1. Hitching a Ride with Arthur Dent. 2. Setting the Record Straight. 3. Snapshots from History. 4. Facts and Figures. 5. Common Complaints. 6. Reasons and Arguments. 7. On the Road Again. What to Read Next. Glossary of Key Terms. Bibliography. Index.
Graham Oppy is Professor of Philosophy at Monash University, Australia.
'This is an important, and notably even-handed, contribution to our
understanding of atheism and atheists. It is fascinating,
eye-opening, admirably careful, and always clear.'Russell
Blackford, University of Newcastle, Australia'Oppy provides a
concise, informative, and highly engaging introduction to the
subject, dispelling many of the most common misconceptions about
atheism and atheists. The biographical profiles of notable atheists
in world history bring out the human side of atheism. If you are
looking for a brief introduction to atheism, you cannot do better
than this book.'Neil A. Manson, University of Mississippi, USA'This
is an intriguing, fact-filled book that anyone interested in
atheism and theism ought to read. Oppy is one of atheism’s foremost
academic defenders and this book provides a succinct and accessible
introduction to his thinking. Highly recommended.'Stephen Law,
Heythrop College, University of London, UK'All in all, Oppy’s book
is well written, lively and—for the most part—concise and
accessible. The book does cover much, if not most, of the basics of
atheism (as the series claims), and the inclusion of a glossary of
key terms as well as suggestions for further reading make for a
good starting point. 'Maartje Gortworst, Utrecht University,
Netherlands
This is a very good proposal. It provides a clear raison d’etre for
the book: to be educative rather than to advance either a pro- or
anti-atheist position, and to raise the tone of debate in a rather
emotive area. It also explains how this aim is to be achieved: by
carefully distinguishing atheism from other positions with which it
tends to be conflated. It is particularly valuable to distinguish
atheism from both anti-religious and naturalist views.One
attractive feature is that it covers a variety of approaches to the
topic - historical, political and philosophical – though I would
guess the last of these would predominate in what one might think
of as the heart of the book: chapters 4 and 5.It’s good that the
chapters build up to what then can be a sophisticated and informed
analysis of how the contemporary theist/atheist debate over atheism
is conducted.the main audience will I think be more likely to be
undergraduates, for which this book would make an extremely
suitable background text for introductory courses in the philosophy
of religion or theology – one or both of which will be offered by
philosophy or theology & religious departments, too numerous to
listThe chapters are all appropriate, and are usefully
ordered.Strongly recommend publicationRecommended readingLawrence
J. Jost, University of Cincinnati, USA. I believe that the proposal
is sound in the main and would be a valuable addition to the texts
now available.I should think the main audience would be
undergraduates in courses on atheism itself (rather rarely taught
as such but I do teach such a course and would welcome this
edition) and, of course, philosophy of religion classes.I think
that the book sounds suitable for beginners and I have tried to
indicate a very few suggestions for improving it, viz. more on late
20th C. discussion and the problem of evil. I also think that there
should be a discussion of meaning and purpose in life and why
atheism has a more sophisticated approach to these questions than
does traditional theism. Recommend Publication Required
reading/essential purchaseFrom my reading of other work by Oppy I
would say that he is a top-notch expert in the field and his entry
into the field of basic works for beginners would be very welcome
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