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142 of 150 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding contrast!, November 18, 2003
This review is from: The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life (Paperback)
I thoroughly enjoyed exploring both the thoughts of Freud and Lewis through Dr. Nicholi's summary in this book. People who are not familiar with the writings of Lewis or Freud (or both) will find this a very readable primer on their basic worldviews. I confess that I am puzzled at those who accuse Nicholi of "stacking the deck" in favor of Lewis, or merely feigning objectivity while actually casting Freud in a poor light. The thinly veiled assertion seems to be that Freud was actually very different than he is made out to be in this book, and that Nicholi either consciously or unconsciously skews Freud's real positions and ideas. I found that far from the truth. First, Nicholi readily acknowledges that no one is truly objective and dispassionate, particularly on such fundamental questions as the meaning of life and existence of God. But I believe he does an excellent job of not injecting his own bias into the equation. Second, Nicholi takes pains to point out many of the (rather substantial) contributions Freud has made to modern thought, particularly in his field of psychoanalysis. Finally, Nicholi's text is historical. Where people may have encountered frustration (particularly supporters or Freud's wordlview) is when Nicholi attempts to look at the actual EFFECT of each man's worldview on his life; a perfectly appropriate tactic given the goal of the book. Nicholi cites nothing but historically verifiable facts about these two men. Whether one believes in God or not, the rather dramatic nature of Lewis' conversion is undeniable -- one may debate the cause(s) of his change, but not the existence of the change. The same holds true for the despair and lonliness that Freud freely acknowledges experiencing in heavy doses. If Nicholi omitted important information about Freud, then critique him as a poor historian and offer factual backup. But do not simply react against the picture he paints merely because of how it looks. I, for one, am categorically not an adherent to Freud's worldview. But I actually came away from Nicholi's book feeling like I now understand and appreciate Freud far more than I did before.
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76 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read not to contradict,but to weigh and consider-A MUST READ, April 28, 2003
Quite simply, The Question of God is an exceptional book. Where to start? Dr. Nicholi's basic premise is ingenious: compare and contrast the material (Atheistic) wordview of Sigmund Freud with the spiritual (Faith-based) worldview of C.S. Lewis. The result is an exceptional book that goes straight to the heart of life and living: Is there a God? Is death our only destiny? How can we/should we enjoy life? Answers to these and other life and death (literally) questions are addressed through Dr. Nicholi's remarkable and successful effort. Dr. Nicholi's writing style is lucid, learned and accessible. Other Amazon.com critiques of his writing style as merely being "Freud says this, but Lewis says that" simply do not hold water. Dr. Nicholi injects his text on Freud and Lewis with meticulous direct quotes from each man's writings, both public and personal, plus accounts from others who knew Freud or Lewis. Dr. Nicholi's writing succeeds on all levels: fairness (Dr. Nicholi's truly unbiased prose is to be commended), lucidity, and captivation: as the favorable comments from readers on the back cover notes, I too had a hard time putting this book down. At least one earlier Amazon reviewer dismissed the book because Lewis, being a generation after Freud, always gets the last word, so the book's premise is hopelessly flawed. On the contrary, while Dr. Nicholi not only notes in the Prologue that Freud had no chance to rebut Lewis directly, he nevertheless anticipated some spiritual worldview arguements made by Lewis, and are so noted by Dr. Nicholi. Finally, still other reviewers dismissed C.S. Lewis as just another "apologetic" and not a very good one. Ridiculous! I was aware of Lewis' Christianity writings (had not yet read them) but was surprised to realize that Lewis did indeed bring 'authority' to his critical reading of the Bible: his vast education in mythology, and ability to read Greek. Prior to this book, I had simply assumed Lewis was just a Max Lucado or Lee Strobel of an earlier era. Frankly, I very much dislike "Christian inspiration" books that seem to be written only to the "God says it, I believe it, that settles it" type of Christian, but no one else. I was pleasantly surprised to realize Lewis is not part of that "preaching to the choir" genre, but rather a leader in framing faith based on reason. I suggest non-believing and/or uncertain readers will find Lewis' reasoning intellectually stimulating and strong. Quite frankly, the above raps against the book by some other reviewers puzzled me, as if reviewers were looking for a reason to disqualify this book and dismiss it out of hand. To those reviewers I wish to simply remind them of Dr. Nicholi's simple and quite reasonable request of the reader in the Prologue: he quotes Sir Francis Bacon (I'm quoting from memory): "Read not to contradict, but to weigh and consider." If you are willing to do this, your effort will repay you well. Which brings up a key point: if you are a non-believer (as I have been), be willing to read this book with an open mind. Weigh and consider. Rest assured, this exceptional, fair book is worthy of your effort to do so. You will be glad you did. If you feel you are in the category of non-believer or uncertain or believe you must commit intellectual suicide to be a Christian, and you have been disappointed by weak "preach to the choir" books like Strobel's vapid "The Case for Faith," you owe it to yourself to read this finely executed, genuinely intellectual and thoughtful work on this important subject; no, make that the most important of all subjects.
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54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
let the chips fall where they may., November 29, 2003
This review is from: The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life (Paperback)
Prior to reading this book I knew very little about Sigmund Freud, and already quite a bit about C.S. Lewis. To be honest, my initial interest in purchasing and reading the book was based on my shameless/addictive quest to own and read everything I possibly can, about LEWIS. Having said that though, I am glad to have learned so much about Freud in the process. I think that the author does a good job of presenting the viewpoints of each man, with respect to their opinions on such topics as Creation, Conscience, Religious Conversion, Happiness, Sex, Love, Pain, and Death. Big issues. Worthy of big, deeply felt convictions. And each man had them. So many reviewers here have speculated that the author does not write this book from a disinterested stance, that he in fact, favors Lewis, and presents him as being a more consistent and (for lack of a better word) healthy individual. I agree that Lewis does come off as being such. But what is most important to me (as a reader of the information) is... is it TRUE? Is this slant toward Lewis as a more self-actualized person fair? Or is it fabricated? Is it manufactured? Is Lewis deliberately favored? Hmmm... Dr. Nicholi has studied the philosophical writings of both men for over twenty-five years, and teaches a course at Harvard based on an examination of these two worldviews. Somehow, I do not imagine this present book as some latent "hate-on" for Freud finally making itself known in printed form. It did not appear that way for me, although yes, Lewis does come across as being someone who lived a more personally fulfilled, whole life. I believe that the quotation marks speak for themselves. This is a well-researched book, I do not feel that Dr. Nicholi is really putting words or ideas INTO the mouth and mind of either figure. Over thirty-five pages of endnotes! In my opinion, this is one of those "let the chips fall where they may" type things! As is stated in the Prologue, the philosophical speculations (the worldviews, if you will) of these two men are not at all ambiguous. "One of them begins with the basic premise that God does not exist, the other with the premise that He does. They are, therefore, mutually exclusive - if one is right, the other must be wrong. Does it really make any difference to know which one is which? Both Freud and Lewis thought so. They spent a good portion of their lives exploring these issues, repeatedly asking the the question 'Is it true?'" Both men are presented as having troubled childhoods... both being touched with profound losses, alienations, disillusionments, etc. One of the main things that becomes clear in this book is that one of these men discovered the possibility of transcending this pain and disconnectedness experienced in childhood, and the other, quite frankly, did not.
Neither of them were ever perfect, and neither of them were ever perfect[ed]. Both men made great contributions to the fields for which they were formally trained (English Literature / Psychology)... yet both dabbled in these philosophical areas where they each OUGHT to have been out of their depth. This is what makes them so interesting to us. My one criticism of TQOG is that there is a bit too much repetition of previously mentioned actual stories and/or quotes. But overall, I was impressed with the wealth of information and the dovetailing of ideas. It really IS as though these dudes are debating. I agree with Peter Kreeft, who said "It is as exciting as a novel, and we must supply the ending."
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