Background
Sidney Hook was born on December 20, 1902 in New York City. Son of Isaac and Jennie (Halpern) Hook.
(2011 Reprint of 1955 Edition. Full facsimile of the origi...)
2011 Reprint of 1955 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In this work Sidney Hook, a distinguished scholar, examines the chief issues which have divided Marxists from non-Marxists, and Marxists from each other. This volume of exposition, comment and readings is offered as an introduction to the study of Marxism in conflicting theory and practice. A valuable collection of original source readings are provided, including "The Communist Manifesto", "Historical Materialism," "The Fetishism of Commodities," "Religion and Economics," and much more by Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Kautsky, Trotsky and Luxemburg.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0898744431/?tag=2022091-20
( Like John Dewey, his mentor and friend, Sidney Hook sha...)
Like John Dewey, his mentor and friend, Sidney Hook shares the classic conception of philosophy as the pursuit of wisdom. A philosopher is concerned ultimately with the conception of the good life in a good society. In these essays extending over many years, Hook illustrates the activity of the philosopher in the cave of social life. He brings to bear the tools of reflective analysis on dominant social and political issues: human rights; the role of personality and leadership in history; the attempt to defend freedom as we seek to preserve and extend the welfare state; and a criticism of the common premise of historical materialism shared by both Marxists and their opponents. Most significantly, Hook addresses the relation between morality and religion and the place of religion in democratic society. A secular and naturalistic humanism, he contends, generates an authentic, reliable commitment to the democratic faith.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809309378/?tag=2022091-20
(Considered by some the most controversial American philos...)
Considered by some the most controversial American philosopher of contemporary times, SIDNEY HOOK (1902-1989) was infamous for the wild swing in his political thought over the course of his career, starting out as a young Marxist before the Great Depression and ending up a vehement anti-Communist in his later years. Hook's conception of history and the individual's impact upon it is the subject of this intriguing work, first published in 1943. Subtitled A Study in Limitation and Possibility, it examines the concept of the "hero" as it relates to leadership in the modern world, the hero as a child of crisis, how the character of rulers affects society, how history swings on the contingent and the unforeseen, and much more. With sections on the Russian revolution and the influence of the hero on democracy, this unexpectedly entertaining book is an enthralling look at the theories that shaped Hook's thought and guided his changes in political alliance.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1605203742/?tag=2022091-20
Sidney Hook was born on December 20, 1902 in New York City. Son of Isaac and Jennie (Halpern) Hook.
Born and educated in Brooklyn, N.Y., he studied at City College and with John Dewey at Columbia, graduating with a doctorate in 1927.
He began teaching at New York University and from 1931 also at the New School for Social Research. After his retirement in 1972, he became senior research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
As an educator, he regarded the object of learning as the development of a critical intelligence. He rejected attempts to introduce external political criteria, such as admission quotas, in institutions of higher learning and insisted on academic freedom.
(Considered by some the most controversial American philos...)
(One of America's most influential social philosophers off...)
( Like John Dewey, his mentor and friend, Sidney Hook sha...)
(To find more information about Rowman and Littlefield tit...)
(Philosophy, Naturalism, Humanism, Essays)
(2011 Reprint of 1955 Edition. Full facsimile of the origi...)
(Book by Hook, Sidney)
(Book by Hook, Sidney)
(1960 Antioch Press. Article at pp. 5-26 in one complete i...)
Hook has been described as a secular humanist. He was critical of religion, feeling that evidence for the existence of God is inadequate. He therefore objected to the effort to use theological premises to derive ethical conclusions.
He was often called a neoconservative thinker — a conservative committed to democratic socialism. His early reading of Karl Marx led him to try to reinterpret Marx in pragmatic terms. Indeed he was one of the first scholars in the United States to subject Marx’s thought to serious scholarship. Hook was a strong opponent of Stalinism and, criticizing totalitarian expressions of Marxism, was politically active in stemming the influence of communism in America. He was passionately committed to democracy, which he saw as based in the ethical principle of equality, and opposed all forms of authoritarianism and absolutism.
He was recognized internationally as an outstanding American intellectual and was a leading representative of the pragmatic tradition in American thought, applying pragmatic intelligence to ethical, social, and political issues and applying historical theory to American philosophy. This involved the experimental testing of his ideas by observing their results in behavior.
Married Carrie Katz, March 31, 1924. 1 son, John Bertrand. Married Ann Zinken, May 25, 1935 (deceased January 1995).
Children: Ernest Benjamin, Susan Annual.