Product Description

Can we do without religion? Can we have ethics without God? Is there such a thing as 'atheist spirituality'? In this powerful book, the internationally bestselling author Andre Comte-Sponville answers questions like these through a philosophical exploration of atheism - and he comes to some startling conclusions. According to Comte-Spoonville, we have allowed the concept of spirituality to become intertwined with religion and thus have lost touch with the nature of a true spiritual existence.In order to change this, however, we need not reject the ancient traditions and values that are part of our heritage; rather, we must rethink our relationship to these values and ask ourselves whether their significance comes from the existence of a higher power or simply from the human need to connect to one another and the universe. Comte-Sponville offers rigorous, reasoned arguments that take both the Eastern and Western philosophical traditions into account. Through his clear, concise, and often humorous prose, he offers a convincing treatise on a new form of spiritual life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #283783 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Review
'This is a rigorous and beautifully argued book that offers a convincing portrait of a new form of spiritual life.' --Good Book Guide

'Bracing and engagingly written' --Financial Times

From the Inside Flap
Can we do without religion? Can we have ethics without God? Is there such a thing as ‘atheist spirituality’? In this powerful book, the internationally bestselling author André Comte-Sponville answers questions like these through a philosophical exploration of atheism – and comes to some startling conclusions.

According to Comte-Sponville, we have allowed the concept of spirituality to become intertwined with religion and thus have lost touch with the nature of a true spiritual existence. In order to change this, however, we need not reject the ancient traditions and values that are part of our heritage; rather, we must rethink our relationship to these values and ask ourselves whether their significance comes from the existence of a higher power or simply from the human need to connect to one another and the universe.

Comte-Sponville offers rigorous, reasoned arguments that take both the Eastern and Western philosophical traditions into account. Through his clear, concise and often humorous prose, he offers a convincing treatise on a new form of spiritual life.

About the Author
Andre Comte-Sponville is one of France's preeminent contemporary philosophers. Previously a professor at the Sorbonne, he is the author of A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues, an international bestseller that has been translated into twenty-five languages. He lives in Paris.

Customer Reviews

Intelligible and intelligent
It is a great shame that the one and only review of this book is so negative. I found it intelligible, intelligent and illuminating so wanted to balance things up a little. I am sure that it would be enjoyed even by those who haven't studied philosophy because the concepts the author discusses are well explained and elucidated. He has a far gentler approach than your Hitchens or Dawkins, whilst still managing to get his point across. And whilst there can be no doubt in the author's own committed atheism, he can nevertheless appreciate that there are positives in believing religion and even goes as far as to say that he might wish he believed in a God. If you want to read longer, more erudite and even more positive reviews look the book up on Amazon.com.

Takes the argument further
The first two chapters are a fairly swift canter through the arguments against the existence of God, and for the idea that we do not need a God to find meaning in existence. Dawkins covered most of this territory with great verve in 'the God Delusion', but it is good to see another approach from this most lucid of French philosophers. The third chapter on atheist spirituality is quite remarkable, and goes beyond Dawkins. It deals in depth with matters of spirituality that cannot be dealt with in a scientific, empirical manner. For instance, he considers matters of emotion, like the "oceanic feeling" and our response to the immensity of the Universe. These are often taken to be religious feelings, but Comte-Sponville show how they can be better and more coherently understood, and enjoyed, from an atheist viewpoint. He brings in Western philosophers, like Spinoza and Nietzsche, and Eastern philosophers, like Nagarjuna and Lao-Tzu, to bolster his arguments for an atheist approach to spiritual concepts and feelings like simplicity, unity, silence, eternity, serenity, acceptance, and eternity. He certainly left me feeling more serene, and with a more unified idea of what spirituality might mean for an atheist. His argument that religious spirituality involves a temporality that is not needed in an atheist spirituality is particularly strong, and there are many other arguments that reveal the depth and subtlety of his thinking. This is a must buy for anyone wondering if, or how, an atheist can be spiritual.

A Humanist's view
Andre Comte-Sponville describes his book as `brief and accessible'. Brief, yes. Accessible? Well, it depends whether you are comfortable with sub-headings like this: `Nihilism and Sophistry: The Two Temptations of Postmodernity' and new words like `immanensity'. Nevertheless, allowing for the fact that Comte-Sponville is a French philosopher, his claim of accessibility is mostly justified.

The book contains three chapters: 1. Can We Do Without Religion? 2. Does God Exist? and 3. Can there be an Atheist Spirituality? The gist of Chapter 1 is that we can do without religion as long as we hold fast to the `Greco-Judeo-Christian values of the Western world'. The author calls himself a `Christian atheist'. On the whole I would prefer to delete the Judeo-Christian values and hold fast to the Greco ones, but the advantage of Humanism is that we can pick and choose from any tradition.

Chapter 2 is an elegant argument for atheism. I particularly liked his rebuttal of Christians who argue that `atheists can't prove the non-existence of God'. Comte-Sponville's answer is that it would be very hard prove the non-existence of Santa Claus, vampires, fairies and werewolves, but this is no reason to believe in them.

Chapter 3 is more problematic. Comte-Sponville has had a number of `spiritual' or `mystical' experiences involving a sense of `infinite happiness', an `eternal sense of peace', and the `dazzling presence of the All'. These experiences apparently lasted for only a few seconds but they were the `most beautiful moments of his life'. I would imagine that all human beings experience moments of ecstasy and euphoria, but it seems fanciful to describe such experiences as `spiritual' or `mystical.' Comte-Sponville seems to be on firmer ground when he writes about being so absorbed in an activity that we lose all sense of self or ego, and that this is a kind of ecstasy. I agree. The Christian gospel is to `die to self'. But this gets it the wrong way round. `Dying to self' makes Christians morbid and bitter. The Humanist way is to live life to the full and to be so absorbed in life that our egos melt away.

In conclusion, The Book of Atheist Spirituality will not become a Humanist classic, but it is a stimulating read.