Synopses & Reviews
Like John Dewey, his mentor and friend, Sidney Hook shares the classic conception of philosophy as the pursuit of wisdom. A philosopher is concerned ultimately with the conception of the good life in a good society.
In these essays extending over many years, Hook illustrates the activity of the philosopher in the cave of social life. He brings to bear the tools of reflective analysis on dominant social and political issues: human rights; the role of personality and leadership in history; the attempt to defend freedom as we seek to preserve and extend the welfare state; and a criticism of the common premise of historical materialism shared by both Marxists and their opponents.
Most significantly, Hook addresses the relation between morality and religion and the place of religion in democratic society. A secular and naturalistic humanism, he contends, generates an authentic, reliable commitment to the democratic faith.
Review
Perhaps it is because his own critical writings have remained so firmly attached to the practical experience that Mr. Hook, always the pragmatist, has proven [in these twenty-one essays] to be a more reliable guide to the issues of our time than some of his more celebrated philosophical contemporaries.”Stefan Kanfer, Time
Review
At 78, Sidney Hook
ought to be seen for what he is: a natural resource, a kind of philosophical Mississippi.”Jeanne Wacker Sobran, National Review
Review
Throughout his extraordinary career, which spans more than half a century, Mr. Hook has addressed his fellow citizens on virtually every major issue of public concern. He continues to do so with undiminished clarity and conviction.”Carl Gershman, The Wall Street Journal
A towering moral figure in American intellectual life for half a century
because from the 1930s on, he has been one of the intellectual communitys most courageous fighters in behalf of freedom. His kind of intellectual courage was and still is a rarity in the Academy.”Arnold Beichman, The American Spectator
The central theses of Philosophy and Public Policy prove throughout a career of combat, Sidney Hooks hackles and gorge have always risen to the occasion. Those who shrink from confrontation should stay clear of such reactive power. Only thinkers need apply. For them, as Alfred North Whitehead observed, a clash of Doctrines is not a disaster. It is an opportunity.”Stefan Kanfer, Time
Synopsis
LikeJohn Dewey, his mentor and friend, Sidney Hook shares the classic conception of philosophy as the pursuit of wisdom. A philosopher is concerned ultimately with the conception of the good life in a good society.
In these essays extending over many years, Hook illustrates the activity of the philosopher in the cave of social life. He brings to bear the tools of reflective analysis on dominant social and political issues: human rights; the role of personality and leadership in history; the attempt to defend freedom as we seek to preserve and extend the welfare state; and a criticism of the common premise of historical materialism shared by both Marxists and their opponents.
Most significantly, Hook addresses the relation between morality and religion and the place of religion in democratic society. A secular and naturalistic humanism, he contends, generates an authentic, reliable commitment to thedemocratic faith.
About the Author
Sidney Hook is Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace.
Table of Contents
Philosophy and public policy -- Law and anarchy -- The concept and realities of power -- Intelligence, morality, and foreign policy -- Reflections on human rights -- The social democratic prospect -- Capitalism, socialism, and freedom -- The ethics of controversy -- Are there limits to freedom of expression? -- The rights of the victims -- Reverse discrimination -- The hero in history : myth, power, or moral ideal? -- The relevance of John Dewey's thought -- Leon Trotsky and the cunning of history -- Toynbee's city of God -- A talk with Vinoba Bhave -- Bertrand Russell and crimes against humanity -- The scoundrel in the looking glass -- The case of Alger Hiss -- Religion and culture : the dilemma of T.S. Eliot -- Religion and culture : a reply by Jacques Maritain -- Religion and society : a rejoinder -- The autonomy of the democratic faith.