Those who despair of our age will find in this stimulating book
heartening answers to their questions about the fate of Western
civilization and indications of the course humanity should follow
if it is to save itself and the world. The course is not new.
According to Ayres, it is the same course that humanity has taken
from the dawn of history, but with too many detours in pursuit of
false values. It is the course that has brought us to the point of
civilization where we now stand-the course of developing knowledge
and expanding truth, of our increasing ability to exploit nature
for our own welfare. From the earliest stick tool-through the
invention of the wheel, the Industrial Revolution, and the
marvelous scientific and technological developments of the space
age-science and technology, knowledge and skill, have enabled
humankind to create for itself an increasingly better life. But
with this development has come a sense of conflict between our
secular culture and our traditional values, a conflict requiring a
reevaluation of values. This reevaluation is the subject of Ayres'
book. His theme is that the abiding values are those relating to
the common human experience shared by all peoples, those values
deriving from the quest for knowledge, from the never-ending
struggle to harness the forces of nature to human use. They are
measured in terms of a standard of value that has the same meaning
for all people. And they have their validity in the
cause-and-effect relationship basic to all human reasoning and to
the oneness and interrelatedness of all life. Toward a Reasonable
Society is a defense of industrial culture. It is a creative work,
drawing upon numerous areas of knowledge-ethics, sociology,
economics, anthropology, history, philosophy, psychology, biology,
music, the graphic arts, mathematics, the physical sciences-to show
the uniformities and the unchangeables in the oneness of human
life. It is an attack upon nostalgia and a defense of current arts,
crafts, knowledge, wisdom, and individual character. It is an
inspiring definition of freedom, equality, security, abundance, and
other values of a democratic society. In being all these things it
assumes a point of view that looks toward the future. And it is
exciting reading. The author's closely reasoned discourse leads
with inevitable progress from one chapter to the next, with
something like the suspense of a detective story. Each chapter is
an intellectual episode leaving the reader with an eagerness to see
what the next development will be. The concreteness of the numerous
examples enhances the clarity of the prose. The compelling note is
optimism for the future in further development of the industrial
society that has achieved the most successful way of life humankind
has ever known.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(3)
(2)
