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BOOK REVIEW A Guide to Life's Basic Questions and Answers by Richard de la Chaumière, Ph.D. Wisdom House Press - February 2004 Reviewed by Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty
There are certain basic questions which thinking
human beings have asked for thousands of years. The
questions remain the same today as they were eons
ago. On the other hand, the answers to those
questions have varied with the ages and the
characters wrestling with them. It is easy in
today's world to ignore these fundamental
questions, surrounded as we are with a pop-culture
mentality and the loud and distracting media which
generally offer little more than mindless
entertainment for the masses. It is also easy in
today's world, if one wants to confront these basic
questions either out of desire or necessity, to
find any number of quick and instant solutions from
simplistic self-help manuals, to media
talking-heads offering up the latest fads in
philosophy and religion, to the pseudo-intellectual
gurus who will gladly take your money in return for
their latest "fix" which promises you the "true"
and only true answer to those certain basic
questions. |
What's
It All About? |
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Well, I'll tell you right now that this book by Dr. Richard de la Chaumière doesn't fall into any of the above categories. It is not a quick fix. It is not simplistic. It does not promise you the true and only true answer to the certain basic questions. It does, however, promise to help you make up your own mind about the answers. To do this, the author provides a sweeping interdisciplinary view of how others have wrestled with these questions, expanding your knowledge so you are better informed and competent to deal with these questions, in the hope that you can formulate your own philosophy of life for the simple reason that doing so will enable you to have a life that is truly worth living. This book is a guide to achieving practical wisdom, not the final pronouncement of practical wisdom itself. You will be provided with the recipe for thinking about the basic questions, but you'll have to mix the ingredients and do the baking yourself. You may be asking now: "What are these so-called basic questions?" They should be familiar to you as we all ask them in one way or another at sometime in our lives, some of us openly and in lively discussion, others secretly within themselves, some in times of casual philosophical reflection, some in times of despair or crisis. Here is the first one that Dr. de la Chaumière puts forth for consideration: Is there a God? Certainly this is the most significant and probably most common of the basic questions. This is followed by some other basic questions such as: Why is there anything at all?; Who am I?; Why am I here?: Is there life after death?; Why so much suffering in the world?; How ought I to live?; Am I really free to choose?; and also that most contemporary and controversial of questions: How do we know when we know? After a brief introduction to these and other basic questions, the author raises another question about the basic questions: Why and why not ask these questions? This leads into an interesting discussion of human consciousness, the important role it plays in raising the basic questions in the first place, the religious factor and the decline of religion, and the impact of science, rationalism, and Biblical criticism on religion's attempt to answer the basic questions, along with the important role that such luminaries as Copernicus, Charles Darwin, and Sigmund Freud have played in the whole enterprise. Most readers will probably find the author's discussion of "Why should truth be so important?" to be enlightening. The third part of the book deals with that most important question: How do we know when we know? Here the reader is presented with an overview of our Greek heritage in philosophy and science, the scientific revolution that took place during the 16th and 17th centuries, the range and limits of empiricism and, finally, a discussion of some ways of knowing, including authority, revelation, introspection, intuition, and even altered states of consciousness. I must say that his presentations of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are among the best I've seen in a book written for general readers. And those unfamiliar with the philosophical problems raised by such thinkers as Descartes, Francis Bacon, Locke, Hume, and Kant will come away with a fair grasp of their essential ideas. The author continues, in the fourth part of his book, with a discussion of various types of "truth seekers," dividing them into contrasting categories such as optimists and pessimists, visionaries and realists, and religious seekers and spiritual seekers. This sets the stage for a comprehensive presentation of various world views, including a scientific world view with recent developments in cosmology, physics, and biology, a naturalistic and evolutionary world view incorporating a type of spirituality, and five major religious world views: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All of this is offered in a very readable fashion so the general reader will not be overwhelmed. The author begins the Preface of his book with these words: "If you would like to make up your own mind and heart about some of the basic questions of life, this book is intended for you." From that point on, the reader journeys through an intensive and comprehensive survey providing a background and framework for dealing with the basic questions of life. Dr. de la Chaumière has provided a valuable service to those who ask these basic questions and I recommend his book to everyone. The author is a licensed psychologist with a doctorate in psychology and a master's degree from the University of Notre Dame, where he pursued his interest in philosophy and religion. It is evident from his writing, however, that his knowledge ranges far beyond those interests and that he possesses a talent for communicating about otherwise difficult topics with anyone who takes the time to have a serious encounter with him. by Richard de la Chaumière
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