"Scientific and artistic activity, in its real sense, is only fruitful when it knows no rights, but recognizes only obligations." According to the phi...more"Scientific and artistic activity, in its real sense, is only fruitful when it knows no rights, but recognizes only obligations." According to the philosophical beliefs of Leo Tolstoy, the labor of the common man supports the idleness of the thinkers and artists to the advantage of the elite and the detriment of the poor.
The evil that produces this inequality is the belief that mankind is an organism with a fixed division of labor. This mantra in Tolstoy's thinking, serves as a rationalization for the wrongs suffered by Russia's working class.
The works of art produced in Tolstoy's era were not rendered, as in the past, from religious influences. Instead they were a product of the scientific views of atoms, cells, and the aggregate of the organism. Developed by Compte, a French thinker, the theory was called positive philosophy.
While the thinkers and artists of Russian society lived off the labor of the poor, the symphonies, literature, and paintings did not benefit them. What the peasants provided was essential; what the elite produced was non-essential and irrelevant to the greatest number of society.
Tolstoy questioned positive philosophy, protesting that a poor majority should support an idle few. He highlighted individual rights where each used his power of reason and conscious to move mankind forward. This mantra became the banner held high in the Russian Revolution. Tolstoy was spreading the seeds...Highly Recommended!(less)
Voltaire wrote the three act play in the seventeenth century, the Age of Enlightenment, heralding the modern world. Two aspects of change highlighted...moreVoltaire wrote the three act play in the seventeenth century, the Age of Enlightenment, heralding the modern world. Two aspects of change highlighted in the work are questioning the authority of government and permission to recognize morality outside of religion. Voltaire anchors his narrative in the conspiracy, trial, and death of the great philosopher of Athens in 399 BCE.
During the trial, Socrates is humble but certain, moderate but condemming, virtuous while being accused of criminal acts toward the gods, the government, and the citizens of Athens. He is uncompromising, yet he yields willingly to the decision of the judges and drinks the deadly hemlock.
But what is put to death here is more than a man. It is truth. And absent truth, well, there are worse things than death...
As the curtain comes down, the review is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Beethoven wrote the Kreutzer Sonata during a time of personal crisis while recognizing his encroaching deafness. His music referenced struggle and her...moreBeethoven wrote the Kreutzer Sonata during a time of personal crisis while recognizing his encroaching deafness. His music referenced struggle and heroics during this period.
Tolstoy wrote the novella by the same name during a time of religious crisis. Unable to reconcile his behavior with the ideals of religious dogma, his view of life became dark and uncompromising. Love, marriage, sensuality, children were compared with the words of scripture, and none measured up to the rules applied, the promises anticipated, and the commitment required.
Reconciliation of reality with the ideal is fodder for the analyst's couch. The mental conflict, confusion, and instability expressed in this revealing work, is particularly poignant when measured against the calmness, security, and confidence of internal clarity. It is a fundamental truth that we must learn to live with our inconsistencies, and to reign-in guilt and retribution for acceptance of self and others.
It appears from this writing that mastering self was beyond his reach. Deafness encompasses more than the ear. Highly Recommended!(less)
This is the story of man and beast, intent on satisfying the need for shelter and companionship in a stark environment. Set in the beautifully describ...moreThis is the story of man and beast, intent on satisfying the need for shelter and companionship in a stark environment. Set in the beautifully described Eqyptian desert, Honore de Balzac addresses the uninterrupted isolation, formidable unknowns, and dangers of the circumstances a French soldier finds himself in while waiting for Napoleon's troops to rescue him. It is a straight-forward, direct telling of the philosphy of primary man and secondary beast described in the Bible, a belief system in the early eighteen hundreds and today.
Or is it?
Suppose it has deeper truths of man's need to love and be loved, to master fears, leave the safety of long held notions and feel intensely in the moment? Though man's predictable nature proves stronger in the end, it is treasured time spent reading and imagining the alternative. Highest recommendation!
'Hey, Boo' are two of the most perfect words in literature because they salute the "other" we all are asked to fold into our awareness. This is a univ...more'Hey, Boo' are two of the most perfect words in literature because they salute the "other" we all are asked to fold into our awareness. This is a universal, a spiritual truth that humans have the capacity to experience in life, and Harper Lee tapped it in Scout's salutation to Arthur Radley in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. What are we to do with those unlike us?
Ms. Lee said she wanted to be the Jane Austen of Southern Alabama. Instead, with one novel, she has caused readers everywhere to enlarge their sense of right with each reading.
Few writers achieve what literature is capable of...changing reader's minds. Even when a belief has been taught at the dinner table, confirmed by institutions, and backed by laws, minds can be changed by Atticus Finch's demeanor in a Maycomb County courthouse. This is the potential power of an author's words held in the hands of millions of readers facing universal truths.
Ms. Lee wrote beautiful letters to friends, some essays, but she never published another book. She seems to have told her story in 1960 and believed she couldn't please herself with another narrative.
Re-reading this classic causes readers to evaluate how they have measured up to its truths, a kind of American scripture, I suppose you could call it. FAVORITE! HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!
What are the CONSOLATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY when we are frustrated, unloved, without money, or constantly having difficulties? How can philosophers help u...moreWhat are the CONSOLATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY when we are frustrated, unloved, without money, or constantly having difficulties? How can philosophers help us with unpopularity or inadequacies? Alain de Botton offers practical solutions from six historical thinkers in this accessible guide to being human.
Every society has conventions about what one should believe or how one should behave. Those who deviate from the norm face criticism and are targets of scrutiny. Socrates faced unpopularity in the 4th Century BCE which resulted in his being forced to drink hemlock to end his unwanted influence on the Athenians. The consolation of the Socratic method for thinking gave him confidence in life and peace in death. It is the saddest of fates to be good but judged evil, and yet it happens to most of us at least once in our lives.
The wish for more...money, bigger house, fame, and power is addressed by Epicurus. Seeking happiness we often look to the unnecessary. The Epicurians had a different acquisition list. To be happy you need friendship and freedom from many of the everyday affairs in order to cultivate a life of simplicity. And we need time for thought to relieve anxiety, to deal with death, illness and supersition.
Society tends to label thoughts and behaviors as either normal or abnormal, but Montaigne challenges feelings of inadequacy by reading about other places and cultures whose customs he could identify with. He fought against racism and provincial arrogance to be more inclusive of others and himself. His acceptance of self can be a consolation to the uniqueness in all of us five hundred years after he lived.
With thoughts of love by Schopenhauer, writings about frustration and loss of a loved one by Seneca, and consolations for difficulties by Nietzsche, de Botton has brought together ancient wisdom from accomplished thinkers for modern times. Highly Recommended!(less)
Suppose we could call up Marcel Proust and ask for advice on love, work, friendship and reading books. Alain de Botton provides his 1900 number: tel....moreSuppose we could call up Marcel Proust and ask for advice on love, work, friendship and reading books. Alain de Botton provides his 1900 number: tel. 29205. With that an impossibility, lets settle in for HOW PROUST CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE, a two hundred pager that defies catagorization. The title suggests a self-help treatise, but de Botton's has effectively mined the master's written word for reveals of nine questions that effect all readers.
What is the importance of paying attention? How can we find meaning in the ordinary rhythms of life? How can we resist the dulling effects of habituation? How to put books down? How to be happy in love? How to accept life's inevitabilities? And learning to laugh at yourself are only a few of the topics explored in the writings, letters, and rememberances of Proust's friends.
One philosophical idea of Proust's is that "happiness may emerge from taking a second look" at our life. Are we failing to look properly at our lives rather than the result of anything inherently deficient in them. The occasion of this insight for Proust occurred when looking through the eyes of the artist Chardin.
How was Proust as a friend? He was aware that insisting on intelligence in friends was "irrelevant to me", as long as "they are kind", the warmth of the exchange was enough. His priority was to dedicate himself to others, and be generous with the check!
And what to do with the vicissitudes of life? Proust coughed, had life threatening asthma, was betrayed by friends, critics, and lovers. His answer was to turn the grief, pain, and romantic disappointments into ideas, and don't "blame the peas, the bores, the time, and the weather."
Open to any chapter of your interest and find facts, ideology, and wisdom from the twentieth-century's most renowned author brought to readers by a British philosopher who doesn't fit the conventional mold. Highest Recommendation!
Niccolo Machiavelli was a product of the the Renaissance, a rebirth of classical learning and art. The southern or Italian Renaissance was characteriz...moreNiccolo Machiavelli was a product of the the Renaissance, a rebirth of classical learning and art. The southern or Italian Renaissance was characterized by a radical turning to classical humanism in opposition to Christian ethical, political, and scientific teachings. Since the age of twenty-nine, Machiavelli held a position in the humanist Florentine republic. In 1512, the Medicis were restored to power, and Machiavelli lost his job. He retired to his farm for years of frustrated retirement, and began reading extensively about the Roman republic. His historical perspective highlighted the decline of the Empire when Rome moved from republican ideals to imperial rule. Machiavelli observed a comparable pattern in mid-fifteenth century Italy with the concentrated rule of the Medicis.
Believing that events of the past predict the present, the author attempted to counter the random factors in politics (called fortune) to provide a basis for practical action. This effort marks the beginning of political science. THE PRINCE is a practical work on how to acquire, secure, hold, and improve princely, as opposed to hereditary, power.
As a humanist, Machiavelli was committed to this world. He rejected the life of contemplation for the the life of practical participation in society. He wanted to rehabilitate politics to what he believed was its honorable position during the Roman Empire. He postulated that Rome's success was based on its flexibility of governmental response to situations that required different qualities in leadership. Stability is a central concern, and the means justifies that end. The willingness to extend power to absolutism was prompted by the conditions he experienced in Italy. The states were not united which left them vulnerable to foreign attack. Some commentators believe that it is the reality of this situation that gives THE PRINCE its extreme practical and amoral character.
Machiavelli rejects high-minded virtues in favor of more realistic measures. A ruler must be ready to act like a beast, 'it is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves'. The prince should have the reputation for honesty, integrity, and religion, but not always the reality. Noble force and deceitful cunning must sometimes be used. For princes, the end justifies the means.
It is important to keep in mind that Machiavelli was a republican. His extreme measures for the ruler may reflect a desperation to free his country from absolute rule which he compared to the enslaved Hebrews in Egypt. But it is not enough to trap his political thinking with his time, as readers have continued to be interested in his writings though some have little sympathy for his delivery. It seems evident that Machiavelli would have little patience with our procrastination and less for human rights as it impacts the political process. Highly Recommended.
The isolation of a remote island, populated with strange hybrids who walk upright and understand language but are more animal-like than human, is a pe...moreThe isolation of a remote island, populated with strange hybrids who walk upright and understand language but are more animal-like than human, is a perfect setting for observing human nature.
The menagerie of beasts that have both human and animal characteristics are the life's work of the vivisectionist, Doctor Moreau, scandalized by fellow English scientists and forced to locate on a remote island to continue his research.
The shipwrecked Edward Prendick is rescued by Montgomery, Moreau's assistant and brought to the island of no name. The narrator and protagonist sees the Beast Folks, physically and mentally altered animals that obey Moreau's Law out of remembered torture they experienced in their transformations. He hears the animal's screams of pain, and he witnesses their regression from the altered state to their original animal natures.
The ultimate question is whether Moreau's manipulative techniques of primitive grafting could evolve sentient animals to human beings. The answer unfolds in atmospheric detail on the remote island of no escape.
Examining human nature is a theme of THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. Without input from peers, where would man's hubis end? With genetic, hybrid and biological engineering common more than one hundred years after the book was published, what are the ethical issues, where should public funds be spent, and what projects represent the will of the people?
H.G. Wells, along with Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback, are the fathers of the Science Fiction genre. Influenced by Darwin's theory and later eugenics and political utopian ideas, Wells projected what influences these ideas might have on mankind. This science fiction book is a multi-layered cautionary tale. Highly Recommended!
Why is it easy to understand a concept in the ideal, and so difficult to understand it in reality?
This is the question raised in Plato's dialogues tha...moreWhy is it easy to understand a concept in the ideal, and so difficult to understand it in reality?
This is the question raised in Plato's dialogues that peaked my interest, explained my frustration, and highlighted my feeling of alienation.
I am an idealist, therefore the Forms resonate with me. Why are we given a concept of the extraordinary but are unable to find it in reality? What is knowledge of the perfect musical piece, love relationship, artist's rendering, poet's rendition, or intellectual summit for, if it can't be realized in life. Wouldn't it be more peaceful to have never known the ultimate concept in the mind's eye?
I can readily picture the Philosopher King who Plato crowns as the perfect ruler. I understand the need to legislate with justice and can apply the Form to life circumstances. But the understanding of politics in reality is incomprehensible to me. Why are we plagued by inadequate candidates who's intellectual acumen stalls creative resolutions, and who's moral compass points only to self-gratification?
Love is a Form that I understand with experiencial knowledge. Nothing in the self is more powerful to join two intimates or to heal psychological pain. I understand its mystery and honour its place as most prized and coveted. I can't, however, understand the reality of love's debris, or why those in love lose their way and shatter into pieces the whole of it.
I enjoyed reading Plato's dialogues because I understand what his words are illuminating. I continue to look for their manifestation in religion, personal commitments, and people's character, but the extraordinary is confusingly absent in life given what it truly is.
Theodore Zeldin premise is that people have never been able to have a new vision of the future without first revising their idea of the past. "History...moreTheodore Zeldin premise is that people have never been able to have a new vision of the future without first revising their idea of the past. "History did not have to happen the way it did, and what exists today is not its logical conclusion."
Zeldin sees humanity "as a family that has hardly met. I see the meeting of people, their bodies, thoughts, emotions or actions as the start of more change." The author maintains that up to now individuals have spent more time trying to understand themselves than discovering others. "But curiosity is expanding as never before." Without leaving your living room, you can know people of other countries through your imagination and technology.
Here are a few of the topics covered in AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF HUMANITY:
How humans have repeatedly lost hope, and how new encounters, and a new pair of spectacles, revive them...
How men and women have slowly learned to have interesting conversations...
How some people have acquired an immunity to loneliness...
How respect has become more desirable than power...
How curiosity has become a key to freedom...
How people choose a way of life, and how it does not wholly satisfy them...
This intimate history of the ideas of people looks at our past in order to have a new vision of the future. Highly Recommended!(less)
Svetlana Boym's THE FUTURE OF NOSTALGIA makes a universal human emotion accessible. Quirky, superbly composed, and nuanced, Boym shines the light on n...moreSvetlana Boym's THE FUTURE OF NOSTALGIA makes a universal human emotion accessible. Quirky, superbly composed, and nuanced, Boym shines the light on nostalgia arming the reader with both recognition and options to deal with the sometimes debilitating feeling of longing.
Defining, illustrating, and personalizing the perplexing phenomenom in seventeen chapters, Boym has proposed a theory that can be incorporated into many disciplines increasing our level of awareness. Her observations are timely, as globalization challenges many aspects of self and community.
Reading her theory may clarify a facet of our thought life that has been inaccessible before. And that understanding may answer many questions of our age. Her original meditation highlights how our sense of time and space has changed over the past century, and what those changes mean as we assign meaning to our lives and seek contentment.
The author's writing, though packed with knowledge and insight is esoteric and lumbering at times. This is both caution and praise for a particularly sophisticated writer.
Harold Bloom says that the United States does not have a single national epic, but three very diverse works: MOBY-DICK, "Leaves of Grass", and "Advent...moreHarold Bloom says that the United States does not have a single national epic, but three very diverse works: MOBY-DICK, "Leaves of Grass", and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" with Ahad not being someone we love while Walt and Huck are. This tome is a classic with unforgetable prose, atmospheric perfection, and universal truths.
Three chapters in particular (42, 119, 132) display the epic's transcendental truths, Ahab's religious beliefs, and the strength of his identity. These themes are the core of the story for me. The purpose of living is to fight the inevitability of death with never ending DEFIANCE. "Thou canst blind; but I can then grope. Thou canst consume; but I can then be ashes."
"...let me be then towed to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale! Thus, I give up the spear!" Captain Ahab only finally gives up the struggle with his mortality to its representative in the novel, the whale.
Ishmael will survive the disaster of the Pequod. He is buoyed up to ultimate safety by Queequeg's empty coffin, a remnant of their affection.
Chapter 122: "Um, um, um. Stop that thunder! Plenty too much thunder up here. What's the use of thunder? Um, um, um. We don't want thunder; we want RUM; give us a glass of RUM. Um, um, um!"
FINIS to MOBY-DICK and SALUTE to Herman Melville!(less)
John Ruskin was a British art critic whose fundamental virtuous beliefs spilled over to culture in general. This is a collection of the nineteenth-cen...moreJohn Ruskin was a British art critic whose fundamental virtuous beliefs spilled over to culture in general. This is a collection of the nineteenth-century author's essays, lectures, and books. Ruskin is considered by many to be the most influential critic in the English language.
Published in serialized form in eighteen-sixty in Cornhill Magazine, "Unto This Last" is based on the Parable of the Vineyard in Matthew's gospel. From the moral teachings of the text, Ruskin proposes the relationship between employer and employee should be justice, not profit or power. Ruskin proposes that there should be a fixed wage rate of work despite the quality. The future hiring patterns will benefit the more accomplished worker. For readers of the magazine, Ruskin's remarks were an assault against capitalism and were discontinued due to subscriber's demands.
Believing the political ecomonic treatise to be his best work, Ruskin published the four essays under "Unto This Last" in book form two years later. His essays call for compulsory education and governmental public works instituted to meet employment demands. The value of a product is not based on supply and demand, but appears to be relatively stable based on production costs. And he challenges the theory of lower wages leading to lower unemployment instead arguing for fixed wage rates.
Why should businessmen be different from soldiers, priests, doctors and lawyers who accept fixed rates instead of on the basis of supply and demand? Ruskin argued against the economic (Adam Smith) and utilitarian (John Stewart Mill) theorists of the day, and instead proposed that the wealth of the elite should be judged by the well-being of the common man.
The collection of Ruskin's works includes "The Stones of Venice, The Nature of Gothic", and "Modern Painters, The Two Boyhoods" among others. Bringing together Ruskin's views on art, architecture, and the economy, UNTO THIS LAST highlights the great critic's belief in the morality of them all. Highest Recommendation!
Thomas Paine eulogized by Christopher Hitchens in THOMAS PAINE'S RIGHTS OF MAN: BOOKS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD. Both Paine and Hitchens had:
1. Similar t...moreThomas Paine eulogized by Christopher Hitchens in THOMAS PAINE'S RIGHTS OF MAN: BOOKS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD. Both Paine and Hitchens had:
1. Similar trajectories (English birth, American sensitivities) 2. Common ideas (Purpose of Government: Security) 3. Communication of Passions (Thru rhetoric with adversaries: Edmund Burke and all proponents of absolutism) 4. Impact on revolutions for human rights...Invaluable!
An essential read to remember and honor two men (the subject and the author) who lived by their principles. Thomas Paine died in 1809, the year Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born. Both of these giants absorbed Paine's rational influence and confirmed his instinctive passions and changed the world.
It is with gratitude to those who remind us of essential truths. In Memory: Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011).
In the canon of philosophers, Erasmus is known for his condemnation of enthusiasm. PRAISE OF FOLLY is an example, as Folly herself attacks class consc...moreIn the canon of philosophers, Erasmus is known for his condemnation of enthusiasm. PRAISE OF FOLLY is an example, as Folly herself attacks class consciousness, the hypocracy of the clergy, King's neglect of their people, scholastic theologians splitting hairs over dogma, and pope's justifications for waging wars to acquire territory. Virtually every human commitment is satirized for their excesses, even Folly herself.
The great conflict between reason and religion was fermenting in his time, and each enthusiastically held position was seen by Erasmus as going overboard, causing rifts where none were needed. This was especially true in his relationship with Martin Luther whose core beliefs were maintained at first with moderation and inclusion, and later with vehemence and hated which resulted in the breaking off of all correspondence between the two men. Any belief or position could intensify with the fatal seduction of enthusiasm.
Erasmus was an independent thinker who recognized the opportunity for folly to invade man's ideas, professional endeavors, and personal attachments. Erasmus wrote of the space between the absolute thinking of both sides of an issue, gave the medium space equal recognition, and invited readers to adapt moderation in PRAISE OF FOLLY.
Though steeped in the doctrine of Rome, he read the humanistic ideas of the ancient Greeks where the folly of existence is acknowledged and valued. This moderate view of human nature offers humor from embarassment, acceptance from shame, and congruence from hypocracy.
Erasmus modeled moderation between religion and reason. Radical believers of both ideas would condemn him, but it's his inclusion that readers are drawn to after five hundred years. We would see his influence in Voltaire and all moderate, free thinking people. Highest Recommendation!
Some say our very being emerges from hearing, examining, and deciding between absolute and ambivalent thinking. Psychiatrists observe that anger, rese...moreSome say our very being emerges from hearing, examining, and deciding between absolute and ambivalent thinking. Psychiatrists observe that anger, resentment and bitterness are emotions that predominate when reality does not match our concrete beliefs. One way of moderating absolutism is to read the words of an early nineteenth century critic and essayist, William Hazlitt's ON THE PLEASURE OF HATING.
In six essays of critical prose, Hazlitt considers the nature of man and concludes, "Man is (so to speak) an endless and infinitely varied repetition: and if we know what one man feels, we so far know what a thousand feel in the sanctuary of their being. Our feeling of general humanity is at once an aggragate of a thousand different truths, and it is also the same truth a thousand times told."
The final essay, On The Pleasure of Hating, is the most memorable for numerous quotes of Hazlitt's absolutism. Probably best known for the following: "Pure good soon grows insipid, wants variety and spirit. Pain is a bitter-sweet, which never surfeits. Love turns, with a little indulgence, to indifference or disgust: hatred alone is immortal."
For me the purpose of Hazlitt's concrete thinking is to calibrate, when necessary, my own beliefs by opening the mind's eye to the full spectrum of what it means to be human, complete with ambivalences and uncertainties. Highest recommendation!(less)
Anthony Gottlieb's THE DREAM OF REASON invites you to join the great conversation begun in the fifth century BC and continuing today. The questions as...moreAnthony Gottlieb's THE DREAM OF REASON invites you to join the great conversation begun in the fifth century BC and continuing today. The questions asked are arguably the most profound...how should we live, are we fundamentally good or bad, is there life after death, and do we exercise free-will or are our decisions determined?
Philosophy appeals to those who like to think, to contemplate the meaning, goals, and purpose of life. While solitude appeals to some, others want to read the history of thought through the dialogues of Socrates and Plato, the extensive writings of Aristotle, the logic of Bacon, Montaigne's essays, and Descartes' scepticism. To join the great conversation challenges, enlightens, and clarifies reader's beliefs and adds to the evolution of ideas.
This volume is the history of philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance. It is exceptionally clear, well researched, and respectful of the limits of thinkers in the past. Gottlieb makes it easy to join the oldest conversation, and well worth the effort. Highest Recommendation!(less)
This is a re-read of the Edith Hamilton's classic writing on ancient Greece. The author contests the classification of the Greeks in the ancient world...moreThis is a re-read of the Edith Hamilton's classic writing on ancient Greece. The author contests the classification of the Greeks in the ancient world only, for they did not ultimately have the same conditions as Egypt, Crete and Mesopotamia.
The Greeks forged their own way, what became our Western way of rational thought and the integration of the idea of the individual. The Greek mind was balanced between the outside world and the internal world of each citizen.
The great spiritual forces were at peace in the minds of the Greeks for a century producing a balance between law and freedom, truth and religion, objective and subjective, and the result was clarity of truth and harmony. Highest Recommendation!(less)
"What is the thing we receive, without ever being thankful for it; which we enjoy without knowing how we came by it; which we give away to others with...more"What is the thing we receive, without ever being thankful for it; which we enjoy without knowing how we came by it; which we give away to others without knowing where it is to be found; and which we lose without considering it a misfortune?" Truths presented in juxtaposed fragments to highlight the complexity of man's existence in ZADIG by Voltaire.
Zadig was restless and uneasy observing the misfortunes and disappointments of others. He was confused and bewildered by injustice liberally measured to him in his journeys. He pondered the distinctions between virtue and vice, morality and self-absorption, the sovereign good and individual generousity, fate and self-determination, and the frailty of nature.
Gathering wisdom from experience and the Angel's Book of Fate, Zadig is provided the answers to life's riddles.
"Tho' everything here below is dangerous, yet All are necessary."
"No such thing as chance, all misfortunes are intended, either as trials, judgements or rewards."
"Submit to the mysteries of fate."
The questions in Voltaire's parable are timeless, the struggles are exaggerated and condensed to focus the reader's attention on the inequalities of life, and the conclusions consolidate to a whole, (destiny, fate, Divine Providence) which comforts some and causes further questioning for others.
Oh, and the answer to the question in the opening paragraph is LIFE. Highly Recommended!
Paul Goodman (1911-1972) may be one of the most important people of the 20th century no one ever heard of. In the sixties, William Buckley began his t...morePaul Goodman (1911-1972) may be one of the most important people of the 20th century no one ever heard of. In the sixties, William Buckley began his televised interview program by introducing Goodman as a man "who is everything except, as far as I know, not a basketball player."
He was a pacifist, philosopher, lay psychiatrist, moralist, prolific writer of books, essays, commentary, plays, and poetry. Susan Sontag compared him to Socrates, "he's a gadfly, a professional outsider much like Emerson." He was a married, bisexual, father of three, who spent his days in New York writing in the mornings and combing the streets in the afternoon.
Goodman smoked a corncob pipe, wore ruppled sweaters and pants, and ignored his touseled hair. He co-authored the founding text of Gestault Therapy with Frederick Perls, highlighted the angst of adolescence in the defining book of juvenile deliquency called GROWING UP ABSURD, and protested the Vietnam War.
An example of his fearlessness to live authentically was a talk he gave in 1967 to the "military-industrial complex" including General Westmoreland. Confronting the men who were waging war in southeast Asia, Goodman said, "You are the manufacturers of chemical weapons, and while you say the war is necessary to protect the American way of life, I say it is un-American."
Goodman identified with Jefferson and Aristotle as a Man of Letters. He was committed to knowing multiple disciplines, and using all in problem solving. An example was his approach to liveability in New York City. He maintained that the answer to conjestion and the cutting off of natural neighborhoods was to ban cars in Manhatten. The reclaimed land could be used for affordable housing, parks and bikes, and the result would be ecologically sound. Fifty years later, this proposal is in effect in parts of London and is considered a viable solution in major cities.
As a gadfly, Goodman was critical of complacency, thought all people should participate in a democracy, and believed "the growing layer of the tree is most important." His surprising optimism came from seeing people "whole and beginning-still growing-and then they seem less limited."
It is the courageous humanist who sees challenges differently and is willing to venture practical proposals for change that is essential in a society. People like Paul Goodman. Highly Recommended.
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