Reinventing Knowledge: From Alexandria to the Internet by Ian F McNeely - Book Report/Review Example

REINVENTING KNOWLEDGE: FROM ALEXANDRIA TO THE INTERNET BY IAN F MCNEELY 11. According to Russell, “Religion is based,I think primarily and mainly upon fear.” Based on my reading of “Mere Christianity”, C. S. Lewis would argue that for one to understand religion they must first understand the moral law. He would argue that the love of God is unlike natural laws and one only knows of it intuitively and not by observation. For that reason humans would not yearn for the love of God if it truly did not exist.12. Bertrand Russell’s view of the character of Christ greatly differs with that of C. S. Lewis.

Russell believes that Christ had quite a number of defects on his stand of morality. This is because Christ believed in hell and everlasting punishment and these are not characteristics of a moral individual. On the other hand, Lewis argues that God became a man through Christ so that humans could better understand the moral law. This is because Christ came and died for our sins on the cross to save humans from their immoral ways. This is due to the inability of humans to keep the moral law, which Christ kept throughout his life on earth.13. a) In the first chapter of “Reinventing Knowledge”, the library used was that of Alexandria because it is one of the oldest libraries in the world built in third century BCE and has a variety of ancient written knowledge that could be analyzed.b) The person responsible for building and maintaining the library of Alexandria was Demetrius of Phaleron.

The library attracted scholars by stocking up works of some of the best scholars of that time.c) Two scholars who studied at the library include Socrates and Plato.d) The library of Alexandria was destroyed after the fall of the Roman Empire. There was great strife between Egypt and other civilizations and during these conflicts, soldiers of opposing nations destroyed the library and the works in it.14. a) The monastery came about due to the collapse of the Roman Empire and the need to preserve work from the library of Alexandria.b) The “rule of St.

Benedict” was the guide for religious communities. These were rules of obedience, humility, and contemplation. Furthermore, these rules provide the perfect basis for an individual who would like to live a simpler life.c) The monastery can be described as a “self-maintained economic unit” because it acquires funds from visitors who come to the monastery. This money is used to pay the workers and maintain the grounds of the monastery without assistance from the outside.d) The monastery became a learning center through the continual development of knowledge.

It also allowed access to books it had collected and scholars could come over and read from them.15. The “universitas” can be described as an institution developed in the Middle Ages that paved way for the development of knowledge. They did so mainly through intensive research.College refers to an educational institution where individuals are taught knowledge so as to attain a degree in a certain field.Peter Abelard was a philosopher and a theologian of the 12th century. His main writings are his autobiography the Historia Calamitatum (The Story of Misfortunes), the letters Abelard exchanged with Heloise, and the Sic et Non.

He coined the word nominalism.The Republic of Letters describes the correspondence in form of letters between influential philosophers and theologians of the ancient age that is 1500-1800. This was a scholarly community and a network of knowledge. The Internet can be compared to this since it is a collection of knowledge from virtually every scholar in the world. It was a network linking information from various sources but could be accessed from any computer linked within that network.