:: Media Times Review Blog ::

Patricia S. Churchland, American Scientist

The Ethical Brain. Michael S. Gazzaniga. xx + 201 pp. Dana Press, 2005.

Envision this scene: Socrates sits in prison, calmly awaiting execution, passing the time in philosophical discussions with students and friends, taking the occasion to inquire into the fundamentals of ethics: Where do moral laws come from? What is the root of moral motivation? What is the relation between power and morality? What is good? What is just?

Ronald Bailey, Reason

Jared Diamond’s new book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, is neither “superb” (The New Statesman), “incisive” (The Washington Post), “magisterial” (BusinessWeek), nor “insightful and very important” (Boston Herald). It is, instead, a telling example of how a smart man can be terribly misled by a fixation on one big idea. In this case, Diamond, a biologist, is trying to apply biology’s master narrative to human societies.

Søren Kierkegaard: A Biography
By Joakim Garff, Translated by Bruce H. Kirmmse, Princeton University Press.

Reviewed by Gregory R. Beabout, First Things

When Søren Kierkegaard lay dying in Copenhagen 150 years ago, it would have been hard to predict the influence his work would later have. European Christendom already appeared to be in terminal decay, and Kierkegaard’s main purpose as a writer was to awaken his readers and to convince them of the necessity, and difficulty, of radical Christian discipleship. At his death he had good reasons to doubt whether his work would have much effect on future readers.

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
Thomas L. Friedman

Edited transcript of remarks, 04/06/05 Carnegie Council Books for Breakfast (Merrill House, New York City).

JOANNE MYERS: Good morning. I’m Joanne Myers, Director of Merrill House Programs. On behalf of the Carnegie Council, I would just like to thank you all for joining us on this very special morning.

Tom Friedman is our speaker, and his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, will be available for you to purchase at the end of the program today.