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There is also the shroud of turin, which verifies Jesus in a new way than other evidences.

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Like Philosophy Embedded In Literature?

Started by adimagejim, February 20, 2009, 07:39:20 PM

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adimagejim

Wondering how many people prefer to accept their doses of philosophy from literature rather than straight-up philosophy texts.

My favorites are Russian literature. Tolstoy's Confession and The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky.

From time to time more direct philosophy texts are strong too. Big fan of Beyond Good & Evil by Nietzsche, although he can be cryptic and somewhat disjointed. (Drugs do have their, uh, deleterious effects.)

Maybe I'm just a weak reader, but I generally dislike the philosophy for its own sake stuff.

Any recommendations or faves of your own?

Jim

Tom62

That is why I'm reading Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It answers all the questions of Life, Universe and Everything. ;)
The universe never did make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract.
Robert A. Heinlein

SSY

Reading (trying to read . . . . ) Kant's critique of pure reason put me off philosophy books for life.
Quote from: "Godschild"SSY: You are fairly smart and to think I thought you were a few fries short of a happy meal.
Quote from: "Godschild"explain to them how and why you decided to be athiest and take the consequences that come along with it
Quote from: "Aedus"Unlike atheists, I'm not an angry prick

SteveS

I always recommend Atheism: The Case Against God by George H. Smith.  It is philosophy, but it's not nearly so stuffy.

Whitney

I really liked Daniel Quinn's Ishmael, The Story of B, My Ishmael, and Beyond Civilization.  They are basically all a very long critique, yet easy and entertaining to read, of the what civilization has evolved to be.  

The Story of B would be especially appealing members of this forum since that book entertains the idea that the anti-christ all these religious people are scared of is actually anyone who is willing to teach people that there are better ways to live life sans the savior figure.  The books make more sense if read in order but can be read separately without being lost. (except Beyond Civilization, it won't make much sense if you haven't read at least one of the other books).

adimagejim

Thanks for the insights and suggestions.

Anyone ever read The Inquisitor (only about 20 pages) within The Brothers Karamazov?
It is a cruel, yet stunning indictment of the savior figure. Essentially it accuses the reincarnation of Jesus Christ of negligence. Naturally, it is written from a Russian Orthodox perspective, so it assumes spirituality, but cuts to the core from an atheistic standpoint.

I also wanted to add that it strikes me as incredibly inconsistent of religions to want to give their god all the glory and yet never assigning it any blame. What a sweet gig to be their god! Credit for everything. Discredit for nothing.
Amazingly illogical.

Thanks again for the replies.

Jim