Naturalism Without Foundations

Library Journal

Nielsen (philosophy emeritus, Univ. of Calgary) has written extensively on the subject of atheism (see, e.g., his Ethics Without God, 1973). In this work, part of which is based on the Prometheus Lectures given at the University of Buffalo in November 1991, Nielsen makes his strongest and most complete statement against theistic interpretations of the world, arguing instead for a thoroughgoing naturalism applicable to a range of philosophical endeavors. This is a complex and extremely well-argued work that should trouble those who make theistic pronouncements, as it goes a long way toward undermining their justifications for such pronouncements. The book closes with an argument for a form of nonscientific atheism. Recommended for all libraries with collections in philosophy or religion.Terry C. Skeats, Bishop's Univ. Lib., Lennoxville, Quebec

Booknews

Argues against a Christian philosophical orientation, faith-based fideistic accounts, and the more traditional varieties of natural theology, and develops a naturalistic philosophical account that avoids foundationalism without retreating from atheism. Contains sections on the foundations of a nonscientific historicized naturalism, social philosophy within the limits of reflective equilibrium alone, critical social theory and the fixation of belief, and toward a nonscientistic atheism. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.