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If you or someone you know finds "Is there a God?" more accessible than "metaphysics" and an important question then you just might love this book. The book does not intend to be 'dummed down' - in fact, there is a desire to blend a plain language approach to treating readers with respect - no one enjoys feeling condescended to, do they?
The idea here is to set the basics forth in a way that people feel they can really get somewhere with philosophy when they have worked through it. Designed more after the manner of a manual, principles are taught in direct relation to cases and events, and as ways of tackling questions. For some readers, this will be more than enough. For others, the work will give people clarity about which branch of philosophy to pursue further.
Is There a God? - How do we know anything? - What is right & wrong? - are just 3 examples of questions the book addresses.
Without pretense, the book has grown from an author trained in the Western philosophical tradition. That has strengths and weaknesses and is a definite 'point of view' in the grand scheme of things. The author trained at university and had no idea she was a philosopheress but was pleasantly shocked by what a great match she and philosophy were.
It went so well that she ended up with both a BS and the PD/ MA offered in the field, all Western philosophy. Over the years she has also bothered to just put the books down and think things through and live life and see how all that reading fit with reality. After quite a long time, and having done a little work in philosophy but also a variety of other things she also gained some experience writing professionally as a contract writer. This book is the first nonfiction book of which she is the author. She hopes it helps readers with the same devotion to readers that good teachers have to their students.
The author is not an enemy of the Eastern way of philosophy but aside from Allen Watts and a Taoist poem and other snippets here and there the level of knowledge is far too low to write anything beyond a little essay - and it should probably go through a teacher before it gets sent to an editor, if you get the idea. This being the truth, Eastern philosophy is mentioned in the book but the author believes it is the better part of valour to not make false pretenses to knowledge. Trust me, if I want to make things up, I'll just write you more fiction. There is one novel and some short stories available if you don't care whether or not it is true.
In truth, it is hoped that nonfiction and fiction can be separated: this is often easy but at times terribly tricky, and that both can be enjoyed.
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