ebooks How (Not) to Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor by James K. A. Smith in History

Review

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Great for thinking through society's unspoken assumptionsBy Adam OliverIt feels a bit strange to be so high on a book that appears to be adapted notes from undergraduate/graduate level class’ book discussion. Yes; I’d say that feels about right; reading this book is like sitting in on a few classroom sessions with James KA Smith; listening to him give you a pretty full walk-through of Taylor’s A Secular Age. As someone who loves that kind of learning environment; this book was right up my alley; but if that’s not really your style this book could be more of a challenge for you.Just a few highlights for me. Smith works through Taylor’s subversive intellectual history of Western Civilization as it attempts to undermine modern “subtraction theories” (that the modern world is just the old world after a God-ectomy). He maps the developments toward mature exclusive humanism as not inevitable; but resulting in many cases from developments within Christianity that are not faithful to the narrative of science displacing religion. The idea is that we can’t just subtract God from society without constructing an entirely new way of imagining life and significance and meaning. Exclusive humanism then; is not just society without all the God stuff; not just the neutral frame absent ancient or medieval mythology and superstition; it’s a whole new “take” on human life. Taylor’s somewhat apologetic tactic here is to paint exclusive humanism as a “take” in the same way that contemporary society considers Christianity a “take” to be criticized; evaluated; and accepted/rejected.He moves on to argue that this modern disenchanted world where exclusive humanism is the water we swim in can be at times less than satisfying; as many feel a kind of loss or doubt about meaning and significance absent transcendence. This creates a fundamental point for Taylor; the idea of “cross-pressure.” While everything around us focuses on the imminent; the here and now; there are still hints; hauntings; of transcendence that create this pressure on us. Somehow; many of our major strivings; goals; or achievements seem to lack something; to be more flat than they could be. Taylor is very big on this kind of gutsy; feeling type argument. Smith portrays him as dependent upon his readers’ sharing the vague feelings he describes as so essential to the modern world. Smith reinforces this by showing how this cross-pressures may be evidenced in literature and music that resonates with us. Living in a “cross-pressured” world is true for everyone; we feel pulled by the pressure to “grow up” and face the “reality” that transcendence is a myth and we must make meaning for ourselves; while still sometimes dealing with the internal call that there might be more “fullness” or “weight” to be had than just what can be humanly created and attained.Smith’s look at Taylor’s book can feel a bit apologetic to be sure; there are several points where it is clear that the aim is to “level the playing field” between exclusive humanism and Christianity by showing some of the primary criticisms lobbed at Christianity can also impinge upon exclusive humanism. One of the more significant sections deals with the question of whether Christianity/Exclusive Humanism better handles the “maximal demand": how to achieve our highest aspirations while not crushing the essentials of ordinary humanity. The ascetic and moral demands of religion easily fall upon this critique; but Smith/Taylor argue that humanism also may either underestimate capabilities of reform ("just victims" of environment) or may set the transformation bar too high allowing for a kinds of ends-justifying-means mode of achieving all that humanity could/should be. Smith/Taylor state that the playing field is level more than a few times; and I; even as a Christian; did not find myself fully convinced that it was actually level; though certainly more level than fundamentalist humanists would care to concede.In the end; this book provides a helpful window into the assumptions behind modern belief systems. If you can handle the sometimes apologetic tone; it provides some great questions of fundamentalisms (both Christian and humanist; though mostly of humanist). How do we as a society and as individuals deal with the big issues of shared morality; significance; and meaning in a world where religion is no longer anything like a default option? We need to examine our assumptions and this book is a good start for that.Highly recommend.36 of 39 people found the following review helpful. a book about a book as good as the bookBy Clint SchneklothNot every book about a book is a good book. This book about a book is not only a good book... it is a great book! Smith handily summarizes Charles Taylor's complex argument on secularity in his magnum opus; A Secular Age. You can read Smith's book as a chapter by chapter commentary on Taylor's book (it is that). But the book also stands alone as a summary presentation of Taylor's overall argument. It also stands alone as an introduction to secularity and contemporary philosophical reflection on it.In other words; you don't have to read Taylor while reading Smith. You can read Smith; and with great benefit.This book originated in a class Smith hosted with students; a focused reading of A Secular Age. Readers could do a lot worse than assemble a group of sympathetic souls; and read Smith and Taylor together over a summer or semester. On the other hand; if you've been curious about Taylor but intimidated by the heft of A Secular Age; Smith offers here a handy and wonderful primer.One of the most helpful parts of the book is Smith's glossary. He offers simple definitions of some of Taylor's technical terminology. I believe these will solidify some of the terminological discussions around Taylor's work. See the definition of things like Age of Authenticity; Buffered Self; Cross-Pressure; Social Imaginary; the Unthought; and Excarnation.This is a handy; helpful; and wonderful short read. You will not be disappointed.84 of 88 people found the following review helpful. Making a Genius More AccessibleBy David George MooreI say "more accessible" because this is hardly A Secular Age for Dummies. Charles Taylor's massive and dense book is tough sledding. I have not read much of it; but am certainly familiar with the work of Taylor.In How (Not) to Be Secular; Jamie Smith brings the intellectual cookies to a lower shelf; but don't be fooled; serious thinking is still required. Smith respects his readers by providing an accessible; yet thoughtful distillation of one of the most consequential books of our day.Instead of doing a typical book review; let me briefly mention six things I appreciated about this book:*The writing style is elegant and engaging. Let me give one example from page 11: "Ardor and devotion cannot undo the shift in plausibility structures that characterizes our age." This is wonderfully conceived; but it is also pregnant with implications.*There is a judicious use of illustrations from literature; music; and movies.*Since I am not a dispassionate reader on the subject of doubt (I know the struggle to believe firsthand); I am grateful for the insights on living in this unusual climate of secularism.*The author is careful to understand his subject matter. A good example is the compassionate assessment of the troubled genius; David Foster Wallace. Smith does not offer a glib critique of Wallace's writings. Wallace is looked at seriously; even one could say; sympathetically. To be sure; Smith does not agree with Wallace's overall philosophy; but Smith does a good job of showing how others have missed salient features of Wallace's approach.*Smith clearly appreciates Charles Taylor's overall project in A Secular Age. However; that does not impede Smith from offering important pushbacks and critiques.*Both Smith and Taylor understand that a silly; sentimental; and Sunday School-ish type of faith is hardly enough to stave off the onslaughts of secularism. Smith does a good job of showing how foolish it is to abandon the Christian faith for the "mature" position of materialism. Rather; we ought to abandon the trivial or superficial beliefs of American Christianity.