Product Description

The renowned lawyer Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) was also an impassioned defender of intellectual freedom, individual liberties, and social injustice. In these wide-ranging essays, Darrow attacks beliefs in the inerrancy of the Bible, the immortality of the soul, miracles, and heaven as being completely at odds with human experience and science.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #541012 in Books
• Published on: 1994-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 109 pages

Customer Reviews

A Functional Conversation Piece
Clarence Darrow, defendant at the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trail, expounds upon his beliefs toward the end of his life.

The title essay, �Why I am an Agnostic,� a spoof on Bertrand Russell�s essay collection, outlines Darrow�s reasons for being a theological fence sitter. This essay is a brief, though well-narrated and structured, sketch of the theological arguments against belief. Darrow uses his wit to take the edge off of an otherwise highly volatile subject. Darrow discusses Paley�s argument from design, Aristotle�s theory of infinite regress, the duality of mind and body, miracles and natural law, and predestination and free will.

In the second essay, �The Myth of the Soul,� the author further analyzes the nature of duality. He also discusses the desire and origin of belief as well as the life instinct. Out of the collection, this is the strongest work.
In the third essay, a tongue-in-cheek look at �The Absurdities of the Bible,� Darrow outlines the metaphysical dilemmas posed in the Holy text while supporting the claim that an omni benevolent deity cannot, by it nature deceive, thus proving his claim by reductio ad absurdum.

In the forth essay, �Voltaire,� Darrow delves into near hero-worship of his intellectual messiah. This is the longest work in the collection, a mere historical outline of the French iconoclast�s life.

The final work of the text, �The Skeleton in the Closet,� is the weakest essay. Never explicitly stating who or what the skeleton may be, Darrow leads the reader into unfulfilled anticipation at the turn of every paragraph while never telling him or her that it is Darrow�s �coming out� of intellectual and (for Darrow) hypocritical seclusion.

The text, reprinted by Prometheus Press and the Free thought Library, is not only a nice text to have for conversation purposes but a great outline of the theological argument. The text is worth the price for the first two (and arguably three) essays in the collection in order to have a quick review before going into to a theological discussion.

A Freethinker Speaks his mind
Five essays written by one of america's greatest lawyers. As defense attorney for John Scopes, Mr. Darrow defended the merits of evolution and exposed the problems of biblical creation. In this book, he writes his opinions on religion, the bible, the soul and Voltaire.

Contents:

1. Why I am an agnostic

[Criticizes the concept of god, Paley's watch-design analogy, the existence of the soul, and the bible.]

2. The myth of the soul

[A more detailed critique of the existence of the soul.]

3. Absurdities of the soul

[A humorous critique on the absuridities in the bible.]

4. Voltaire

[A biography on the life of Voltaire, the Enlightenment's foremost freethinker.]

5. The skeleton in the closet

[A brilliant and moving essay on coming out of the freethinker's closet]

"The fear of God is not the beginning of wisdom. The fear of God is the death of wisdom. Skepticism and doubt lead to study and investigation, and investigation is the beginning of wisdom." (p. 19)

More aptly titled "Why I Am an Atheist"
I agree with the first reviewer here, but I'd like to add why I was disappointed by this book. If I could have read it in a book store, I would never have bought it. Understand that I was looking for a book that would confirm that I am an agnostic, neither a theist nor an atheist, and therefore expected arguments of why I should believe in God as well as why I should not.

The arguments in this book are all about why I shouldn't believe in God and 'zero' about why I should. If you're a devote theist and you want to test your faith or move closer to atheism, this book would probably be a good read for you. If you're atheist and want to move closer to theism...look on. You will not find one clear statement regarding why you should believe. In fact, I was appalled when I read things like (in regards to the resurrection) "Have I ever known anyone who has made the journey and returned?" My first response was to say "Yes...Jesus!" I realize Darrow means that he know someone alive today but he doesn't give counter-arguments such as pointing out that there were people that claim they did - the apostles. (Face it folks, has anyone alive today ever personally experienced that which is written on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs? And who can say that tomorrow scientists won't confirm that someone was resurrected? Just because something is believed to be impossible today doesn't mean that tomorrow science can't prove that it is.) Since Darrow doesn't debate these points I'm left to believe that he is just another atheist who cannot admit that something said to be impossible today can't become proven possible tomorrow. To any atheist who reads what I just said...chill. [smiles] I am much more of an atheist then a theist so I'm just slamming myself too.

So if you're looking for a book that keeps you in the middle of atheism and theism, find another one. I wish I could tell you what that book is...all the books I've read with `agnostic' in the title are quick to argue that the reader is not one and therefore must be either atheist or theist. The rest of the book just ends up on a rant about why you are really an atheist.

Lastly, I was disappointed by the fact that 40 out of 109 pages were purely on the history of Voltaire. You won't find any debates during those pages about being an atheist, theist, or agnostic. ...just pure history. I found that to be a waste of my time.

Again, think of this book's title as "Why I'm Am an Atheist" and you'll get a better impression of the content.