When Anxiety Attacks
7 years ago
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
So, why Ideas Have Consequences and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy?
Ideas Have Consequences, by Richard Weaver is probably one of the most insightful books I have read concerning the philosophy of relativism and truth. It's not an easy read, though at 187 pages it is not too long. Weaver makes you think if you're going to digest his book. He wrote the book in 1948, looked at the philosophical landscape around him, and foretold where our society would be headed in the generations to come. And the cool thing (and the sad thing) is that he was exactly right on with his predictions. He speaks about how morality will become more and more relative. Truth will be seen as subjective, changing from person to person. Words will cease to have the clear interpretation they once had. (A president questioning what "the meaning of word 'is' is," comes to mind.) And even personal property rights will give way to community authority "for the greater good of society". (Eminent Domain, anyone?) He goes on to talk about the cultural, societal, and moral impacts that this will likely have if followed to its logical conclusion. And the whole process is driven by us cutting the anchorlines of transcendental truth in the name of naturalism and the Enlightenment. He makes a strong and compelling case for a return to absolute truth and reality from a completely philosophical standpoint.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien is, in my thinking, the greatest epic of fictional literature authored in recent times. It is a beautifully intricate world of panoramic proportions. (Although the movies did fairly well, they still don't compare to the books... as is often the case in such situations.) The themes of heroism, hope, self-sacrifice, honor, virtue, good & evil, courage, friendship, humility, and all the great virtues possible in the human constitution run throughout this trilogy in a multi-layered tapestry of language and imagery. Something that I love about Tolkien's story is that it gets horrific and seemingly hopeless right before the end and the dawning of hope. This is a story that truly captures the maxim, "It's always darkest just before the dawn." And when it is all said and done, one of the characters, Samwise Gamgee, sees a long-lost companion whom he had presumed dead and gone. Upon seeing him Sam asks, "Is everything sad now going to come untrue?" That is perhaps one of the most beautiful quotes in all of literature to me because it captures the hope of the gospel in its few words. Anyway, that's why I recommend reading this trilogy.
Again, feel free to click on the links to the left if you'd like to see a little more about these books. The link will take you to reviews and information for the books on Amazon.com.
Ideas Have Consequences, by Richard Weaver is probably one of the most insightful books I have read concerning the philosophy of relativism and truth. It's not an easy read, though at 187 pages it is not too long. Weaver makes you think if you're going to digest his book. He wrote the book in 1948, looked at the philosophical landscape around him, and foretold where our society would be headed in the generations to come. And the cool thing (and the sad thing) is that he was exactly right on with his predictions. He speaks about how morality will become more and more relative. Truth will be seen as subjective, changing from person to person. Words will cease to have the clear interpretation they once had. (A president questioning what "the meaning of word 'is' is," comes to mind.) And even personal property rights will give way to community authority "for the greater good of society". (Eminent Domain, anyone?) He goes on to talk about the cultural, societal, and moral impacts that this will likely have if followed to its logical conclusion. And the whole process is driven by us cutting the anchorlines of transcendental truth in the name of naturalism and the Enlightenment. He makes a strong and compelling case for a return to absolute truth and reality from a completely philosophical standpoint.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien is, in my thinking, the greatest epic of fictional literature authored in recent times. It is a beautifully intricate world of panoramic proportions. (Although the movies did fairly well, they still don't compare to the books... as is often the case in such situations.) The themes of heroism, hope, self-sacrifice, honor, virtue, good & evil, courage, friendship, humility, and all the great virtues possible in the human constitution run throughout this trilogy in a multi-layered tapestry of language and imagery. Something that I love about Tolkien's story is that it gets horrific and seemingly hopeless right before the end and the dawning of hope. This is a story that truly captures the maxim, "It's always darkest just before the dawn." And when it is all said and done, one of the characters, Samwise Gamgee, sees a long-lost companion whom he had presumed dead and gone. Upon seeing him Sam asks, "Is everything sad now going to come untrue?" That is perhaps one of the most beautiful quotes in all of literature to me because it captures the hope of the gospel in its few words. Anyway, that's why I recommend reading this trilogy.
Again, feel free to click on the links to the left if you'd like to see a little more about these books. The link will take you to reviews and information for the books on Amazon.com.
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