How to Destroy Western Civilization and Other Ideas from the Cultural Abyss

By: Peter Kreeft

Narrated by: Kevin O'Brien

Best-selling author Peter Kreeft presents a series of brilliant essays about many of the issues that increasingly divide our Western civilization and culture. He states that "these essays are not new proposals or solutions to today's problems. They are old. They have been tried, and have worked. They have made people happy and good. That is what makes them so radical and so unusual today. The most uncommon thing today is common sense".

Kreeft presents relevant, philosophical data that can guide us, divided into seven categories: Epistemological, theological, metaphysical, anthropological, ethical, political, and historical. He then explores these categories with classic Kreeft insights, presenting 40 pithy points on how we can implement the data from these categories to help save civilization - and more importantly, save souls.

©2021 Ignatius Press (P)2021 Ignatius Press

A little dated

Well written, well narrated, too many references to Catholic thinkers and notables for non-Catholics to follow well. That is, the author gives the name of a person with out explaining who the blank they are/were and why they are referenced. Plus Mike Huckaby as Aragorn, are you kidding me.

Conservative Philosophers' Delight

I am a trained philosopher, long time professor of logic, and devout follower of Jesus Christ. So at virtually every turn I found myself agreeing with the author. Oh there might have been small differences of opinion about natural law versus divine command, and the fact value dichotomy, but virtually nothing of substance compared to the degree to which I concurred with his analysis of our cultural abyss and the reasons for it. We have lost our moral moorings and are drifting aimlessly in the sea of relativism. His conclusion, and mine, is that short of restoring belief in moral objectivism, advanced by a return to religion and family, our society is lost.

His literate references to philosophers and even popular contemporary writers is commendable. I especially appreciated his reliance upon CS Lewis and Tolkien and the many ways in which these two Christian thinkers articulate the difficult dilemmas of life in a way that is accessible. the author himself often shows an admirable turn of phrase, prompting me to make note and to hope that one day I may be able to use them myself.

About the style and presentation of the book itself, I have a few quibbles. the narration especially in certain sections sounded arrogant and even sarcastic. This does not win friends and influence readers. It may have been the narrator, but I suspect it also had to do with the style of the author. Like me, he is probably an older white male academic, perhaps also trained by the Jesuits, who have never been known for their personal skills and humility. As a philosopher, and especially as a logician, and especially as a Catholic logician, his scholastic style of multiplying distinctions and walking through multiple lists of points, can become tedious. This is not to say the content is superficial, only that if even a fellow philosopher can find it tiring, other readers might give up quickly.

On balance, I recommend this book to thoughtful readers with the ability to dive in, go deep, and stay down a while who are baffled by what has become of our society and why it is happened. As the author concludes the book and as I concur, "Lord have mercy!"

Full of both meat and truth

This book is both thought provoking and convicting because it forces one to confront one's own weaknesses. a bit of a rant at the beginning, it goes on to describe both the reason and justification for the author's strong feelings. The book's arguments are powerful, clearly thought through, and logically laid out. It contains so much food for thought that I have gone on search of a printed copy so I may underline and ponder at leisure.

Terrifyingly Insightful

Kreeft does it again with a timely and prophetic description of the ills of Western Society fr a uniquely Christian lens.

Great book

This is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for truth.