Why Believe? [Hardcover]

John Cottingham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2009

Editorial Reviews

Review

mention in Bookseller Buyers Guide, 1 January 2008

Mention in The Tablet, 30 May 2009

Book Extract

The Tablet, September 2009

"A judicious and refreshing addition to a debate that is in danger of going a little stale."

Good Book Guide, October 2009

"This small volume should most emphatically make anyone's short list."

Church Times, November 2009

"For Professor Cottingham, the "characteristic framework" of behaviour that a theist brings to the task of living "finds room for some of our deepest and most valuable human impulses"." Christopher Howse, The Daily Telegraph, 28 November, 2009.

"He [Cottingham] always writes with grace and clarity...the best books on apologetics deepen our understanding with fresh insights into what it means to believe. This is one of those books." Paul Richardson, Church of England Newspaper, December 2009.

"A spirit of genuine enquiry." John Haldane, The Tablet, December 2009

"Fascinating and accessible reading for anyone with an appetite for philosophy of religion." The Way, April 2010.

"Himself a believing philosopher, Cottingham explains how he is able to meld his secular and religious inclinations. Sometimes, he warns, he gets a bit more rhetorical than is considered proper in an academic paper. He covers belief and its benefits; belief, reason, goodness; belief and the unknown; obstacles to belief; belief and meaning; learning to believe; and believing and living." -Eithne O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc.

Reviewed in the Catholic Herald, 27^th August

'Wonderful crowd-dividing meditations'

'The virtues of Cottingham's own thinking -- a gracious, open minded integrity, and an ability to combine spiritual insight with philosophical analysis -- enrich his defence of Christian practise and belief.'

(Times Literary Supplement )

'An important addition to the contemporary study of religion... Cottingham's book is a work of gentle persuasion towards belief and in practice towards belief in Christianity... There is thus in Cottingham's re-enchanting work as much to interest those who study religion as a phenomenon as there is for those who practise it or indeed reject it.'

(Journal Of Contemporary Religion )

'Rigorously argued yet maximally accessible...a new and exciting perspective on the conflict between secularism and spirituality.'

(Bulletin )

'Why Believe? sees John Cottingham, a philosophy of searing intellectual honesty, examine our society's struggle with the concept of belief.'

(Bulletin )

'John Cottingham's brief defence of religious faith, and especially Christian faith, is honest, clear-headed and occasionally compelling.'

(Religious Studies )

"Fascinating and accessible reading for anyone with an appetite for philosophy of religion." The Way, April 2010. 

Reviewed in the Catholic Herald, 27^th August

'Wonderful crowd-dividing meditations’

'The virtues of Cottingham’s own thinking – a gracious, open minded integrity, and an ability to combine spiritual insight with philosophical analysis – enrich his defence of Christian practise and belief.’

(, )

'An important addition to the contemporary study of religion… Cottingham’s book is a work of gentle persuasion towards belief and in practice towards belief in Christianity… There is thus in Cottingham’s re-enchanting work as much to interest those who study religion as a phenomenon as there is for those who practise it or indeed reject it.’

(, )

'Rigorously argued yet maximally accessible…a new and exciting perspective on the conflict between secularism and spirituality.’

(, )

'Why Believe? sees John Cottingham, a philosophy of searing intellectual honesty, examine our society’s struggle with the concept of belief.’

(, )

'John Cottingham’s brief defence of religious faith, and especially Christian faith, is honest, clear-headed and occasionally compelling.’

(, )

About the Author

John Cottingham is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Reading and an Honorary Fellow of St John's College, Oxford. His much acclaimed recent titles include Philosophy and the Good Life, On the Meaning of Life and The Spiritual Dimension, and he is also well-known for his extensive writings in the history of philosophy and in ethics. He is President of the British Society for the Philosophy of Religion, and Editor of the journal Ratio.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (September 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826496369
• ISBN-13: 978-0826496362
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,354,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Concise and clearly expressed, July 12, 2011

By 

arkvaard "aardvark" (Parallel universe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Believe? (Paperback)

A clearly-reasoned, short book which clarifies 2 main points:
- religion and science need not be incompatible with each other
- religion cannot offer any explanation of things, but its value is in adding meaning and weight to our moral and spiritual intuitions