Human, All Too Human book club questions

The reading plan

Meeting 1: Parts 1 to 33

1. When, if ever, is inventing a comforting belief a reasonable response to doubt?
2. How would you judge whether the free spirit's break with familiar duties is worth its isolation?
3. What might make small scientific truths more valuable than attractive errors, and what might resist that ranking?
4. How should we respond to strong feelings if their depth does not establish truth?
5. What does understanding a rejected belief's history offer that simply rejecting it does not?

Meeting 2: Parts 34 to 101

6. When is close scrutiny of someone's motives worth the possible loss of trust?
7. How convincing is the account of gratitude as an exchange of power rather than simply a warm feeling?
8. What should count more in judging kindness: a small gesture's visibility or its contribution to shared happiness?
9. If sustained imitation reshapes character, how useful is the distinction between being good and acting good?
10. What can a promise of lasting love reasonably demand if feelings cannot be promised?

Meeting 3: Parts 102 to 144

11. What purposes could justify reward and punishment if nobody deserves either?
12. Where would you draw the line between using faith personally and demanding it of others?
13. How does the claim that Christianity first creates distress affect your judgment of the relief it offers?
14. What does the persistence of religious moods after belief suggest about the relationship between ideas and feelings?
15. How does reading self-denial as inward domination change its claim to moral worth?

Themes to talk about

Tips for the host

1. Open each meeting with one question everyone can answer, then go deeper.
2. Anyone who fell behind can catch up with the 15-minute summary.