Book Review - Rationalist Spirituality

About the Book
One question that has been addressed by religions since time began and has never been fully answered is “Why does the universe exist and what are you supposed to do in it?”  Popular answers often fail to account for obvious aspects of reality.  Let’s face it, if God knows everything, why do we need to learn through pain and suffering?  If the universe is fundamentally good, why are we besieged by wars, crime and injustice?

In modern society, answers from orthodox science take the rational high ground and tackle these contradictions by denying the need for, and existence of, meaning.  We tend to implicitly accept the idea that rationality somehow contradicts spirituality.  This is not only an insidious belief – it simply is not true! 
In Rationalist Spirituality: An exploration of the meaning of life and existence informed by logic and science (O-Books), Kastrup constructs an articulate and logical argument for the meaning of existence, informed by science itself.   He gets straight from A to B without any detours or unnecessary ‘fluff’ in between!

Using a framework to explain that all aspects of human existence have a logical, coherent reason and role, including the ones often perceived as negative, the powerful logic used by the author inevitably leads to insightful and inspiring guidelines for living a purposeful and meaningful life.

Many modern authors tend to take the rational high-ground against spiritual philosophies, and both sides tend to assume that a debate on atheism versus spirituality is really a debate on reason versus faith.  However, Kastrup takes the stand that a sound and rich form of spirituality can be grounded on reason as well.  Cutting through all the hype, the author has written a logical, coherent and scientifically-consistent articulation of spirituality.

Rationalist Spirituality is a book that both sides of the debate can appreciate; educated professionals who are rational but also eager to find a way to bring spirituality into the context of their lives, religious people who are looking for a tool to enter into dialogue with skeptical rationalists, as well as those disenchanted with religious discourse because of its apparent lack of rational backing, but who still crave meaning and spiritual consolation.   In Rationalist Spirituality, Kastrup does a superb job of providing guidelines for living a ‘purpose-driven life’ from the viewpoint of coherent logic and science.

Bernardo Kastrup has a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering and has worked as a scientist in some of the world’s foremost research laboratories.  He has been an entrepreneur and founder of two high-tech businesses, and is currently an executive in one of the world’s most influential technology companies.  Please visit the author’s website at: http://www.bernardokastrup.com.

My Take on the Book
This book provides straight to-the-point step by step analysis to the subject. The way he writes is engaging and interactive and keeps the reader on their edge of their seats. At the same time, the book makes you think deeply about the subject, much more than most books these days.

Though the book is small, it provides such a rational argument to the idea of metaphysical speculation. You may ask, what the heck is this, and I know that I did as well... but I tell you, this book is such an easy read and by the end you at least feel like an expert on the field.

I will warn you that you d have to really take your time with the text as it will make you think (in a good way).

Overall, this book was great and one that I would recommend to any and all!

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