Buy used:

$8.00

FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon or get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Kams closet

Fulfilled by Amazon

Share <Embed>

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 2 images

Follow the Author

George H. Smith

Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies Hardcover – June 1, 1990

by George H. Smith (Author)

10 ratings

See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$13.99

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$8.00

$14.99

$3.58

In this wide-ranging collection of articles, essays, and speeches, George H. Smith analyzes atheism and its relevance to society today.The featured essay in this volume provides a full analysis of Ayn Rand's unique contribution to atheism, explaining how her objectivist metaphysics and laissez-faire economic principles rested on a purely godless worldview. Several chapters address the evolution of atheism; arguments in favor of religious toleration; the efforts of early Church fathers to discredit Roman polytheism and how these arguments can be used with equal force against later Christian descriptions of God; and a survey of the contributions to freethought made by the deists of the 18th and 19th centuries.With incisive logic and considerable wit, Smith ties atheism to reason and argues that reason itself can be a moral virtue. In one penetrating chapter, Smith salutes three Christian theorists who he believes embody the spirit of reason: Thomas Aquinas, Desiderius Erasmus, and John Locke. This is followed by a philosophical drubbing of his "least favorite Christians" - St. Paul, St. Augustine, and John Calvin. In subsequent chapters, Smith examines religion and education; addresses the 20th century fundamentalist revival; offers suggestions on how to debate atheism with religious believers; critiques "new religions," including pop therapy, est, and tranactional analysis; and provides a comprehensive bibliographic essay on the literature of freethought.

Print length

324 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Prometheus
Publication date

June 1, 1990
Dimensions

6.33 x 1.11 x 9.31 inches
ISBN-10

0879755776
ISBN-13

978-0879755775
See all details

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

George H. Smith
21
Paperback
$19.99
George H. Smith
258
Paperback
$16.38

More items to explore

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

E. M. Cioran
74
Paperback
$25.00
Arthur Schopenhauer
89
Paperback
$13.99
E. M. Cioran
314
Paperback
$13.39
Frederick Engels
255
Paperback
$5.95
Vladimir Ilich Lenin
370
Paperback
$5.45
Arthur Schopenhauer
207
Paperback
$13.88

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

George H. Smith is the author of the world's most popular book on nonbelief,Atheism: The Case Against God, and Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies.

Product details

Publisher : Prometheus; First Edition (June 1, 1990)
Language : English
Hardcover : 324 pages
ISBN-10 : 0879755776
ISBN-13 : 978-0879755775
Item Weight : 1.36 pounds
Dimensions : 6.33 x 1.11 x 9.31 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,737,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #977 in Atheism (Books)
- #1,476 in Philosopher Biographies
- #4,210 in Modern Philosophy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
10 ratings

Start reading Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Compra tu Kindle aquí, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Customer reviews

5 star		65%
4 star		12%
3 star		12%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		12%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

JoeCobb

This is a Great Book of Essays

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2015

Verified Purchase

This is another excellent book by George H. Smith. Everything I have read by him is brilliant. I love reading about the history of ideas and George H. Smith is a true scholar.

Helpful

Amazon Customer

An example of clear, thoughtful, and critical thinking.

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2014

Verified Purchase

Atheists need not defend their non-belief, just as they do not have to (nor can) prove that zxtchkis do not exist.

Helpful

A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS BY A REKNOWNED LIBERTARIAN ATHEIST

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2012

George Hamilton Smith (born 1949) is an American author, who has also taught classes under the auspices of the Cato Institute and the Institute for Humane Studies; and served as General Editor of Knowledge Products, and was scriptwriter for their "Great Political Thinkers" series. He has written other books such as Atheism: The Case Against God (Skeptic's Bookshelf) and Why Atheism? .

The essays in this 1991 collection are subdivided into three categories: Atheism; Ayn Rand; and Other Heresies (e.g., "Drug Consumers and Other Heretics," "Children's Rights in Political Philosophy," etc.).

In the opening essay, "My Path to Atheism," he recalls that Rand's lasting influence on him, as well as on thousands of other young people, was "to convince me... that ideas MATTER." (Pg. 30) He states that atheism is "not a belief; it is the absence of belief." The atheist is not a person who believes that a god does not exist; he does not believe in the existence of a god. (Pg. 183)

He rejects the "psychological atheism" of Freud and Feuerbach (i.e., that God is a "projection") on the grounds that they commit the genetic fallacy, which is the attempt to refute a belief through an examination of its psychological origins. (Pg. 185) He also criticizes linguistic philosophy: "Whereas medieval theologians made philosophy into the handmaiden of theology, analysts have transformed philosophy into the handmaiden of language." (Pg. 190)

He criticizes Rand for rarely quoting anyone except herself, and for actions such as criticizing John Rawls' book A Theory of Justice: Original Edition based on a book review, rather than actually reading the book. Smith comments, "Having herself been victimized by such tactics, one would have expected better from Rand." (Pg. 214-215)

Smith's observations are always thought-provoking, and well worth reading for any students of philosophy in general, or Objectivism or atheism in particular.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

David Kerr

An interesting collection of essays.

Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 1997

While I enjoyed immensely George H. Smith's book, 'Atheism: The Case Against God,' this book doesn't live up to it's predecessor especially at such a high price.

Most of the essays are excellent: 'My Path to Atheism,' 'Philosophies of Toleration,' 'The Righteous Persecution of Drug Consumers,' and 'Children's Rights in Political Philosophy' are a great read and the last one really made me think.

However, there are some questionable essays; one wonders what interest anyone would have in reading 'Frantz Fanon and Jonh Locke at Stanford'. One thing I found annoying were constant spelling errors scattered throughout - was this book edited? Another thing I could not figure out was whether Smith was a libertarian or an anarchist - he certainly has no problem with the privitization of the justice system, yet on the back of his first book he is described as an advocate of the libertarian view.

If you have some extra cash to spend and want to add this to your collection, get it! If you haven't already bought 'Atheism: The Case Against God' or 'Atheism: A Philosophical Justification' buy those instead.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Eric C. Welch

Interesting collection of essays

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2003

Heresy, Smith defines in his preface, is the rejection of the orthodox, and heresies are considered a threat to the established social order once the dogma of the institution (be it religious or otherwise) has become aligned with the power of the state or political force. The state, holding the reins of power, uses force, instead of persuasion, to enforce the orthodoxy. The Founding Fathers, most practicing Deists, itself a form of heretical thought, understood this and insisted on the separation of church and state, thus preventing the establishment of an official religion, preventing, they hoped, official heresies as well. Orthodoxy itself is not dangerous, only its alliance with political power. The central theme of Smith's book is the "crucial difference between the voluntary orthodoxy of organizations and the politicized orthodoxy of governments. "A free society, complete with orthodoxies and prejudices, is the best of all worlds for the heretic. Liberty permits the heretic to pit his beliefs against those of the orthodox majority." The paradox for the heretic is whether if and when his view becomes the dominant - to politicize the new orthodoxy or to permit liberty, which enabled the heretic to conquer ideologically, to possibly undermine the new orthodoxy?
Smith is unapologetically atheist; belief in God for Smith is simply unreasonable and irrational. Asked to prove the nonexistence of God, Smith's answer is simply that one cannot prove a negative and that the person who asserts the existence of something bears the burden of proof. He asserts that to believe in faith or to rely on faith is to "defy and abandon the judgment of one's mind. Faith conflicts with reason. It cannot give you knowledge; it can only delude you into believing that you know more than you really do. Faith is intellectually dishonest, and it should be rejected by every person of integrity.
The book is a loosely connected series of essays that discuss a variety of Christian and social heresies. He begins with his own philosophic journey to atheism. He is certainly a libertarian, and the essays on public education and the War on Drugs reflect that philosophy. But the reason I began this book was to discover his writing about Ayn Rand. He devotes two substantial chapters to her and the Objectivist philosophy.
Rand evokes fierce passions, both pro and con. "Accounts of Objectivism written by Rand's admirers are frequently eulogistic and uncritical, whereas accounts written by her antagonists are often hostile and what is worse, embarrassingly inaccurate." The situation has been made worse by her appointed heir to the throne, Leonard Peikoff, who has declared Objectivism to be a "closed" philosophy, i.e., no critical analysis will be tolerated; one must accept it as he says it is and that's that. Whether Objectivism will survive such narrow-mindedness remains to be seen. It's a classic case of the true believer "unwilling to criticize the deity. Thinking for oneself is hard work so true believers recite catechisms and denounce heretics instead." Typically, this was contrary to Rand's philosophy of individualism and critical, rational thinking where "truth or falsehood must be one's sole concern and the sole criterion of judgment -- not anyone's approval or disapproval."

37 people found this helpful

Helpful

Pages with related products. See and discover other items: george michael biography

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies Hardcover – June 1, 1990

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

More items to explore

Customers who bought this item also bought

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.