Convictions

Challenges liberals and conservatives alike, as Hook pierces to the heart of momentous issues: human rights, racial equality, cultural freedom, and the separation of ethical behavior from religious belief.

This posthumous collection of essays captures as well as anything Hook's remarkable ability to examine principles in their concrete contexts. Hook believed not only that critical intelligence can expose fuzzy concepts and intellectual sham but that it enables us to break the hold of habitual thought and to envisage and appraise new possibilities and their consequences. The book includes essays on suicide, euthanasia, and death; liberal education, academic freedom, and Western culture; and on the views of influential academics, some of whom debate with Hook. Whatever subject he addresses, his clarity, rigor, and perspective exemplify the highest intellectual standard that can be brought to the discussion of these issues. Reading this book with an open mind cannot but clarify our own beliefs about them, whether or not we come to agree with Hook. Highly recommended.
- Robert Hoffman, York Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.