{"product_id":"the-secular-outlook-9781444335200","title":"The Secular Outlook","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Secular Outlook: In Defense of Moral and Political Secularism shows how people can live together and overcome the challenge of religious terrorism by adopting a secular outlook on life and politics.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This book would be ideal for an upper-level undergraduate or graduate religious studies or philosophy seminar. Highly educated lay readers and academics interested in religion and secularism will also likely find the book of interest.\" (Journal of Contemporary Religion, 1 January 2012)  \u003cp\u003e\"The book is a balanced account of what went wrong in defending liberal democracy in the past two decades and what is to be done to revigorate the foundations for liberal democracy .\" (Acta Politica, 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The overall structure of the book is quite clear . . . Nevertheless, if I would be forced to summarise the book in its entirety, then I would claim that it can be seen as an elaborate and successful (as far\u003cbr\u003e as I am concerned) defense of the view that religion derives from morality and not the other way around.\" (International Humanist News, 1 April 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"It is a level-headed contribution to an important debate about how best to address religious fundamentalism and political fanaticism.\" (The Christian Century, 8 March 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Cliteur's book is timely and well written. It covers some very recent events, and offers coherent - if sometime impatient - perspectives on religion from the secular standpoint. Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through researchers\/faculty.\" (Choice , 1 April 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"You actually have to focus on the paragraphs. That doesn't mean that the style is inaccessible or difficult - not at all, it's very readable - but this is a meaty book that asks for (and rewards) a certain amount of concentration.\" (Metamagician and the Hellfire Club, 7 April 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The primary goal of this book, its author says, is ‘to show how religious believers and unbelievers can live peacefully together and what principles the state should try to stimulate in its citizenry to achieve social harmony and social cohesion.' He recommends a moral and political vision which he calls \"a 'secular outlook' on life.\" Its four main components are atheism, criticism of religion, free speech, and ‘moral autonomy.' Cliteur wants us to be freethinkers and to expose the ways in which sacred texts actually endorse or even encourage violence, terrorism, and injustice. Cliteur is right, of course, that free inquiry and criticism should be protected.\" (Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 6 March 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Accessible, engaging and convincing, it is the perfect tome for those who wish to learn about the ethical and logical case for a secular moral and political framework.\" (Tribune, 4 March 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"A robust defence of the Enlightenment tradition and a must-read for those concerned by the corrosive aspects of religion on society.\" (Times Higher Education, 10 February 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"But Cliteur challenges this interpretation, charging Armstrong with seeking to dismiss fundamentalism as a ‘perversion' of religion when in fact the fundamentalists can claim to be adopting the very attitude their sacred texts demand\". (Church of England Newspaper, 7 January 2011)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The Secular Outlook is a thought-provoking discussion of how liberal, secular democracies can and should respond to extremism and a much-needed exposition of the vital importance, in that response, of rationality and an emphasis on common humanity\". (New Internationalist, 1 December 2010)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Secularism is one of those concepts that is widely used without a clear notion of what it is. Dutch humanist philosopher Paul Cliteur's \u003ci\u003eThe Secular Out -\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003elook: In Defense of Moral and Political Secularism\u003c\/i\u003e supplies a theoretical clarification of what secularism is and what it is not. However, the book is more than a helpful analytical exercise-it is also an urgent plea for political and moral secularism.\" (\u003ci\u003eFree Inquiry\u003c\/i\u003e, October 2010)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: The Secular Outlook.  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. Atheism, Agnosticism, and Theism.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Alpha Privative.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAtheism and Liberal Concepts of God.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAtheism as an Unpopular Position.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Definition of Atheism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMotives for Atheism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAtheist Values.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpiritual Excellences and the Liberal Decalogue.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAgnosticism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe History of Agnosticism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHuxley and Russell.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePascal’s Wager.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePascal’s Insight.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAtheism or Non-Theism?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2. Freethought I: Criticism of Religion.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Écrasez l’Infâme”.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReligion and Evil.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReligious Violence.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFather and Daughter.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow to Discover a Relationship between Religion and Violence.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRamadan v. Hirsi Ali.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReligion “per se”.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTextual Relativism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCan Translation Mitigate All Immoral Passages in Scripture?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCan Interpretation Mitigate All Immoral Passages in Scripture?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhy Are “Moderates” so Reluctant to Criticize Religion?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Bible on Apostasy.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBiblical Terrorism: The Story of Phinehas.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBiblical Violence and Modern Legal Practice.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Book of History.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSome Objections.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3. Freethought II: Freedom of Expression.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMill on Liberty.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKhomeini v. Rushdie.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFukuyama Giving Up on the Arab World.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Limits of Free Speech.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Deontological and Utilitarian Justifications for Free Speech.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eClifford on the Duty to Critique.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFreedom of Speech and Philosophers on the Index.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntolerance not Restricted to Islam.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGiniewski v. France.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFreethought under Fire.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePeople Are not Being Insulted for Having a Religion.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRacism without Race.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial Criticism not Identical with the Urge to Provoke.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlemming Rose on Why He Published the Danish Cartoons.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Theory of Evolution: Too Controversial to Defend?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIs There Another Way to Discover the Truth than by Free Discussion?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4. Moral and Political Secularism.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePope Benedict XVI on the Apostles’ Creed.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Who Are You to Tell Believers What to Believe?”\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat Judaism, Christendom, and Islam Have in Common: Theism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDivine Command Theories.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAbraham and Isaac.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Story of Abraham in the Qur’an.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Story of Jephtha.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdherents of Divine Command Theory.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommand Ethics or \u003ci\u003eDivine\u003c\/i\u003e Command Ethics?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAn Assessment of Divine Command Ethics.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKierkegaard and Mill.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKohlberg and Moral Education.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReligious and Secular Ethics.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWorship.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKant’s Struggle with Moral Autonomy and Free Speech.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKant’s Legacy in Nineteenth-Century German Theology.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSchleiermacher as the Father of Modern Hermeneutics.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eArmstrong’s Plea for Liberal Interpretation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA New Way to Look at the “Sacredness” of Scripture?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eClassic Books and Sacred Books.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eViolating the Integrity of the Text.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIs Hermeneutics the Only Way to Modernize Traditions?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIs Islam “Secularization-Resistant”?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTwo Kinds of Reformers: Liberal Islam and Secular Islam.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelected Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48739224977751,"sku":"9781444335200","price":75.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781444335200.jpg?v=1720051556","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-secular-outlook-9781444335200","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}