Seven Types of Atheism

Description

A meditation on the importance of atheism in the modern world - and its inadequacies and contradictions - by one of Britain's leading philosophers 'When you explore older atheisms, you will find some of your firmest convictions - secular or religious - are highly questionable. If this prospect disturbs you, what you are looking for may be freedom from thought.' For a generation now, public debate has been corroded by a shrill, narrow derision of religion in the name of an often very vaguely understood 'science'. John Gray's stimulating and extremely enjoyable new book describes the rich, complex world of the atheist tradition, a tradition which he sees as in many ways as rich as that of religion itself, as well as being deeply intertwined with what is so often crudely viewed as its 'opposite'. The result is a book that sheds an extraordinary and varied light on what it is to be human and on the thinkers who have, at different times and places, battled to understand this issue.

John Gray's major books include Straw Dogs, Black Mass and The Silence of Animals. A second edition of his essays, Gray's Anatomy, was published in 2016. He now principally writes for the New Statesman.

A highly readable, fascinating book that jerks the debate on religion versus atheism right out of its crusted rut into the light of serious intellectual scrutiny * Observer * Pithy and revelatory -- Christopher Bellaigue * Financial Times * Wonderful ... the range, thoughtfulness and trenchant sense of Gray's sweep across the centuries of thought is wholly exhilarating ... one of the few books that I started to reread a couple of minutes after I'd finished it. -- Melvyn Bragg * New Statesman *