Product Description

Picture the scene: Aunt Gertrude has just given you the most appalling Christmas tie, complete with snow-flecked kittens in a bowler hat. Do you smile, nod, and confine it to the bottom drawer? Or do you tell the truth and spare yourself future ties from hell? Kant would say that we must, at all costs, tell the truth - whilst Mill would insist that we should think of the consequences. THE XMAS FILES is a philosophical meander though the myths and rituals of Christmas today, asking such important questions as does Santa exist? What's wrong with Christmas kitsch? Is it all just a commercial racket? What was Augustine's attitude to 'peace on earth'? And what would David Hume have to say about the virgin birth? For underneath all the festive fun, the way we celebrate Christmas does raise serious questions about the beliefs that sustain us, and the ways in which we still value ritual and tradition as a means of coming together.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44540 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

BELFAST TELEGRAPH
"For the clever one in the family."

Review
"Not just about Christmas. It is also a concise primer to some of the main issues in religious and moral philosophy, wrapped up in a seasonal context." (THE HERALD )

"As Law reassesses the meanings behind the season, he does his damnedest to make the whole terrain accessible to the non-philosophy student." (THE LIST )

"For the clever one in the family." (BELFAST TELEGRAPH )

THE LIST
"As Law reassesses the meanings behind the season, he does his damnedest to make the whole terrain accessible to the non-philosophy student."

Customer Reviews

A Christmas Cracker
A satisfying seasonal stroll through an assortment of philosophical conundrums. The varied traditions of Christmas, both secular and religious, are taken as a starting point to uncover a series of surprisingly deep moral questions. These range from how charitable should we be (much more) to whether we should eat turkeys (probably not). Hobbes, Hume, Mill, Kant, Pascal, Wittgenstein and others are drawn into the debate, but the tone is kept light and accessible by Christmas-themed examples and stories. Religious aspects are handled particularly deftly, the author taking a sceptical/humanistic but sympathetic approach to the meanings given to peace, faith, miracles, tradition and God. Will at least liven up your after-dinner family arguments and probably leave you eager to explore the issues more.

another cracker
I was already a big fan of Law's books (especially The Philosophy Gym)and this didn't disappoint. The Xmas Files is very entertaining. It also gets you thinking about the kind of stuff that usually just passes us by. All fourteen chapters are short, breezy reads. Some are intended as bit of fun, like "The Santa Claus puzzle" in which Law appears to prove that Santa exists. But others, despite the wry humour, are surprisingly illuminating (especially "wrapping the presents" which really made me think). Some are even touching ("Christmas card kitsch"). Law may be cashing in on the Xmas theme, but make no mistake this is a genuinely insightful book written by a real philosopher.

Not flippant but interesting
This isn't quite your usual light-hearted stocking-filler. At first I wondered if I'd made a mistake in buying it, but the initial 'heaviness' wears off and you can get quite interested.

For example :
* by considering what to do about an unwanted gift, you get to consider the views of Kant & Mill.
* whether there is a God, and whether God is Good or Evil, takes us through the thoughts of Hume.
* Peace on Earth and whether War is Just brings us to St Thomas Aquinas.

The role of Tradition and Religious Faiths bring us to a close with a very thoughtful discussion on whether we've lost our sense of Community, and whether Christmas should be used by all, non-Christian as well as Christian, as one of the few remaining common Traditions to bring us back together.