I have watched quite a few of the School of Lifes videos on youtube and as a lover of books I thought that perhaps some of the concepts would come acrI have watched quite a few of the School of Lifes videos on youtube and as a lover of books I thought that perhaps some of the concepts would come across better or be more interesting via book format. I have to say I don't think that was the case. Its all much of a muchness in terms of what I got out of the two different formats....more
I love all of Thich Nhat Hanhs books. He has a quiet beautiful demeanor and a lovely voice in these turbulent times. Having said that he does seem to I love all of Thich Nhat Hanhs books. He has a quiet beautiful demeanor and a lovely voice in these turbulent times. Having said that he does seem to use a lot of the same anecdotes across his huge collection of writings. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps him taking things from a different vantage point with a different topic allows his message to reach more people. Its a nice message either way. ...more
If you have already read some Plutarch, Pluto, Socrates and perhaps even "On the Nature of the Gods" itself then this is a beautiful book to tie thougIf you have already read some Plutarch, Pluto, Socrates and perhaps even "On the Nature of the Gods" itself then this is a beautiful book to tie thoughts and people/events together during that time period. If you have not then you might learn something about this time period and the nature and variety of thought in the classical era. ...more
This is absolutely his best work in my opinion. So well thought out. So beautifully intricate and meaningful. You can tell he wrote this for himself aThis is absolutely his best work in my opinion. So well thought out. So beautifully intricate and meaningful. You can tell he wrote this for himself and not for the masses. ...more
I really love archetypes as a way to explore ideas about self and those around us. This is an archetype I have never really considered at any great deI really love archetypes as a way to explore ideas about self and those around us. This is an archetype I have never really considered at any great depth and so I think was great to explore. Especially the story of Baba Yaga which was a story I knew from my youth and had never really thought through in depth. ...more
This was not enjoyable. It missed all of the beauty and complexity of life within religion. I understand and appreciate the approach. I think the ideaThis was not enjoyable. It missed all of the beauty and complexity of life within religion. I understand and appreciate the approach. I think the idea of taking a look at this from a scientific perspective is a good undertaking, but it also somewhat misses the nuance and point of religion in my opinion. But I grew up very religious and only left religion in my late 20's so perhaps my vantage point is skewed. This might be more interesting if you are coming at this from an agnostic or atheist life perspective on the outset and trying to understand the biological reasons for religion but even that this book doesn't do that well. ...more
If you have read Daoist (Taoist) philosophies before and wanted a bit of a take on how this might be moved into a more modern world I think Stuart WilIf you have read Daoist (Taoist) philosophies before and wanted a bit of a take on how this might be moved into a more modern world I think Stuart Wilde has a strong and fascinating vantage point on how he feels this should be done. Is this what I would want for my life personally? Not entirely nor do I think this approach to life works for many of us but it is a fascinating vantage point and peaked my interest in the author and his life choices. ...more
Whatever else I enjoyed in this work was ruined by the articles about women. Its so hard to read that in this day from this vantage point and try to fWhatever else I enjoyed in this work was ruined by the articles about women. Its so hard to read that in this day from this vantage point and try to feel what it would have been like to be a woman at that time knowing how the men in that world felt. ...more
I much preferred "The Dream of Reason" as a philosophical overview to this one. To be honest they are both subjective and fairly biased views of histoI much preferred "The Dream of Reason" as a philosophical overview to this one. To be honest they are both subjective and fairly biased views of historical philosophy but I just prefer Gotliebs bias more! I don't know what that says about me, perhaps I should be looking for something more objective but I don't know if I want objective anyway. Russell focuses a bit too much on the matching up of philosophers to their works and not as much as he says he was going to on how that relates to society. I got really excited reading the preface and thinking, yes! This guy is trying to do exactly what I want him to do: talk about the relationships between philosophy and the world at large from a sociological and political standpoint. Fantastic! Only he didn't really get enough into it to make that happen for me. I still have to rate this five stars as it is an amazing work and very enjoyable. I read it slowly and with my favorite study buddy google, and there was a lot of great information here and I do think its a valuable and well put together piece. It just wasn't as good as Gotlieb to me, I found his writing more fresh and enjoyable, and I couldn't get past that. ...more
I think as a modern woman his views of our sex are difficult to hear. Even given the time period of his writing it makes him seem a bit of an ass to bI think as a modern woman his views of our sex are difficult to hear. Even given the time period of his writing it makes him seem a bit of an ass to be honest. He doesn't think highly of anyone or anything much except music. Its all a bit dreary for me. I could see that perhaps some might view him as witty but a sharp tongue does nothing to detract from the misfortunes of his character. He would annoy me as a person though at least the conversations would never be boring. Bordom actually being one of the great "evils" that many outcomes may make for him. ...more
Personally I had never heard this "view" on any of these subjects before so it was hard for me to formulate an opinion. I always believed that organicPersonally I had never heard this "view" on any of these subjects before so it was hard for me to formulate an opinion. I always believed that organic was the way to go and "natural" was the way to be, but surprisingly the author did challenge a lot of these assumptions for me and helped me come to terms with a number of ways that this can be taken overboard, out of context, and be just plain wrong. In this way I was enthralled. However, the writing and the cohesiveness of his arguments needed a lot of polishing and a lot of fleshing out. Making me have mixed feelings about the work as a whole. I do appreciate that it gave me some different vantage points to viewing subjects that I thought had only one answer. ...more
I haven't read enough of Zizek yet to be as "tired" of him as some of the other commentators to this thread. Personally I find his style fresh. His eyI haven't read enough of Zizek yet to be as "tired" of him as some of the other commentators to this thread. Personally I find his style fresh. His eyes are keen. He can watch the most ridiculous movies. (Kung Fu Panda features in this one) and find some deeper connection to culture and what this says about our sociological interactions. He is very aware and in tune with culture which makes him interesting as a philosopher. I find him facinating. Not only can most people not make these connections but the connections he makes are sometimes startling in their simplicity. I find it the most difficult when he references something I have not seen, read, or watched as he does not always expound enough on the details of the reference in some cases. In other cases I can understand that he does use similar anecdotes that I have seen before FROM HIM. I think this distinction needs to be made because, many authors use anecdotes we have all heard from other people and expect us to buy into this as new material. At least he is referencing his own insights and building upon his own mind. Isn't this how the mind works? We build on what we have grasped thus far? I find this a very mind to mind approach, that allows the reader to see where he is expanding and walk with him through his thoughts. Though I can understand how if you have read more of zizek this may be frustrating I think this is a natural process for any thinker and am just happy we have someone with such a keen mind to delve int Hegel and Lacants ideas and not be afraid to come up with his own as well. ...more
Wow this was surprisingly short. Why did I start with Capitalism vol 1 when I could have read this? Ha! The jokes on me! I was expecting a lengthy disWow this was surprisingly short. Why did I start with Capitalism vol 1 when I could have read this? Ha! The jokes on me! I was expecting a lengthy dissertation and because I read it on the ipad I finished it before I could blink and then thought. Wait what? Do I have to go back? Because that was kind of boring. Proletariat and Bourgeois? Didn't realize this was a pamphlet. Actually the 10 prefaces throughout history all over the world that accompanied this work (interestingly at the end of the work) were the best additions to this read! It gets extra stars for influencing history and helping spread a new idea, albeit in a bland fashion. ...more
Equality is one of those things that is hard to define. This book takes a look at equality from a mostly financial perspective. It also explores the lEquality is one of those things that is hard to define. This book takes a look at equality from a mostly financial perspective. It also explores the level of equality in opportunities, education and a few other levels.
First of all this book is fabulous. If you are a massive factoid type who loves seeing another way to look at adjoining facts this will be pure pleasure for you. (Please excuse the ridiculousness of some of the graphs that have been dumbed down however).
My only one wish for this work would have been a more comprehensive look at the societies themselves and how their own determinations of the "haves" and "have nots" may play a role in the way that people approach or feel about their quality of life. I think a great majority of this is specific social factors, not only of the LEVEL of the equality but the social environments that tend to garner the expectation of "fairness". Remember when you were a child and you used to say to your dad "but that's just not fair!" and dad would answer with "sorry kid life's just not fair" and that was it? How has this changed over the years? How has our perspective on fairness overall changed? How do different cultures approach the question of what actually is fair and "equal" if you will, and what expectations do we have from government, society, and ourselves? I think there is a lot more to this topic that would be worth exploring. ...more
I expected more historical tie ins and less of the authors own opinions! We got more historical information on Love in the first chapter than we did oI expected more historical tie ins and less of the authors own opinions! We got more historical information on Love in the first chapter than we did on any other topic in subsequent chapters! This is too bad!
I didn't want to read your ideas with a few historical bits thrown in! I wanted to read historical ideas with a few personal notes from you thrown in! The Bon Marche thing was fabulous to read about I must say. I had no idea it was such a big deal, how cool!...more
Cassandra Kay
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philosophy
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