Beyond God

This book is the outcome of a decade-long quest into eastern and Western philosophy in the light of modern science. It is carefully written and provides the reader with the means to examine a number of arguments and perspectives drawing on major thinkers from East and West. The author takes the view that specific beliefs are less important than whether we appreciate our existence, what we do with it and how we choose to live. For him, the point of life is happiness, but he emphasises virtue in terms of living honestly, working hard and sharing with others. The first part explores the modern context including the nature of religion, evolution, evil, truth and free will. There is a short section on resolving to pursue enlightenment, which is followed by a series of chapters exploring many philosophical issues. He quotes Schopenhauer as saying that all genuine virtue proceeds from the immediate and intuitive knowledge of the metaphysical identity of all beings. This is not a quotation that I had read before, but I found it congenial. The tone of the book reminded me of Stoics, and in particular Marcus Aurelius: 'the wise attitude is always to retain the calm and balanced reflection that all a man can do is what he thinks is right at the time.' He also argues that the main part of achieving wisdom consists of doing, which includes striving to free ourselves from negative habits and emotions: 'not merely to think of the good, but to be and do good.' He rightly remarks that everything matters so that we should practise virtue in all things. A wise and considerate book.