Amuse Bouche and Other Updates
Just to remind people of what I have been up to of late and what I plan for the near future (and a book that might be right up your alleys). Let's start with the now. I have just released a book called The Family Book of Word of the Day. For a Year. Every Year. Forever. (UK)
For each day of the year, a word is provided, along with a definition, and example of how the word might be used, and a comment from the author - an interesting fact associated with the word, some etymology (word history) or some irreverent banter!
I am really happy with the first review on there - nicely done!
5.0 out of 5 stars Yum yum!!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 25, 2020Verified Purchase
A book full of fun and wonder. I had an English teacher at school (in the sixties) called Mrs Boyd, she was from Northern Ireland and she loved words. She loved them so much that she would often exhort us to 'taste that beautiful word... roll it around your tongue, isn't it just grand!) What a beautiful language we have. Johnny Pearce has gathered together some of the tastiest, most mouthwatering and simply scrumptious words and mixed them together to make an etymological amuse bouche. I bought this book for my grandchildren but I think I may just savour it for a while......Bon
Anywho, it's there for your delectation; please help me out by grabbing a copy.
I have also been writing the sequel to my first fiction book that was actually about...a pandemic. Survival of the Fittest: Metamorphosis (UK) was the first in the series and I am just consulting over the manuscript that is broadly finished, though needs some fleshing out, called SOTF: Adaptation.
The sequel follows all the characters as they are drawn inexorably closer to each other in the aftermath of a global pandemic. I try to fuse the narrative with nuggets of philosophy. That's how I roll.
Finally, I have just been involved in a couple of books by other authors. Science & Spirituality: An Introduction for Students, Secular People & the Generally Curious (UK) is an introduction to atheism, scientific naturalism and humanism.
"Science and Spirituality is a refreshing introduction to the non-religious scientific worldview. Joseph Berger offers clarity to how religious and irreligious ideas do or do not entwine with science, making these complex topics accessible without opinion. This book is the perfect place to start in one's journey to better understand the role of religion and science in shaping our view of one another and the world."- Kristin Wintermute, Director of Education at the American Humanist Association
More recently, I was involved in the critique of natural law theory and the work of Thomas Aquinas and Edward Feser. The Unnecessary Science: A Critical Analysis of Natural Law Theory (UK). Laird's book is a superb, detailed refutation of the philosophy invoked by these heavy hitters of Christian thought. The Foreword is written by The Secular Outpost's Bradley Bowen, who said of it:
“...an intellectual banquet of concepts, principles, arguments, and skeptical objections concerning religion and morality that draws upon the ideas of two of the greatest philosophers of western thought: Aristotle and Aquinas—as clarified and defended by the modern Catholic philosopher Ed Feser. Laird provides an antidote to Feser’s conservative Catholic views...” - Bradley Bowen, The Secular Outpost
The Unnecessary Science is a necessary contribution to the debate over natural law theory in contemporary moral, metaphysical, and legal contexts. The intellectual foundations of natural law theory were laid by Aristotle, expanded by Thomas Aquinas, and refined by modern proponents such as Edward Feser. It is with all three of these thinkers that Gunther Laird takes issue.
This book is a meticulous critique of natural law theory, as proposed by these philosophers, with Laird pointing out myriad issues with the theory as pertaining to ethics (sexual and otherwise), essences, religion, philosophy of change, and the existence of God, among many other subjects. For anyone wondering what is wrong with both modern and ancient conceptions of natural law theory, this book is an essential read. For those comfortable in their belief in natural law theory, this book is equally as essential to understanding the strongest arguments of the theory’s foes. Laird's book is the perfect foil to the writing of Feser, Aquinas and other natural law adherents past and present.
And now?
I will continue to work on the sequel to my Survival of the Fittest book, but I am also working on another project that will probably interest readers here a little more.
Having written the biblically critical The Nativity: A Critical Examination (UK), a book that I am really proud of because it succinctly destroys the historical claims concerning the birth of Jesus, I am following this up with the only other time in Jesus' life that intersects with verifiable history: his death. The book is The Resurrection: A Critical Examination of the Easter Story.
It is inspired by the articles I have written here on the subject, brought together in a cohesive and succinct manner. I am excited by this primarily because I find non-fiction very easy to write. I get in the flow and it writes itself, particularly if you are proposing an argument. I seem to be creating the output at a decent pace and look to be finished in the not too distant future.
The reason why this is an important project is because it bookends Jesus' life, in tandem with my other book, and shows that there is no historical justification for the factual claims about Jesus' life, and this then has huge ramifications concerning the theology entailed in Jesus. Without the history, you have nothing to hang the theology on, and without either of these, the Christian religion qua philosophical and theological project falls down like a house of cards.
I will be doing all of this whilst looking for a job, during a pandemic, whilst half the rest of the world is looking for jobs, and there are far fewer jobs around, and I have multiple sclerosis. Yeah, good luck with that one.
Anyway, stay tuned and, in the meantime, please support these projects by grabbing the books where you prefer.
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