The Beginning of Wisdom (Magill’s Literary Annual 2004)
At a glance:
- Author: Leon R. Kass
- First Published: 2003
- Type of Work: Philosophy and religion
- Time of Work: c. 4000 -c. 1500
- Setting: The Middle East
- Principal Characters: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Rachel, Joseph
- Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Religion and spirituality
- Subjects: Freedom, Philosophy or philosophers, Creation myth, Sin or Original sin, Religion, Christianity, Good and evil, Bible, biblical imagery, or biblical symbolism, Biblical times, Judaism, Middle East
- Locales: Middle East
On the front cover flap, potential readers are invited to imagine they could explore the biblical book of Genesis as a “philosophical classic” and could discuss its implications with “one of America’s leading intellectuals.” The invitation is compelling, as the intellectual in question holds an endowed chair at the University of Chicago and chairs the President’s Council on Bioethics.
The classroom analogy is fair enough. When Leon Kass writes about his book’s genesis, he quickly mentions schools and students. He mentions St. John’s College in Annapolis and Santa...
[The entire page is 1865 words long]
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