Thursday, March 31, 2016

Nonfiction Review: The Consequences of Ideas by R.C. Sproul

In "The Consequences of Ideas," R.C. Sproul summarizes the thoughts of various historic philosophers, from Aristotle and Plato to Thomas Aquinas and Friedrich Nietzsche. Sproul's descriptions are mostly clear and concise, with occasional commentary or Christian response. I would have appreciated more explanations of how these ideas affect the modern world (the "consequences" are not actually discussed much) - especially since these are complicated ideas that seem silly and meaningless at times - but I understand the limitations of length. Ideas discussed include physical and nonphysical reality, being and nonbeing, phenomenal and noumenal worlds, knowledge and existence, cause and effect, Skepticism and Religion, Existential Faith and Existential Atheism, society and ethics, and much more. Skimming through the book to take down notes, I found my understanding of these philosophies increased. The book may well be worth a second take.

Note - I did use an e-reader version of this book, and several of the informative charts provided were cut off.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

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