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Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism (American Ideals & Institutions) Hardcover – June 3, 2013

4.7 out of 5 stars 34 customer reviews

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Product Details

  • Series: American Ideals & Institutions (Book 1)
  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute; F First Edition Colectible. edition (June 3, 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1610170709
  • ISBN-13: 978-1610170703
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This book is an excellent resource to introduce and outline the arguments for reasoned moral judgments in both personal and public life.

I didn't realize when I ordered it that some of the material had been previously published. There is, however, new material and much of the previously published material has been revised. After reading it through, I am glad the older material was incorporated because it's nice to have the relevant essays all in one place, some I had not read before and the ones I had, I remember not wanting to lose track of.( I had printed some of them out and, of course, subsequently misplaced them.)

It is not long-260 pages, and while I wished he would've expounded on some points a bit more especially when discussing natural law and the principles of practical reasoning [ I had read Finnis' Moral Absolutes and another book RPG edited of Grisez's work, so I had already been introduced to it, but I could've used a review. ], I think an introductory book like this is perfect to establish the validity of his premise in order to show people that many of the things they have always believed (or suspected, or hoped) instinctively are in fact fully supported by reason. This understanding is likely to be greatly heartening in light of the contrary messages in today's politics and culture, and will no doubt inspire many to read further in their pursuit of Truth.

Full disclosure: I loved RPG's book Making Men Moral and actually everything of his I have ever read, so I am not a "neutral" reviewer. I am a huge fan. =)
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Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Robert George, one of the premier minds when it comes to jurisprudence and ethics lays out a logical path to recapturing the moral foundations of our nation. Always thoughtful, George represents views that have been lost in the rush to progressive thought. He supplies a dose of high-end common sense that may bring the conversation back to productive themes.
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this book. Robert P. George takes on the liberal assumptions that are stifling thought in modern culture with careful reasoned argument. Reading these essays will give many others thoughtful responses to the arguments of the modern liberal agenda, especially where abortion and end of life issues come into play. A good deal of the book focuses on same sex marriage, and points out some fundamental flaws with thinking that marriage is about romantic love. I'm not sure I can quite agree with everything he has to say in those arguments about the nature of marriage though. Despite himself, I think he betrays Roman Catholic notions of marriage, which I as a Christian don't find compatible with the biblical notions of marriage, and as an American don't find helpful for a religiously plural society. And that is not to say that I'm on the other side of the fence from him on that topic. Just not sure I agree with all his reasoning there. All that aside, he gives you a meal of thought to chew on for a while.
I especially liked his discussion of the ethics and morals upon which The United States was founded and why these are worthy of our respect today and need to be guarded, especially helpful was his discussion of the Supreme Court and the making of an oligarchy.
Also enjoyable were the biographical sketches at the end of the book discussing the legacies of infamous and famous political thinkers in the Twentieth Century. All in all, a very good book, surprisingly easy and refreshing to read.
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Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
This important book is more a "must have," not just a "must-read." In treating the major social public policies of the day, Prof George has compiled in each case a summary of conservative arguments and rebuttals that is important to have at hand, given that counter arguments to progressive social positions are often not allowed to be presented in today's media environment, lest one be accused of bigotry. Secondly, this book is occassionally hard going, develing deeply into ethical, philosophical, legal, and medical foundations of his positions. Nice to have the text available to refresh one's memory.

The book is organized in four sections, the first three address: fundamentals of what makes a decent society (short answer: respect for the human person, the family, and a fair and effective government); secondly, morality, mainly about government incursion into religious spheres, such as same sex marriage; and lastly, life (abortion, stem cells, euthanasia).

The last section consists of short biographical comments on the life and works of people who play or have played a major role in current events. Some of these are darkly amusing. For example, Harry Blackmun (mainly responsible for Roe v Wade) treated abortion solely as a medical treatment. Why? For one, a major part of his career had been as legal counsel for the Mayo Clinic!

I "only" gave it four stars because of the depth of some of the treatment may make it a hard read, though this was probably unavoidable given the level of detail required to address some topics (e.g., the question of where life begins). George does an excellent job where such detail is not required, as in his civil evisceration of Mario Cuomo's argument that citizens that are religious must not oppose abortion because their position has a religious basis.
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