For centuries books have changed lives. Some even improved
lives.This book provides an historical sketch of mankind's path
during the past four millennia with a focus on mankind's use of
faith and reason as faculties to guide life. Along this path there
have been endless efforts to guide human lives; some even sought to
reduce the brutishness of humans. Among the early efforts to
encourage civility in human behavior were tenets, doctrines of
faith-based religions. With faith, as used in this copy, one
accepts without question doctrines and tenets of a religion. Later
along mankind's path, reason developed as a faculty enabling one to
question, to seek truths and to use integrity, ethics and morality
to do what is right.As in any path, there are increments of
progress, steps, which serve as landmarks along the way. Reason,
with rational thinking, got a foothold in the second millennium
BCE, beginning a transfer by mankind in using reason rather than
faith as a faculty to guide human life. The text describes some of
the more progressive, landmark steps by 11 historical figures in
the path of mankind illustrating advantages of reason as a faculty
to guide one's life. Many instances could mark the beginning of
this path, but the one selected for the copy is the story of
Abraham. With this person, beginning in Mesopotamia, the path
traverses westward to the life of Thomas Paine in Paris, London and
Philadelphia.The objective in this copy is to help the reader
comprehend these progressive steps in utilizing reason rather than
faith as a faculty to guide one's life and to correct intolerance,
injustice and other brutishness of humanity. Relevant historical
information on the notable humans taking these steps, and on their
times, hopefully will provide useful illumination for the steps
described. Key Lines from Reviews of Steps, Faith to Reason "White
examines how men from Abraham and Seneca to Voltaire and Thomas
Paine helped 'establish the use of reason rather than faith as a
guide for mankind.'" ..".Steps, Faith to Reason is nothing short of
the history of Western thought condensed into a single, easily
understood volume." Steps, Faith to Reason]..."represents the
author's sober assessment of the intellectual path humanity has
taken from theocracy to secularity, from the ubiquity of religion
to the use of scientific thought." Steps, Faith to
Reason]..."offers a guide to the ways mankind has used faith and
reason as a guiding light over the past four millennia." Paragraph
Constructed from Three Reviews by ForeWord Clarion, BlueInk and
Kirkus Indie of the Book, Steps, Faith to Reason Fear, with fear of
death above all others, was the first mother of the gods. From this
line, credited to Lucretius (a Roman philosopher in the century
just before Christ), Steps, Faith to Reason provides a very
readable history of increments of progress (steps) by mankind in
the past four millennia in shifting from faith to reason as the
facility to guide one's life. The steps of progress described begin
with the Biblical account of Abraham, continuing with descriptions
of progress by ten notable philosophers, from Socrates to Thomas
Paine. The author, realizing that the choice between these two
faculties is for each human, does not deride religious faith. He
describes the progress by mankind in preferring rational thought,
thereby, facilitating the march of rationalism...utilizing reason
as the guide for life.
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