The blurb describes this book as a ‘shocker’, but its shocks are both salutary and timely. It is certainly a blistering piece of work, but the fever of some post-Conciliar progressives is running a little high in these years, and blistering has a certain therapeutic value.

This well-documented study, which was expanded from a series of articles in Doctrine and Life, examines the social and moral effects of modern mass media, with special reference to ‘the way the media are being used for financial gain, exploitation, and manipulation.’ Mr Halloran stresses the importance of social science in any appraisal of the effects of mass media, and claims that because this importance has not been adequately realized ‘the debate has been on a low level and consists in (...) the main of unsubstantiated assertions.’ This may be true in part, but Mr Halloran is a little hard on the ‘moralising literati—the social philosophers, moralists, and teachers’, and whilst he admits—as he could scarcely deny—that they have a contribution to make, he suggests that their attitude may be ‘a final threshing round of the disinherited in a technological world’ and wonders if they have been ‘pressurised into a narrow sophistication which is marked by biased judgements, elitist prejudices, and a blind inflexibility’. (shrink)

How are we to view the work of Plato in relation to the pre-Socratics? What sort of liaison is there between La Divina Commedia and the Summa Theologica of the Angelic Doctor? What relevance has Newton’s system of natural philosophy to 18th century poetry and prose? These are cognate questions; they take us to the heart of science, philosophy, and literature. It is with the last case that Mr Davie is concerned.