The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World: Amazon.ca: R. C. Sproul : Books

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If you think philosophy is irrelevant to your daily life, think again. You need only observe the world around you to discover how substantially the ideas of historys thinkers affect us still. You can hear it in the beliefs of your non-Christian friends. In the media, your music, your childrens classrooms. You can see it in our public policies, on every bookstore shelf, in the way we understand our very existence--even in the church.

We like to believe that we create our little worlds from scratch and then live in them. But the reality is, we step into an environment that already exists, and we learn to interact with it. The game has been conceived long before us; the rules and boundaries already decided.

We may be amused when René Descartes labors so long in order to conclude that he exists, or puzzled by Immanuel Kant spending his life analyzing how we know anything. Yet these men were not simply contemplating minutiae. The foundational thinking of philosophy tries to lay bare all of our assumptions, revealing our false and sometimes dangerous beliefs so that we may arrive at a coherent worldview.

The greater our familiarity with the ideas that have shaped our culture over the centuries, the greater our ability to understand--and influence--that culture for Christ. From ancient Greek thinkers like Plato and Aristotle to Christian philosophers like Augustine and Aquinas to the molders of modern thought such as Kant and Nietszche, R. C. Sproul traces the contours of Western philosophy throughout history and demonstrates the massive consequences these ideas have had on world events, theology, the arts, and culture--as well as in our everyday lives.

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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great Primer On Complex Subject, July 16 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World (Hardcover)

R.C. Sproul does an outstanding job of presenting a very complex subject matter in a comprehensible manner for those new to the subject. Great book for Christians who want an introduction to the fascinating world of ideas. Highly recommended!

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5.0 out of 5 stars feel like a PHd in philosophy, Mar 19 2004

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T. Stevenson "stevensenjorg" (cheyenne, wy United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World (Hardcover)

i througly enjoyed this book. Rc takes us on a brief tour of the major thoughts that have shaped our world. i love how RC breaks down lofty and complex ideas to show us the main thrust of the idea and teacher. Very well written, this is highly recommended for philosophy students.

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3.0 out of 5 stars A little cumbersome to read; limited practical use., Jan 20 2004

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No one of consequence (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World (Hardcover)

I'm a big fan of Dr. Sproul and his radio program "Renewing Your Mind." I appreciate the way he takes a philosopher's perspective of Christianity and analyzes/debunks competing worldviews in light of biblical teachings. I had also read some of Sproul's other books, and thus was drawn to this rather intriguing offering. It is intended to supplement the average believer's biblical knowledge with some essential grounding in philosophy, of which Christianity (some would argue) is just another variant.

The book promises to give an overview of major philosophical influences on modern western thought, and it does just that. The presentation is essentially chronological, beginning with the early Greek masters and proceeding through the Renaissance to the likes of Descartes and Kant (where's Hegel?), and on into the twentieth century. There is some loose structure beyond that as certain thinkers built upon the frameworks of some of their forebears, but otherwise the major movements of thought are unconnected.

Sproul presents the gist of each philosopher's major teachings, then analyzes it to identify its particular weaknesses, occasionally doing so in a dismissive way that sort of assumes that the reader understands the subject matter nearly as well as the author. In general the writing style comes across very much like a professor's lecture, sometimes easy to follow, sometimes not. In light of Sproul's radio presentation style, though, this was to be expected (although frankly I thought the style in "Chosen By God" was much preferable).

My real disappointment was that the book really had no specific direction other than as a quick trip through philosophical history. There's no real point that's being made, and very little practical application that can be drawn from it for daily living. The book ends rather abruptly as the discussion of the last thinker's position is concluded, without any real effort to draw it all together into a meaningful whole.

Maybe I'm just looking for more there than the author intended, maybe not. Yes, it's valuable to edify your mind a little bit if (like me) you have no background in philosophy. If that's not what you're after, however, I think you would be wasting your time with this one.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written, but lacks influences of last 50 years.
_Consequences_ covers great philosophers from Thales of Miletus, to the philosophers of modernism. The penultimate chapter before the conclusion covers Darwin and Freud. Read more

Published on Feb 1 2002 by M. Rittman

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Sproul is awesome
The introduction to this book says it all. Most people do not value the gift of thought. This book is a wake up call to that end.

Published on Jan 18 2002 by dupleez