The End of Our Exploring
by Matthew Lee Anderson | Book Summary
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Author: Matthew Lee Anderson
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Specifically, The End of Our Exploring sets out to "question our questions" (p. 12). Socrates believed that the unexamined life is not worth living, and this book insists that "the unexamined question is not worth asking" (p. 12, emphasis in original):
Our questions both reveal and shape our desires. In a real sense, our questions reveal "negative spaces" (p. 23) in our thinking. These negative spaces are unknowns that launch us into the act of questioning. "We set about exploring because we feel, however, opaquely, that what we discover will be good" (p. 23, emphasis in original). Instinctively, we know that truth is better than ignorance. If the unknowns of life are going to drive us to ask questions, we might as well "learn to ask better questions" (p. 26). |
Matthew Lee Anderson is an Assistant Research Professor of Ethics and Theology at Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion, an Associate Fellow at the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life at Oxford University, and a Perpetual Member of Biola University's Torrey Honors Institute. Anderson is the founder and lead writer of Mere Orthodoxy, as well as the co-host of the Mere Fidelity podcast. In addition to The End of Our Exploring, Anderson is the author of Earthen Vessels.
Anderson's academic career has focused on cultural issues like pronatalism, political theology, and bioethics. His work has been featured by Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, and The Washington Post. Anderson lives in Waco, Texas.
The End of Our Exploring
by Matthew Lee Anderson
[ Book Summary ]
| Author | Matthew Lee Anderson |
| Publisher | Moody Publishers |
| Date | 2013 |
| Pages | 214 |
Overview:
"This book explores what it means to ask a question and treats questioning as a kind of exploration. It is a book that poses a series of questions and—while acknowledging every ounce of the irony—proposes what might be considered answers." (p. 11)
Specifically, The End of Our Exploring sets out to "question our questions" (p. 12). Socrates believed that the unexamined life is not worth living, and this book insists that "the unexamined question is not worth asking" (p. 12, emphasis in original):
- We ought to be questioning people.
- We ought to be open to learning about the world.
- We ought to be driven by the desire to understand.
Our questions both reveal and shape our desires. In a real sense, our questions reveal "negative spaces" (p. 23) in our thinking. These negative spaces are unknowns that launch us into the act of questioning. "We set about exploring because we feel, however, opaquely, that what we discover will be good" (p. 23, emphasis in original). Instinctively, we know that truth is better than ignorance.
If the unknowns of life are going to drive us to ask questions, we might as well "learn to ask better questions" (p. 26).
Matthew Lee Anderson is an Assistant Research Professor of Ethics and Theology at Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion, an Associate Fellow at the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life at Oxford University, and a Perpetual Member of Biola University's Torrey Honors Institute. Anderson is the founder and lead writer of Mere Orthodoxy, as well as the co-host of the Mere Fidelity podcast. In addition to The End of Our Exploring, Anderson is the author of Earthen Vessels.
Anderson's academic career has focused on cultural issues like pronatalism, political theology, and bioethics. His work has been featured by Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, and The Washington Post. Anderson lives in Waco, Texas.