From one of Britain's most distinguished historians comes the stirring story of one of the modern world's most important yet controversial intellectual achievements: atheism. Since Friedrich Nietzsche roundly declared that "God is dead" in 1882, a raft of reflective and courageous individuals have devoted their creative energies to devising ways to live without Him, turning instead to invention, enthusiasm, hope, wit and, above all, various forms of self-reliance. Their brave, imaginative story has gone untold—until now. In The Age of Atheists, acclaimed historian Peter Watson offers a sweeping narrative of the secular philosophers and poets, psychologists and scientists, painters and playwrights, novelists and even choreographers who have forged a thrilling, bold path in the absence of religious belief. Synthesizing nearly a century and a half of recent history, The Age of Atheists is a stunning, magisterial celebration of life without recourse to the supernatural. From Paul Valéry and George Santayana to Richard Rorty and Ronald Dworkin, from Georges- Pierre Seurat and Constantin Brâncuși to Jackson Pollock and Robert Rauschenberg, from André Gide to Philip Roth, from Rudolf Laban to Merce Cunningham, from Henrik Ibsen to Samuel Beckett, from Wallace Stevens and Rainer Maria Rilke to Elizabeth Bishop and Czesław Miłosz, from Sigmund Freud and Benjamin Spock to E. O. Wilson and Sam Harris, The Age of Atheists brilliantly explores how atheism has evolved, deepened and matured, and gained unprecedented resonance and popularity as it has sought to replace an unknowable God in the afterlife with the voluptuous detail and warmth of this life, to be found in art, philosophy and science, all woven into a rational, secular morality. Atheism has had its share of ideologues, tyrants and charlatans, but it is above all a history of brave accomplishment—and one that is far from finished. From Nietzsche and his nihilism to Dawkins and Dennett, Nagel and Habermas, Watson's stimulating intellectual narrative explores the revolutionary ideas and big questions provoked by these great minds and movements. A sparkling and ultimately triumphant history, The Age of Atheists is the first full story of our efforts to live without God.
Author
Peter Watson was educated at the universities of Durham, London and Rome, and was awarded scholarships in Italy and the United States. After a stint as Deputy Editor of New Society magazine, he was for four years part of the Sunday Times ‘Insight’ team of investigative journalists. He wrote the daily Diary column of the London Times before becoming that paper’s New York correspondent. He returned to London to write a column about the art world for the Observer and then at The Sunday Times. He has published three exposes in the world of art and antiquities and from 1997 to 2007 was a Research Associate at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge. He has published twelve books of non-fiction and seven novels, some under the pen name of Mackenzie Ford. He lives in London where his interests include theatre, opera and fishing. Awards, Etc. Psychology Prize Durham University, 1961 Italian Government Music Scholarship Rome University, 1965 United States Government Bursary “for future world leaders” To study the psychiatric profession and its links to the administration of justice Books of the Year Psychology Today Magazine, 1978, for War on the Mind Daily Mail, 1990, for Wisdom and Strength Independent on Sunday, for A Terrible Beauty, 2000 Times Literary Supplement, for Ideas, 2005 Time Magazine, for The Medici Conspiracy, 2006 Queen’s Pardon Copy from Patrick Meehan after I had written a series of articles which brought about his release from prison after he had been wrongly convicted of murder, 1976. Gold Dagger – Crime Writers’ Association of Great Britain For The Caravaggio Conspiracy, 1983 Beacon Award – SAFE Award – Saving Antiquities for Everyone For The Medici Conspiracy, 2006 US Library Association The Great Divide. Emmy Nomination ‘The Caravaggio Conspiracy, 1984. Best sellers The Caravaggio Conspiracy Crusade Landscape of Lies Sotheby’s: The Inside Story Nureyev Lectures Peter Watson has lectured at the following venues: Universities Cambridge Berkeley London UCLA Birmingham Georgia Georgia Chicago Birmingham Santiago de Chile York Madrid Harvard Tufts Military Bases Fort Bragg Private Institutions in Cleveland Berlin Chicago Belfast Los Angeles New York Washington Boston Palm Beach Other venues Smithsonian Institution National Museum, Copenhagen Royal Society of Arts Rugby School Royal Library, Copenhagen Festivals Edinburgh Oxford Dartington York
