Customer Reviews

Life's Ultimate Questions

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Ronald Nash has completed a great introductory book on thE subject of philosophy. He begins by discussing world views and then writes about the six conceptual systems: Naturalism, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus,Augustine, ansd Aquinas. He writes about the Law of Non-contradiction and epistemology. The strength of the book are the chapters on God's existence and nature.

The book is very much highly prone to Christian Theism. However, he writes truthfully about the theories and peoples involoved throughout philosophy. Since he is writing a text book, you will not find any overt evangelism taking place here, which is a good thing, since this book is actually menat as a primer for college students.

The book is easy to read and Nash's strength is his ability to make complicated subjects easy to understand.

This book is what got me interested in philosophy. Having been required to read various theological books when I was a kid I hadn't really understood them to the fullest extent and had little interest to know much more about them or what the works said. However, this work helped shape my thinking and developed my interest in philosophy. The book is a textbook and reads like a textbook, so it doesn't have a tone that would get one excited. Yet, the formation of the book is very good.

Some intro to philosophy books have a name dropper style i.e. going through a very brief history of philosophy by describing the philosopher with a feather light touch on their philosophy (similar to the book Looking At Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter). Or give an intro to a certain concept without really going into how others have done it in the past (like ]]Being Good: A Short Introduction to Ethics). However, this starts off with a history of ancient philosophy with an acceptable amount of information of several ancient philosophers. He then moves on to some problems of philosophy like relativism and deconstructionism.

Rather than just giving you some general information about philosophy, Nash's goal seems to get you to think like a philosopher. He has in mind to train you analytic skills and be prepared to face some of the proponents of the worldviews that Nash considers (and any Christian should consider) problems of philosophy.

Unlike many philosophy text books, Nash does not separate his worldview from philosophy. It is not merely straight information for you to do what you will with it (if nothing at all). Nash is a Christian and is not shy about it. One can almost see this work as a kind of apologetic training in the field of Classical apologetics. He does this because he recognizes that philosophy is a dangerous field for one's worldview. Going into philosophy is nothing to take lightly; therefore, Nash would have you further grounded into the Christian worldview before you start exploring other worldviews that have been very influential (thus his emphasis on the concept of worldviews).

Ronald Nash here does have an agenda, but that is a good thing. While giving a general introduction to philosophy, he does so in a way that encourages one to think about what you will be taught as you progress in your philosophical journey. Nash encourages you to recognize that the various worldviews out there can have a profound effect on you; therefore, it is best to start philosophy with theology under your feet.

The book is very well outlined with a "for further reading" at the end of every chapter. This is an excellent asset to have if one is considering becoming a practicing Christian philosopher. It has affected me very much, and will be an excellent place to start.

Lots of people are frightened of textbooks; too difficult to understand, they think. Too dry, others suppose. "Life's Ultimate Questions" can help even the most general reader get a handle on the most important philosophers in history. The book can provide a foundation that can help even a beginner move on to dozens of important topics such as do humans have a soul? Is there life after death? How can we know if God exists? What are the most important options in ethics? How can we know that something is the case? This book is a solid and helpful piece of work.

Ron Nash is first and foremost a Christian philosopher, and he approaches all subjects from that angle, even an introductory text such as Life's Ultimate Questions. This is all well and good, but it means that this text is really only appropriate for use in Christian colleges and seminaries, which is obviously what Nash has in mind.

With that out of the way, I have to give Nash a lot of praise for his work here. Decades of teaching philosophy have honed his writing and communication skills to a degree where he can make complex concepts sound simple. The structure of the book is interesting as well. In the first half, Nash defines and critiques the conceptual systems of six major philosophers: Democritus (naturalism), Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus (Neoplatonism), Augustine, and Aquinas. The second half deals with specific philosophical topics and problems, and here Nash moves into recent philosophy with discussions of analytic philosophy, postmodernism, and the like. This structure is very effective, as it achieves more of a balance between the history of philosophy approach and the topical approach, while leaning more toward the topical when it comes to philosophical movements and questions that are representative of contemporary philosophers.

Nash sprinkles his discussion of these topics with criticisms from the standpoint of a Christian worldview. Again, this is fine, as all philosophers are working from a specific perspective, but a text that claims to be "An Introduction to Philosophy" probably ought to be a little less partisan. Consider something like Millard Erickson's Systematic Theology. Erickson is a premier evangelical theologian, but in his introductory texts he lays out the different viewpoints on different subjects always using the same structure: he defines a certain view, follows with positive aspects of that view and finishes with criticisms. In other words, he presents all sides while making clear what his own position is. Contrast Nash, who is a bit more heavy-handed.

As it is, however, Life's Ultimate Questions is an effective and readable introduction to philosophy. A believer who wants an introduction to specifically Christian philosophy can't go wrong with Nash.

Lots of people are frightened of textbooks; too difficult to understand, they think. Too dry, others suppose. "Life's Ultimate Questions" can help even the most general reader get a handle on the most important philosophers in history. The book can provide a foundation that can help even a beginner move on to dozens of important topics such as do humans have a soul? Is there life after death? How can we know if God exists? What are the most important options in ethics? How can we know that something is the case? This book is a solid and helpful piece of work.

My wife who is attending an online university has found this book very helpful to understand the current world view......

Really makes you think, challenge your beliefs and see what worldview you are holding. Really explains the worldviews very well.

I ordered this as one of my textbooks for philosophy, and now a few weeks into the class, I would have to say that anyone interested in philosophy can also pick it up and enjoy it. Who doesn't love a good mind-bender!!

If this is a text book buy it. If you are looking for a book to inspire dont bother.

I took philosophy the first time about 30 years ago. I have taken several since, and came to the conclusion that most Ph.D.s teaching philosphy like to feel superior so they use textbooks that many incoming freshmen are soon desperating searching the internet in an attempt to find and buy something to turn in.

Which brings me to this book. It was actually enjoyable to read, though I am not the student this time around--I am tutoring my husband who is trying to finish his degree. This is the fourth class that he has taken since he started taking classes at Grand Canyon University online. I really hope this book gives him the push to finish the rest of his classes--some of the other classes he took were very difficult.

This book so impressed me, I intend to order a couple more books that Nash wrote Faith and Reason and also Worldviews in Conflict.