tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post1490809772930580768..comments2024-02-27T13:06:28.163+01:00Comments on love german books: On Atheism and Literary Receptionkjdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236984779717127341noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-74177494421958391412013-06-27T10:54:54.679+02:002013-06-27T10:54:54.679+02:00@Katie, I've just finished a long review essay...@Katie, I've just finished a long review essay on <i>Claustria</i> for <a href="http://austrianresearchuk.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow">Austrian Research Uk</a>, and hope to use it as a calling card for some more journalistic work... so the email address would be very much appreciated! Thank you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-45708827955747748552013-06-26T20:54:41.184+02:002013-06-26T20:54:41.184+02:00It's not a German book, but you might want to ...It's not a German book, but you might want to look at an old work called "The Varieties of Religious Experience" by William James. It addresses some of these issues in a very interesting way. A bit academic in places, but well worth reading.<br /><br />Another one you might want to look at is "A History of God" by Karen Armstrong.<br /><br />Enjoy!EPhttp://www.englishproco.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-29313978607843121312013-06-26T20:43:58.482+02:002013-06-26T20:43:58.482+02:00@Helen - again, as atheism gets passed down in fam...@Helen - again, as atheism gets passed down in families, perhaps we won't seek replacements for religion because we've never had it.<br /><br />And to get to your secret longing: given a perfect world, unlimited time and all those other impossible things, why on earth shouldn't you write reviews? With your academic background and your sound writing skills, you could pitch to kjdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16236984779717127341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-89445323774954124702013-06-26T20:39:54.353+02:002013-06-26T20:39:54.353+02:00@Peter: I can't speak for anyone else, and I p...@Peter: I can't speak for anyone else, and I presume few people would admit to abusing writers as false gods, but I don't think we have an innate need to worship. I'd put it down to people seeking that substitution, whereas second, third, fourth-generation atheists don't feel the lack. <br />*Very* much based on conjecture, though.kjdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16236984779717127341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-20819562609027662762013-06-26T18:55:54.843+02:002013-06-26T18:55:54.843+02:00I'm not sure that I have anything coherent to ...I'm not sure that I have anything coherent to say in response to your wise post, but I did love it. And loved how you neatly avoided the cliché that art can replace religion in a post-atheist society.<br /><br />Funnily, as a literary scholar I increasingly envy literary critics, with their permission to let their passions shine through. I generally do show when I am angry or delighted at a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-38957128734588818792013-06-26T17:11:33.412+02:002013-06-26T17:11:33.412+02:00"I don't even love everything one particu..."I don't even love everything one particular writer has ever written. There are people who do that though, I believe: idolise particular writers. As the word suggests, it's a religious kind of behaviour. So perhaps an atheist book-lover loves books differently to a religious book-lover."<br /><br />Interesting, though I've usually seen this kind of thing described as a Peterhttp://mechanicalbrain.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com