For the questing mind

Ethics/Philosophy Joe Humphreys uncovers some gems among the shelves full of hokum promising life changes in 10 easy steps or…

Ethics/PhilosophyJoe Humphreys uncovers some gems among the shelves full of hokum promising life changes in 10 easy steps or instant nirvana

President Mary McAleese encouraged us this year to go forth with "our shopping bags in one hand and our consciences in the other". Better still, perhaps we could fill our shopping bags this Christmas with books for triggering, or strengthening, our consciences.

But where might you find such books? The philosophy, religion and mind/body/ spirit shelves are overflowing with new releases. Yet, all too often, published authors in the field seem to shirk the bigger questions of philosophy and, in particular, ethics.

They provide us with primers, puzzles, "philosophy gyms", and other such "workouts for the brain", the main purpose of which seems to be to prove that they - namely the authors - are much, much smarter than Alain de Botton.

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But if philosophy is to be more than glorified Sudoku it must address the pressing issues of our day, and do so with some commitment and courage. Philosophers who pride themselves on avoiding taking a stance on pressing moral and metaphysical questions create a void that is inevitably filled by someone selling nonsense.

And never have there been so many sycophantic self-help gurus on the bookshelves, each one of them promising a neatly packaged nirvana (normally in "ten easy steps").

Despite all the obfuscation and hokum, however, a few thinkers did emerge this year with their heads held high.

And there was at least one welcome publishing trend: the Celebrity Confession. Bono, Bob Geldof, Jack Nicholson and AS Byatt were among those who laid bare their faith, or lack or it, for some revealing publications on religion and morality.

Three such "confessional" books are included in the following Best of 2005 list (in no particular order):

Truth: A Guide for the Perplexed Simon Blackburn (Penguin Allen Lane, £14.99)

Is there an absolute reality or is all truth relative? Blackburn grapples with this timeless question, exploring the grey area between objectivism and relativism in which most people operate. A superior communicator of complex ideas, he duffs up great thinkers like Socrates, William James and Richard Rorty to good effect. And, in the process, he opens up new avenues of thought in an intellectual landscape riddled with cul-de-sacs.

Prayed Out: God in Dark Places John Michael Hanvey (Columba Press,€9.99)

The bitter-sweet memoirs of a gay priest persecuted by guilt. Hanvey vouches for a faith born in innocence and tested by a sometimes brutalising church, along with his own problems with alcohol abuse. At a time when Catholic priests are at a low ebb in society, he reminds us - with woeful candour - of the loneliness of his chosen profession. His story, as he says himself, is "no easy read". But it is written with admirable poise.

Making it Happen Mark Pollock with Ross Whitaker (Mercier,

The story of one man's impressive rehabilitation after going blind at the age of 22. The proverbial Celtic Cub, Pollock is ambitious, well-travelled and close to his friends. His comments about peers stuck in jobs they hate will strike a chord with many of his generation. While his self-help exercises get in the way of a good biography, there is plenty of common sense in Pollock's advice, above all perhaps his near-closing words: "If you need help, just ask!"

Leo Strauss and the Politics of American Empire Anne Norton (Yale University Press, £16)

Religion is blamed for producing dangerous fundamentalists, but such figures can be found in secular philosophy too. The disciples of Leo Strauss have not only created a cult-like brotherhood at the heart of the Bush administration but they have done so with a reckless disregard for the political theorist's questioning ethic. So argues Norton in a fascinating study of the use and abuse of ideas.

Stoic Warriors: The Ancient Philosophy Behind the Military Mind Nancy Sherman (Oxford University Press, £15.99)

If the neo-cons are right and "Athens must become Sparta", to borrow a phrase of Norton's, then we - foot-soldiers of democracy - must adjust ourselves to the military mindset. Sherman, who teaches ethics to the US Navy, examines what makes a soldier, and what drives him or her to commit atrocities such as the tortures at Abu Ghraib. A timely and important book which celebrates a "can do", stiff-upper-lip philosophy but one that is tempered by "humanity".

Belief Edited by Joan Bakewell (Duckworth, £12.99)

A compilation of interviews from the BBC Radio 3 series of the same name, featuring characters as diverse as "atheist" crime writer Minette Walters and Connemara poet John O'Donohue. Author Amy Tan gives a moving account of how her mother shaped her moral outlook, while film- maker David Puttnam rails against violent blockbuster movies. "Why," he asks, "would you make a film, the net effect of which could be to damage the society in which you and your family live?"

Ten Eternal Questions: Wisdom, Insight and Reflection for Life's Journey Zoe Sallis (Duncan Baird Publishers, £10.99)

Some 38 celebrities, mainly from literature, showbiz and politics, are quizzed about their beliefs by a former partner of film director John Huston. You can understand why the Dalai Lama and Richard Dawkins are included but Jilly Cooper and Ed Begley Jr, an actor with the TV series St Elsewhere? Bono's contribution to the book has already got much exposure but the star of the show is Nelson Mandela. His humility and wisdom exposes some of the other contributors for the bluffers they are.

Revelations: Personal Responses to the Books of the Bible Introduced by Richard Holloway (Canongate, £10)

An anthology of introductions to the best-selling Pocket Canon series (first published in 1998-9), along with new contributions from several authors. Highlights include Bono's intelligent tribute to Psalms (what he calls the "blues" of the Bible) and Nick Cave's tender proclamation of faith in Mark's Christ, who, the musician says, "provides us with a blueprint for our own lives".

The Sacred Neuron: Extraordinary New Discoveries Linking Science and Religion John Bowker (IB Tauris, £17.95)

A page-turner this is not. But the labour required to stick with Bowker's train of thought is well worth it as he evokes an image of religious belief as "emotion and reason working together". More important still is his pinpointing of a key factor in inter-faith conflict today: the tendency among some people "who often call themselves 'religious leaders'" to prioritise "maintaining the system" to which they belong above "the attainment of God". This book should be read by anyone who believes universal truths can be found in one religion and one religion only.

The Intellectual Steve Fuller (Icon, £10)

An entertaining if somewhat inconsequential guide to the armchair agitator, modelled (very) loosely on Machiavelli's The Prince. Fuller, a self-proclaimed "trainee" intellectual, identifies paranoia and an obsession with "the whole truth" as tell-tale characteristics of the beast who, he claims, comes in two forms: censor and devil's advocate. The latter, "who exposes people to ideas she hopes will be accepted in a mild form, which then enables them to reject the more virulent forms", is spookily resonant of certain Irish newspaper columnists.

Philosophy of Religion A-Z Patrick Quinn (Edinburgh University Press, £10.99)

Covering everything from Abraham to Zoroastrianism, this short book acts as both a handy reference guide and an interesting read in its own right. With a project like this, readers will inevitably quibble with the selection of entries, but Quinn is consummately fair, giving world religions, and particularly Islam, a good look-in, along with secular thought. Indeed, humanists will be glad to see Bertrand Russell getting a bigger entry than St Thomas Aquinas.

The Instruments of Art John F Deane (Carcanet, £8.95)

Like Jacob, who wrestles with God at Peniel, Deane in his poetry struggles with the question of faith, asking in a world of slaughter: "Can God be shamed?" With commendableaudacity, he reflects on the life of a poet, the religious certainties of Old Ireland, and the contradictions of a Christian deity which saw "love hammered into the earth with deliberate cruelty".

Lón Anama: Poems for Prayer from the Irish Tradition Edited by CiaráMac Murchaidh (Cois Life, €15)

That Deane is part of a long tradition of questioning Irish poets is shown by this elegantly-presented collection of verse in Irish (with English translations). The medieval poems are somewhat repetitive but elsewhere gems can be found, among them Pádraig Denn's half-comic Aighneas an pheacaigh leis an mbás (The Sinner's Exchange with Death).

A Short History of Myth Karen Armstrong (Canongate, £12)

Not just a history of myth but a powerful defence of it in the face of accusations of "self-indulgence and irrationality". Armstrong, a prolific writer with lots to say, traces a storytelling thread in religious traditions from the Palaeolithic era to the present day. "Our demythologised world is very comfortable for many of us who are fortunate enough to live in first-world countries," she notes, suggesting that mythology - in the form of imagining a better world - is something only the affluent can afford to abandon.

Joe Humphreys is an Irish Times journalist and author of The Story of Virtue: Universal Lessons on How to Live (The Liffey Press, €16.95), which explores common values among the world's main religious traditions