Dan McCaslin on "Mind and Morals" (Paul Crichton)

Paul Crichton’s brilliant Mind and Morals brings together a number of philosophical reflections that inspire the reader to ponder important matters, often to reconsider positions one has taken previously.

“What is Visual Awareness For?” and “More Things Happen by Chance than We Think” are only two examples of cogent essays on topics any reader would find interesting, and his essay “A Great Artist but a Terrible Human Being” obliges us to contemplate our aesthetic idols with feet of clay, e.g. Caravaggio, Wagner, and Bergman. The author’s elegant prose makes us consider Kant’s “material idealism” in “Does Kant Succeed in Refuting Scepticism about the External World?” – no small feat when interpreting the Königsberg philosopher. The author masterfully controls the complex sources and manages to enlighten us without recourse to overmuch philosophical detail.

Take this book in hand, begin perusing any chapter, and you will find your mind and spirit enlivened by new ideas and new questions.

Dan McCaslin, Ph.D. California