to probability) approach that essentially succeeded in its attempt to completely separate economics from ethics.The close connection between economics and ethics in Smith's approach is displayed in Smith's nearly 55 page discussion of the importance of providing universal education and religious instruction to the entire population,free if necessary.
   Finally ,the author demonstrates that Smith was not a libertarian or free market ideologue.Smith had a deep understanding of market failure and externalities.Smith recognized that government would have to deal with the undepletable negative externality problem created by the division of labor that impacted the totality of society.I recommend this book.I have deducted one star only because the book is too short.

No comments about Golden Lads: A Study of Anthony Bacon, Francis and Their Friends.

No comments about Kahlil Gibran: His Life and World (Emerging Voices: International Fiction Series).

2 comments about My Search for Bill W.: Biography.

1. From a recovery point of view, this book will not change your program or anything. It's one of those quick knock-offs that someone did when they needed money. I liked Mel B's work on "Pass It On" and the book about Ebby, but she really sold short on this one. You could simply read the chapter titles in this book and you've read the whole thing. And while vaguely illustrating her points, Mel wanders off into conjecture and personal opinion, and admits that's what she's doing!



2. Mel's book My Search for Bill W. is one of the two best Bio's written about Bill W. Any student of spirituality, philosophy, and thought movements in America should make room on their shelves for ALL of Mel's books. Mel's works are exact, insightful and a banquet for the soul. I'm glad I stumbled upon the first book and I'm extremely grateful I've read them all, over and over... I'd be a damn fool if I didn't say; Thanks Mel!

No comments about On Fodor (Wadsworth Philosophers Series).