The Goldstein standard

I have to say I was bit intimidated when I sent my manuscript to the incomparable Rebecca Goldstein, author of Betraying Spinoza. What would I do if she said I got Spinoza all wrong? (The name of my chapter, after all, is "Spinoza's Guide to Theocracy.") Instead, to my delight, I got this:

Against the cliche that there can be no morality without God, Austin Dacey mounts a rejoinder so intellectually and morally satisfying that all should think twice before repeating that "truism" again. His arguments are so fair-minded, knowledgable, and objective that they demonstrate, in their very form and tone, the values of fair-mindedness, knowledgability and objectivity for which he advocates. A work at once philosophically rich and morally inspiring, The Secular Conscience makes an invaluable contribution to the charged conversation concerning religion and reason.

I have Rebecca to thank for getting me to read Spinoza as a secularist--maybe the secularist--and that after years of failed attempt by my dissertation adviser (God love you, Loren!). Read more blurbs at my website.