The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism - Hardcover

Feser, Edward

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1587314517 ISBN 13: 9781587314513

Publisher: St. Augustine's Press, 2008

Synopsis

Argues that "new atheism" is based on an unfounded "mechanical" view of the world and the "teleological" vision of the ancient philosophers is rationally vindicated.

About this title

About the Author:

Called by National Review "one of the best contemporary writers on philosophy," Edward Feser teaches philosophy at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. He is the author of On Nozick, Philosophy of Mind: A Short Introduction, and Locke, and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Hayek. He has also written for such publications as City Journal, Crisis, National Review, and New Oxford Review.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* New Atheists Richards Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris get their comeuppance from philosopher Feser in the spirit with which they abuse believers. “Their books stand out for their manifest ignorance” of the Western religious tradition, he says, “and for the breathtaking shallowness of their philosophical analysis of religious matters.” Far better than such no-quarters rhetoric, however, are the review of pre-Aristotelian philosophy and the summary of Aristotelian metaphysics and Thomas Aquinas’ refinements of Aristotle that make up the heart, soul, and bulk of the book. Feser chooses to argue from Aristotle because he was not arguing from any religious perspective and because Aristotle’s logic, his rationality, hasn’t been improved upon or refuted by modern philosophy. Aristotle’s proof that there is a prime mover or pure being—God—remains solid. Ignoramuses like the four horsemen of the apostasy, whose factual errors, half-truths, and mischaracterization Feser highlights with contemptuous glee, “refute” Aristotle only by changing the playing field from metaphysics to science, from philosophical realism to materialism. With energy and humor as well as transparent exposition, Feser reestablishes the unassailable superiority of classical philosophy. --Ray Olson

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Augustine's Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1587314517
• ISBN 13: 9781587314513
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 312