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this book does not chronicle discoveries, inventions and creations. Instead, various religious and philosophical
Western thinkers are portrayed as are their attempts to seek in their own way. The work contains 41 separate vignettes, each dedicated to a seeker. They are grouped in eight parts that are
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Caught between two eternities- the vanished past and the unknown future - we never cease to seek our bearings and our sense of direction. We inherit our legacy of the sciences and the arts - works of the great
Discoverers and Creators ... recounted in my earlier volumes. We glory in their discoveries
274:), noted that he was "a secular, skeptical moderate, Northeastern liberal" yet offered a vigorous defense of Western civilization. He remarked that Boorstin might be signaling a new trend, since other liberals were also speaking out, particularly against what they considered excesses of ideology:
362:. One factor in the rise of philosophy was the transition from oral to written knowledge. Complex thoughts could be retained, referenced and augmented. Greek society was the first to celebrate the thinker, the rationalist and this questioning attitude became a hallmark of
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sought answers in culture which displaced the nation state. Cultures could be studied and analyzed scientifically so were better models for comparison. Others looked for new meaning in violent revolution, particularly the Soviet model.
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and Israel's special relationship. Besides offering moral advice, the prophet addressed universal questions - "What is the purpose of life?" "What is the nature of God?" "Why does evil happen to good people?" More
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This problem...haunted
Western thought—Why would a good God allow evil in the world He had created? -- was one that Judeo-Christian man had made for himself. It was plainly a by-product of ethical monotheism...
495:, a system in which only sensory experiences were the true reality. Related to this was historical determinism in which progress occurs by outside forces unrelated to human actions. From these two arose
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sought to explain life processes and particularly evolution (a grand process) in philosophical and physiological terms, declaring true meaning is found within the process. Boorstin concludes with
366:. Boorstin especially praises Aristotle for his searching and curious mind, his introduction of classification and his nascent hints at modern science. But more than that the state,
471:(the ideal German) - each sought meaning within the framework of their own society. All sought to define the individual within the framework of society and increasingly, the State.
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wherein doubt was as necessary as faith. Seekers of truth in literature wrote in new ways and a stream of consciousness style emerged. Others found solace in diversity -
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wrote a laudatory review stating "...what
Boorstin does so well is bring together many ideas that fertilize and cross-fertilize the reader's imagination and curiosity."
499:, a belief that the ideas expressed were true because they could be "proven". Individuals lost not only influence but also meaning. Boorstin strongly opposed ideology
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I admire his appeal to common sense and experience. His academy was a place where people collected information about their world and ... came to conclusions ...
615:...the Seekers who left the most durable imprint on Western history are those who embodied the mystery of their achievement in their lives - and their deaths
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arose in the West and
Boorstin considers them the most influential institutions of the time, both preserving and spreading knowledge. From them came the
597:...history was a literary art, because in history the subject and its audience were one. The effective historian is always telling us about ourselves...
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Paradoxically, as seeking became individualized, attention turned to the specific community in which they dwelled for answers. In the forward he quotes
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described the book then added "The writing has a sweeping, didactic tone. A suitable but not mandatory choice for academic and larger public libraries."
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627:...ideology itself is a contradiction and denial of man's endless powers of novelty and change which are suggested by the very idea of progress.
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501:... the people who think they have found the final answer...are the menace to our humanity really, because I think there is no final answer.
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In an interview with PBS he says
Jefferson's greatness stems from his non-ideological nature and refusal to develop a political theory.
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introduced a new field, political science. Others sought answers in the communal past - Virgil, Thomas More, Francis Bacon, Descartes.
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Modern seekers abandoned traditional sources of meaning such as nations or religion and found or invented new sources. In France the
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became more abstract. No longer did He reside in a physical place but was everywhere. Therefore, he was within each of us.
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religion." The Greek
Homeric epics introduce mortals to the story and even the Gods have human motivations and reactions.
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Dogmas of social science would...eventually be embodied in institutions whose mission it was to enforce a frozen ideology
298:, discussing Western intellectual development, asked, "What other author could put it so succinctly?" Harry Frumerman of
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rejected religion and power in individuals. Instead, mass movements were expounded as a new wave. The result was the
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Boorstin notes that in the beginning we sought answers from special individuals - religious prophets. He begins with
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gave individuals and not only institutions power, transforming congregations into participants.
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This article is about the 1998 book by Daniel
Boorstin. For the 1975 book by John Jakes, see
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who searched for ultimate truth in the cosmological unity of universal laws.
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praised his "formidable narrative gift and a great deal of common sense."
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representing what
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which found meaning in the act of seeking, not in the final goal.
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Boorstin arrives at the modern world of classical liberalism -
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was both praised and criticized for its adulatory treatment of
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Part II. The Way of Philosophers: A Wondrous Instrument Within
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is the prophetic answer to the question of evil in our world.
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and is the third and final volume in the "knowledge" trilogy.
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with Daniel J. Boorstin and Ruth Boorstin, February 23, 1999
319:, the first Prophet whose greatest contribution was not the
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wrote the first history but elements of the epic remained.
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The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World
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Ideology eventually led to the modern totalitarian state.
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Part VIII. A World In Process: The Meaning In The Seeking
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which he considered a process rather than a destination.
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Part VI. The Momentum of History: Ways of Social Science
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He first warned of the dangers of ideology in 1953 in
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Part III: The Christian Way: Experiments in Community
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Part IV. Ways of Discovery: In Search of Experience
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505:Gergen, David Online Newshour: The Seekers
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455:(the English way of limited government),
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463:(the French way of liberation),
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311:Book One: An Ancient Heritage
216:Book One: An Ancient Heritage
181:A Personal Note to the Reader
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190:Seekers. We all want to know
467:(the American experiment),
197:Man is the asking animal...
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268:New York Times Book Review
186:and creations. But we are
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436:and his history of the
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702:1998 non-fiction books
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404:were its outgrowths.
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266:. Michael Lind, in a
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685:Love is Not Because
679:Book Discussion on
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288:Wall Street Journal
208:divided into three
183:, Boorstin writes,
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348:philosopher
260:The Seekers
173:The Seekers
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635:References
570:Lord Acton
493:Positivism
491:developed
453:John Locke
434:Thucydides
426:Protestant
390:university
325:monotheism
296:Amazon.com
539:John Reed
535:Hemingway
531:Steinbeck
430:Herodotus
418:gunpowder
402:democracy
360:Aristotle
114:hardcover
81:Publisher
586:Einstein
522:Spengler
497:Ideology
461:Rousseau
457:Voltaire
424:and the
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398:Humanism
382:theology
352:Socrates
168:Contents
63:Language
578:Malraux
574:liberty
526:Toynbee
199:Unlike
112:Print (
75:History
71:Subject
66:English
592:Quotes
334:Yahweh
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45:Author
469:Hegel
356:Plato
317:Moses
210:books
136:(pbk)
120:Pages
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96:1998
630:NPQ
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