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Arnold Joseph Toynbee

Daisaku Ikeda

Choose life: A dialogue Hardcover – January 1, 1976

by Arnold Joseph Toynbee (Author)

4.7 38 ratings

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Hardcover, January 1, 1976

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348pages. in8. Relié.

Print length

348 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

January 1, 1976
ISBN-10

0192152580
ISBN-13

978-0192152589
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Abraham Verghese
34,134
Hardcover
in Cultural Heritage Fiction
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Arnold J. Toynbee
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4.7 out of 5

38 global ratings

2 star

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Carlos Barba

One of the best philosophical books I've read

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2013

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This books offers the unique approach of taking a peek to still up to date social behaviors and trends from a western christian and an oriental budist point of view.

Even though the book was written during the cold war years, much of its content still remains current as well as most of the issues it exposes. Helps to clear up many things with a refreshing approach as well as renew some hope to possible fixes to the most common human problems

6 people found this helpful

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Mary Nelson

East meets West in agreement

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2020

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Dialogue between Toynbee & Ikeda shows our similarities greater than our differences, even when we’re from two different cultures

One person found this helpful

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Meng Hua Yang

a book you can't miss!

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2011

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this is an incredible book full of knowledge and deep thought about our life and society of today. if one tenth of the whole population could read it, our earth and nature would be saved! this is a book you can not miss in your life!

3 people found this helpful

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Lillian Zedalis

quality

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2019

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no wear or tear good condition

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Bonnie1030

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2015

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A great book that unlock many questions about life.

2 people found this helpful

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Joe

Great book!

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2010

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I know this is a great book that you must read, if you have passion on knowing the matter of facts.

books.google.com/books?id=PGCc5hT0gFkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=ikeda&ie=ISO-8859-1&cd=3&source=gbs_gdata#v=onepage&q&f=false

ikedabooks.org/choose_life.html

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J. Yuri Young

an epic, inspiring dialogue between two leading experts in their fields

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2018

This is an epic dialogue, spanning years, by two inspiring experts in their fields. I can’t really say it better, so here is the description from the publisher, including excerpts from newspaper reviews of the book:
For over two years, historian Arnold J. Toynbee and religious leader Daisaku Ikeda exchanged views on a wide range of topics, probing for answers to the urgent as well as the perennial questions that confront humanity’s existence. From the personal to the international and the political to the philosophical, every sphere of human nature and interaction was vigorously discussed by these two men, who, though of different cultures and traditions, shared the same commitment to the value of human life and the biosphere that sustains it.
While their exchanges occurred in London in the 1970s, the insights they offer are timeless and relevant, providing both a panorama and a vital framework for understanding the choices and interlinked issues facing humanity in the 21st century.
Toynbee, raised in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and Ikeda, a product of East Asian culture and a Buddhist, agree on the dilemma facing the individual and society: self-mastery or self-destruction. This challenge underlies humanity’s task in responding to the many global concerns we face, which include population growth, dwindling natural resources, armed conflict and life with technology.
The exchanges culminate in an examination of the spiritual life of the human being—the sphere from which meaning and a sense of value derive—and the role it plays in the directionality of all human endeavors. If planetary existence is threatened by our capacity for destruction, then constructive change must be the effective counterbalance.
"Changes of institutions,” Toynbee and Ikeda agree, “are effective only insofar as they are symptoms and consequences of the spiritual self-transformation of the persons whose relations with each other are the network that constitutes human society."
Edited by Richard L. Gage, Choose Life contributes to the ongoing debate on the sustainability of modern civilization.
While the Oxford University Press edition of Choose Life has been discontinued, U.K. publisher I.B. Tauris re-issued the work in late-2007 as part of a 12-volume series-to be released over a three-year period-of some 50 dialogues that Ikeda has published with international leaders and scholars on subjects ranging from religion, politics, economics, science and the arts. In addition to the Japanese and English editions, Choose Life has been translated into numerous other languages.

CONTENTS
Preface
I PERSONAL AND SOCIAL LIFE
THE BASIC HUMAN BEING
Some of Our Animal Aspects
Heredity and Environment
Mind and Body
The Subconscious
Reason and Intuition

THE ENVIRONMENT
Oneness of Man and Nature
Natural and Man-made Disasters
Urban Problems
Returning to Rural Areas
Imminent Doom
Ending Environmental Pollution

THE INTELLECT
Education
Literature’s Influence
Intellectuals and the Masses
Intellectual and Artistic Involvement
Limits of the Scientific Intellect

HEALTH AND WELFARE
Practitioners of the Healing Art
Organ Transplantation
Medical Treatment: Scientific and Total
Assisting the Aged
GNP or Gross National Welfare
The Profession of Motherhood
Breeding to the Limit

MAN AS THE SOCIAL ANIMAL
The Labor Movement
Leisure and Its Uses
Sense of Value in Social Organization
Allegiance to Organizations
The Establishment and the Generation Gap
Neutrality of the Mass Media
Restrictions on Freedom of the Press
Abolition of the Death Penalty
Suicide and Euthanasia

II POLITICAL AND INTERNATIONAL LIFE

THE SECOND HALF OF THIS CENTURY
The United States
The Space Exploration Race
Japan and Britain
No Candidate for King
Demise of the Local State
Countries Susceptible to Communism
World-embracing Patriotism

ARMS AND WAR
Economic Growth and War
Peaceful Utilization of Atomic Power
Proxy Wars and Asia
Self-defense and the Japanese Constitution
Future Police Forces
The Nature and Future of War

CHOOSING A POLITICAL SYSTEM
Qualities of a Good Leader
Safeguards against Fascism
The Nature, Means, and Ends of Power
Democracy or Dictatorship
Democracy or Meritocracy

ONE WORLD
International Currency
East Asia’s Role
Japan’s Contribution to the Future
From Bipolarity to Multipolarity
World Unification

III PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE
THE NATURE OF THINGS
Origin of Life
The Question of Eternal Life
The Universe
Intelligent Beings on Other Planets
Beyond Waves and Subatomic Particles
Religious Approaches to Ultimate Reality
The Buddhist Approach

ROLES RELIGION PLAYS
Religion as the Source of Vitality
Three Western Religions
Returning to Pantheism

GOOD AND EVIL
The Mixture of Good and Evil
Dealing with Desires
The Meaning of Fate
Defining True Progress
Love and Conscience
Compassion as Practicable Love
Expanding the Sphere of Love
The Highest Human Value

REVIEWS
“Roaming across a vast field…an often engrossing tapestry of fact and opinion.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“To obtain such a highly erudite cross section of Western and Eastern views on so wide a variety of social, philosophical, religious and political problems is a rare and rewarding literary treat.”
—The Natal Mercury (Durban, South Africa)

“In other books, lectures and articles…Ikeda has advocated a world food bank, cutbacks in defense expenditures, and nuclear disarmament. His most consuming passion is the creation of an international people-to-people crusade against war.”
—TIME Magazine

“Daisaku Ikeda is a muscular Buddhist, and administrator who tackles the problem of world peace with all the industry, optimism and persistence of a successful businessman… He is the head of Soka Gakkai, a Buddhist lay organization which believes in improving man’s lot now, not in some misty afterlife.”
—John Roderick, AP

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As a side note, you will sometimes see people refer to the SGI as a “cult” and be deeply suspicious of Daisaku Ikeda. Although a healthy skepticism regarding religious figures is a good thing, it is also important to look at their achievements over time, the difference they have made in the world, and do respectable people respect them and their work – do they stand the test of time? Dr. Ikeda has 378 academic honors from respected universities around the world because of his peace work including Martin Luther King’s alma matter Morehouse College, more than 760 honorary citizenships from cities, states and local governments around the world, great friendships and dialogues for peace with hundreds of notable figures around the world including Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Wangari Maathai, Arnold Toynbee, Elise Boulding, Anwarul K. Chowdhury and many more. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize multiple times and has hundreds of honors from around the world. The United States House of Representatives and individual states including Georgia, Missouri, and Illinois have passed resolutions honoring the service and dedication of Daisaku Ikeda as one "who has dedicated his entire life to building peace and promoting human rights through education and cultural exchange with deep conviction in the shared humanity of our entire global family." If you look at his Wiki page you will see much of his incredible lifetime of work, not only as an individual but as the representative of millions of SGI members also working for peace and justice in their communities around the globe through self empowerment and a profound respect for all life.

4 people found this helpful

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Hongjin Zhu

A book cannot be missed

Reviewed in Canada on February 15, 2014

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A very enlightening and thoughtful book with simple words and sentences. The subjects are of great importance and deserve constant thinking and attention. Some of the ideas even change my view of the world and my life.

Bruno Achilles Goffin

Masterpiece

Reviewed in Spain on September 22, 2016

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This book is not only a beautifully made object, but it is also a masterpiece, although the interviews took place between 1972 and 1974.
Daisaku Ikeda is still alive and kicking but Toynbee left for another life. Thanks to this book we can still learn from his wisdom. Bruno Goffin

Lauramae1985

Great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 14, 2013

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This is amazing book, which covers all aspects of todays life problems. It is a conversation of two very amazing men and I had great joy, reading this book.

3 people found this helpful

平達

残念

Reviewed in Japan on May 5, 2016

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表紙の池田大作氏の写真に傷がつけてあった。傷は目と首の所だ。イギリス人はこんなことをする人がいると残念だった。

2 people found this helpful

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Sara Carson-Smith

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2015

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Inspiring

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