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Secular Wholeness: A Skeptic's Paths To A Richer Life

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David Cortesi's premise is that the benefits of traditional religions are available to non-religious people if they're given the tools to reframe these benefits in secular terms. Cortesi proves capable of delivering on his generous but ambitious agenda. He's smart enough to sort through contending philosophies, honest enough to admit his biases, and grounded enough to not lose his way among the murky ambiguities of existence.

He starts by exploring religion's payoffs. First and foremost, religion provides answers to those two bedeviling questions: who am I and why am I here? You also get ritual practices that orient you in time and space, a ready-made community of like-minded people, and a pre-assembled ethical structure. Religion gives you tools for dealing with life's pitfalls and pratfalls, and ways to cope with your passage out of here. Religious believers get to feel the kind of contented bliss that's been missing since those golden days when it was just the infant you and an attentive caregiver placing a nipple between your lips. Finally, the lucky few occasionally plug in to states of ecstatic transcendence.

Sounds attractive, but there's a catch. To get the benefits, you have to buy in to the whole agenda, and most of these agendas weren't designed with you in mind. Some of them have in fact caused immense suffering and distress over many centuries. Cortesi shows us how to construct beliefs and practices that provide the same emotional and psychological support as religion without forcing us to park our common sense at the door or sally forth to smite infidels who happen to believe in a different godlike character.

His method is to research, then summarize the major issues we must deal with to construct a meaningful life. He's fair to all religious traditions and approaches each of life's big topics in an even-handed, pragmatic manner. Among other things, we learn ways of coping with the fact we're a random accident in the universe, how people actually achieve mystical bliss, and what it means to be happy. He gives practical advice on skills such as creating your own set of rituals, helping people who are grieving, and building up the psychological arsenal you'll need in order to be content. In an appendix, he lists further readings for those who want to delve deeper into any of these questions.

Cortesi is no Augustine, wrestling with great sins on the way to becoming a great saint. He has modest regrets (he wishes he'd devoted more effort to being part of a community) and isn't trying to attain every grand spirtitual aspiration (for instance, he questions whether the efforts to achieve bliss, are, practically speaking, worth the results). In the end, he delivers what he promised, showing us that it's quite possible to live a meaningful, spiritually fullfilled life without surrending yourself to a religious tradition. Cortesi has done us all a great service by writing this book, and everyone, whether secular or religious, should find something of value in its pages.

David Cortesi writes in plain language for everyone, without condescending to anyone. He discusses how a non-religious person can get all the spiritual, emotional, social and psychological benefits of religion, without sacrificing a single neuron of intelligence, education or critical thinking.

He is completly critical of every religious tradition, but also open-mindedly sympathetic to all kinds of spirituality. He has searched for what "they" have, and how they get it. But he has not accepted an ounce of new-age hokeyness. He has kept his analytical mind active throughout.

He considers how a person can believe that the universe is purposeless and basically accidental, while still believing that one's own life has meaning. He discusses ways to create community, meditative or contemplative practices, meaningful rituals, ethics, happiness and contentment. He discusses death and self-transcendence and the bliss experience.

If you have no religion, or if you are losing your faith, read this book soon. It's full of good advice. It's consistently understated and about as brief as possible (Cortesi is a computer programmer), so you might have to consider his points carefully. It's honest and deeply thoughtful, intelligent and respectful of its audience. Highly recommended.

Mr. Cortesi has written an amazing and fulfilling book. First, he analyzes why those who belong to a religion seem to have longer, healthier, happier lives. Second, he addresses each point and dissects it for its very essence. For instance, he argues that one of the benefits of belonging to a church is that it provides a network of friends who know you and each other. Therefore, a person could build a network of friends to gain the same webbing of love and support in their own life, without a religion. In another chapter, he obligingly goes over the Golden Rule of several faiths using logical arguments to see if they could work in the modern world. His "Mortal Imperative" is perfect, by the way, and was almost worth the price of the book all on its own.
Every page is informative without any hint of stuffiness. He is humorous but never glib. I felt as if I had had a wonderful conversation with someone akin to Joseph Campbell after reading this book! David Cortesi, I thank you.

This book is a well researched and thoughtfully written guide to living a fulfilling nonreligious life. In the first chapter the author outlines some of the benefits that religion offers; existential validity, community, contemplation and tranquility, ritual, mystical ecstasy, self transcendence, ethical structure, and comfort in death. In the remaining chapters of the book he examines how these benefits can be derived in a nontheistic context.
Each chapter could easily have been a book in its own right but what really works in this book is its broad overview and concise organization. It gives the reader a great starting overview for the issues presented. The author does give many references for further reading and thought on each topic. For this reason I would especially recommend it as a starting point to someone who feels they can't embrace belief in the supernatural or reject science but is concerned that their life would be lacking without a religious component. I would also recommend it to those who have trouble believing that someone who doesn't believe in a deity or religion could be a moral and ethical person. The chapter on the development of an ethical basis and personal/family code was one of my favorites.
I did want to add something from my own experience on finding community. The author gives a lot of practical advice but refrains from mentioning specific groups in the book. I think this was the right approach since each person's path and beliefs may differ. I personally found many friends and community through an American Humanist affiliate group and the Unitarian Universalist church. I'm not specifically endorsing any particular groups for others but just wanted to point out that there are lots of opportunities out there, some others are Brights, Pantheists, Secular Coalition, Free Thinkers, Secular Humanists, another reviewer mentioned Friends of Reason, etc...So do some research and you should be able to find a community of people of like minded beliefs, you are not alone.

This small book at last addresses in a simple way the key elements of a rich life that anyone can understand. While being very practical there is enough hard evidence to show that Cortesi's views are soundly based.
I especially recommend the chapter on happiness.
Buy it. Read it.

David Cortesi's Secular Wholeness: A Skeptic's Path To A Richer Life is an inspirational guide to finding depth, enjoyment, and serenity in life when one cannot bring oneself to believe in the supernatural tenets of religion. From understanding the truth of existential validity, to holding to a personal ethical code, to following a practical plan to becoming happier, Secular Wholeness is a superbly written and presented treatise to improving the quality of one's secular, yet personally, philosophically, ethical, and emotionally fulfilling life.

I laud Cortesi's effort and high-minded intentions. He has produced an ambitious book that aims to be a sort of life manual without gods; a corrective to all the religious self-help books. But "Secular Wholeness" is not a part of "New Atheism." It is uniformly positive in tone, wastes no time on arguments against god, and takes as its starting point the benefits and admirable qualities of religious life which the secular should emulate! This is as rare as it is welcome: The atheist is not bored and those on the fence are not offended. Such openness and curiosity is recurrent: Cortesi quotes a myriad of sources, from Buddhist sayings and the Bible to ancient and enlightenment philosophers -- everything is valid fodder for his project. And this project is not modest. No topic is neglected (from ethics to "Bliss" states) as Cortesi tries to elucidate his "paths to a richer life."

However, no reviewer can praise an author's intentions, especially in the first line, without having serious criticisms. "Wholeness" succeeds in being encyclopedic but that brings superficiality. Cortesi alludes to sophisticated ideas but fails to grapple with them effectively. He does not make thorough arguments for his propositions, and waives away possible objections as though his position is obvious. He seems not to give the reader much intellectual credit. Each topic is treated so briefly that no depth is possible (I would like to think Cortesi capable of it).

The writing contributes to some of these problems. As the jacket says, Cortesi is a technical writer. The prose is "clear." It flows. It is highly readable. But all of this is to a fault. Cortesi asks us to be inspired by the universe, not to fear death, to love humankind. As laudable and necessary as good technical writing is, it is not the tool for such tasks. The quotations from more poetic sources are appreciated but too few, and go undissected. Even glancing over the pages, you feel you are reading a manual, not an intellectual work: the text is headed, sub-headed and bulletted into slivers, each chapter ruthlessly summarized. The tone is casual to the point of flippancy: in explaining one philosophical conundrum of identity Cortesi writes, "...you can give up almost any part of your body that the surgeon may demand: limbs, lungs, 'liver and lights'; hack 'em off in the name of survival; swap in a transplant; 'you' remain." I tired of empty phrases like, "in my humble opinion," "indeed," or "generally".

You may have noticed that the list price is rather high for a paperback. This is because "Secular Wholeness" is self-published through a print-on-demand service. That is not a condemnation in itself, but it explains a lack of professional editing, typesetting and layout. Reference numbers run into the text of the line above, the pages are cramped, and so on. The binding and paper quality seem good but, in toto, the price outstrips the product.

"Secular Wholeness" is not a bad book. It might serve very well an atheist who hasn't really read much. If I had an seventeen year-old relative, I would give it to her. For those with a little more background though, I can't say it offers much.

Excellent, methodical, well-organized user-friendly tour through the alternatives (a natural step back) to what religion claims are its territory, benefits and raison d'ętre.

David Cortesi is a retired computer programmer and author of books for software programmers. He brings the same methodical organization and analytical thinking to religion (and why not?!) You can use this as a manual about how to rewrite the code by which you live. You can also take back aspects of your life you might have donated to someone else's imaginary friend. There are no polemics, no smug edginess; just the facts.

Here is his clear start and premise--which he delivers on. "This book is a long answer to a short question. Here's the question: Can you build a vital, fulfilling life experience using methods and ideas that are purely secular, not based in religious doctrine?" Further on, he offers and invitation you will never hear from the necessary, good--and not wholly sufficient--battering ram of Dawkins et al, "If you are comfortable in a religious belief, understand that this book is about finding secular sources for things that your religious practice ought to be giving you. If you aren't getting them, I respectfully suggest you look deeper into your own faith. But you are certainly welcome to walk along with the rest of us on our quest!" This kind of disarming equanimity will allow people tentatively thinking through their lives an open door without the gale of a pent-up crusade.

At the same time, he is not a cream puff. As he says on page 12, when describing the stark choice religious folks often lay out for others: "you either accept a religious moral code or face the awful prospect of having the whole burden of designing and justifying a moral code dumped on you. And how are you going to select between differing 'opinions about good and evil?' Possibly by--oh, I don't know--thinking?"

Cortesi starts with the Benefits of Religious Practice and notes that each is can be met through secular means. That is the book. He lists the benefits and one-by-one show ways to derive them secularly. His list: existential validity, community, contemplation and tranquility, ritual and pageantry, mythical ecstasy, self-transcendence, ethical structure, and comfort facing death and loss. He addresses each one in about 20 pages with sub-chapters, footnotes and additional resources in recommended readings and web links.

With this tone and method, he calmly dissects any claims to special abilities, meta-mammalian knowledge, and allusions to an enigmatic 'more!' by showing the natural, everyday approach to each need. By doing so, he lays flat the very notion of additional benefits claimed by superstitious communities: He has let the hot air out of the balloon and we remain, feet firmly planted on the ground, enjoying our lives without the hijacking and distractions of other mammals' fantasies and wishful agenda.

Bravo!

As the author of this book, I wrote the following brief review as a "model review" to be sent out with review copies.

This "sourcebook for skeptical seekers" aims to speak to the minority of Americans who don't find meaning in conventional religion, but who still want to develop greater moral depth. A demanding program of self-improvement emerges: connect to others, learn to meditate, find heroes, define your ethics, prepare a legacy, simplify life. The results of such a "secular life practice" might or might not be, as the author claims, the same as religion produces, but they could only be healthy. Were it lighter and folksier, this book might have been "Chicken Soup for the Scientist's Soul," but with its educated prose, end-notes, bibliography and two indexes, Secular Wholeness would have to be "Soup to nuts for the soul with port and cigars after."...

While I value the work of the current crop of high profile atheist writers, I think Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens only bring their audiences to a certain point, and it is at that point many individuals ask themselves, "Okay, I don't believe in God, now what?" I'm glad to see there are authors out there (Eric Maisel is another - The Atheist's Way: Living Well Without Gods) who are filling a need in the atheist/agnostic community, beyond what the popular polemics offer.