Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West by Vintage

	Title: Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West Purchase Item Manufacturer: Vintage List Price: $18.95 Our Price: $11.31
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Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West by Vintage Irrational Rationalism
This is a fascinating book that follows in the footsteps of Allan Bloom's Closing Of The American Mind. For an update see Susan Jacoby's Age Of American Unreason (Pantheon, 2008).
Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West by Vintage AN INTELLECTUAL TOUR DE FORCE
John Saul makes the argument that when the world swung away from the faith-based beliefs of the Middle Ages to the rational thinking of the Age of Reason, it over-reacted in equating rational thinking with truth. In other words, rational arguments may lead to false conclusions. He then argues that the modern world has become so committed to rational thinking that the entire structure of Western culture is predicated on the belief that rational solutions are always best and that since rationality and efficiency go hand in hand, we downgrade anything that is deemed not efficient or less efficient. Because we do this, we denigrate intuition and common sense in the way we run the world. Saul makes powerful arguments and draws surprising conclusions about a vast array of issues, beliefs, and practices. Unfortunately, some of his generalizations are too sweeping, and he tends to imply universality in his examples, when modifiers like many, sometimes, and occasionally might have been more appropriate. Nevertheless, there is no denying his basic thesis is compelling. It is important when reading this book to keep an open mind. No book of such vast scope will find many in complete agreement. There is a tendency to shout "Nonsense!" after some of his assertions and conclusions, and then reject his entire argument, but that is a mistake. Saul seems like a "Liberal" (that despised word) social philosopher, but his critique of society is not merely of the Right, but rather of what he calls "elites" (many of whom are Liberals) who are those highly trained "technocrats" and professionals who run the modern world. Their training is to operate by the principal that there are answers to all problems, which require only the right questions to sort out, and that solutions rationally arrived at will be efficient and therefore optimal, even when they violate common sense and are sometimes even amoral. My favorite examples that he uses are of the law, where justice is no longer the objective, but the correct playing of the "game" according to the rules, which are only properly understood by lawyers. The most "efficient" lawyers win, regardless of the often nonsensical nature of the outcome. Thus it is seen as a proper outcome when an obviously guilty individual escapes punishment due to a legal technicality, while it is perfectly OK for a battered woman who kills her abusing husband to be incarcerated as a murderer. Similarly, as long as all the rational laws are observed, it is OK for a corporate raider to buy a company with borrowed money, load it down with the debt taken on to make the acquisition, and then either gut the company to raise cash or fire large number of employees in "cost cutting" moves, even though the company and its employees were profitable and productive participants in the economy prior to takeover. The impact on real people's lives is seen as immaterial because rational procedures were followed. Naturally, anyone taking on "everyone" (as Saul does) will slaughter some of any reader's "sacred cows" and raise howls of protest that he goes too far (which he does in spots). Nevertheless, the book is an intellectual tour de force of breathtaking sweep that provides real savoring for readers who like to be mentally challenged. It is not a quick read, but also not a difficult one. Rather, it is one best enjoyed in small doses at times when you have the luxury to reflect. Although written in 1992, virtually all of the arguments are valid today, and his descriptions of how the world works sound like they were written in 2008. This is a marvelously enjoyable book to read. Ken Veit, January, 2008
Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West by Vintage Juicy
I bought this book in 1997, 10 years ago, and it was already 5 years old. It was enjoyable but a slog to get through and not all was retained in my head at the end of the read. I was left tired and I moved on. The true value of the book, however, became apparent as the years passed - every re-read of portions gave pleasure through forgotten information freshly revealed, or insights put forth in the book that have finally sunk in, or new color/nuance to previously remembered arguments. I also bought one other, more recent, book of his, "On Equilibrium", and it complements "Voltaire's Bastards" nicely. The intervening years continue to demonstrate the validity of many arguments in the book, thus getting closer to the definition of a 'classic'. One of my best book purchases.
Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West by Vintage Not quite as dense as some might insist...
Few books that are truly worth reading make for an easy read, and this is certainly the case with Voltaire's Bastards. Other reviewers have complained of Saul's density and have even accused him of dull, poor writing. Don't be fooled by such baseless nonsense. Saul is actually an excellent writer. He beautifully elucidates the finer, invariably ignored philosophical points of our modern political culture (which seeps through into every stratum of our lives) with grace and ease. The "density" arises when he undertakes historical narratives which lend credence to the points he makes. I'll agree that this can often make for slow, dry reading. However, his astute commentary on the modern "theology" of reason, power, secrecy, language and bureacracy more than compensate for such shortcomings. If you've ever felt inexplicably frustrated by what seems to be an amputated, purely rationalist, beady-eyed approach to politics, culture and knowledge in general, then the ideas presented within this book will likely excite you as much as they excited me.
Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West by Vintage Mixed feelings
Much has been said amongst the other reviews about the seemingly incoherent, diatribal and drawn-out nature of Saul's book. And I agree. It's far from being a masterpiece in the larger sense of the world. What's brilliant about this book is not how right the author is but how wrong (often infuratingly so!) he is. Because I found that I've learnt more from this book, including the wrong parts than I have from many books that were more coherent or right. Unfortunately this does not seem to be Saul's aim. He begins with section 1 called "Argument". However it read like a bunch of generalisations and sweeping statements without much argument. What he seems to be saying is this: that the concept of reason has been hijacked in the last century of public life in the west. That it has come to mean a bureaucratic, elitist, undemocratic, secretive, closed approach that also refuses to take into account the realities of life. That this style of reason is fanatical in that insisting that it is always right as a dogma. And finally, that it has been the result of untold amounts of suffering because it proclaims itself as a moral system, whereas it's only a system of management. Because of this, it can and is used to inhuman ends because it is itself devoid of any values. All this I largely agree with. Especially in terms of the last point about reason being amoral you only need to read some Hume. However this exposition of his argument comes only from his second section, where he actually gives some concrete examples. The second section is largely a diatribe that attempts to apply these arguments to concrete historical examples. I think this is the strongest section of the book in that it is actually about something. The third section is some musings on art, individualism etc. much of which was entirely disagreeable. What then are the strengths of the book? It is a hodge-podge that speaks of everything under the sun and often misses as a result. But by speaking about everything Saul successfully expresses the extent to which things are a problem. If he were more methodical one could claim that such-and-such and such-and-such institution is broken. However this book has convinced me that the world is much more broken than even I previously thought. He just could have done it in a third of the word count. I would definitely recommend the book but not as some incredible analysis but rather as something that will provoke and engage almost every reader. It seems paradoxical but in the chaos that is criticised by so many, Saul makes some surprising observations that would have been missed if he was more careful.

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