by James W. Sire

isbn: 0830818995
subject: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Religion
finished: 4/30/2000

The premises behind The Universe Next Door are compelling. First, everybody has a worldview -- an opinion about the fundamental nature of the universe and about humanity's place within it. Second, in order to understand people, you need to understand their worldviews. This seemed like such a useful book that I was surprised when a web search didn't turn up a lot of reviews on personal book pages. Now that I've read it, I understand why: Sire describes each worldview in terms of his own and often constructs unimaginative straw-man versions of arguments or positions he doesn't like in order to dismiss them more easily. His goal is not to inform a general audience; rather, it's to give people who already agree with him just enough context to allow them to think they're making an informed decision when they reject all other worldviews. So although I found it to be interesting and informative in some ways, I can't recommend this book.