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How Plato and Pythagoras Can Save Your Life: The Ancient Greek Prescription for Health and Happiness
University professor, psychotherapist and recovering former nightclub owner Dr. Nicholas Kardaras presents a mind blowing, reality rocking, and life changing approach to Greek philosophy. Having once owned celebritystudded NY nightclubs where he had mingled with the likes of JFK, Jr., Uma Thurman and Tom Cruise, Kardaras would emerge from that glamorousyetselfdestructive world to discover the powerful and transformative teachings of his ancient ancestors. To his amazement, he learned that ancient Greek philosophy, contrary to popular misconceptions, was not a dry and academic pursuit, but a vibrant and holistic transformative practice. In How Plato and Pythagoras Can Save You're your Life , Dr. Kardaras breathes new life into those ancient teachings as he incorporates some of the most cutting edge advances in the fields of quantum mechanics and consciousness research to validate the insights and wisdom of the ancient Greek sages. As he guides readers through an array of contemplative practices designed to help them live a more meaningful life, Kardaras warns the reader to be prepared because they just might also "catch a glimpse of that trippy realm called Ultimate Reality".
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
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103 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Kardaras
9 books60 followersDr. Nicholas Kardaras is an internationally renowned speaker, one of the country’s foremost addiction experts, the Executive Director of the Dunes in East Hampton NY—one of the world’s top rehabs, and the founder and Executive Director of Hamptons Discovery--a progressive adolescent treatment program. A former Clinical Professor at Stony Brook Medicine, he has also taught neuropsychology at the doctoral-level, and is the author of "Glow Kids" (St. Martin's Press, 2016) and "How Plato and Pythagoras Can Save Your Life" (Conari, 2011). He is a frequent contributor to Psychology Today and FOX News, and has appeared on the CBS Evening News, NPR, Good Day New York and in Esquire, New York Magazine and Vanity Fair.
Dr. Kardaras has also, admittedly, lived a colorful life: he’s a former AAU National Karate champion, a recovering NYC nightclub owner and a coma survivor. Having once owned celebrity-studded NY nightclubs where he had mingled with the likes of JFK, Jr., Uma Thurman and Tom Cruise, Kardaras emerged from that glamorous-yet-self-destructive world to discover the powerful and transformative teachings of ancient philosophy. He’s a lifelong seeker who has explored many of the world’s wisdom traditions in an effort to become “awakened” and devotes much of his professional time towards helping others who are struggling with addiction or who are in psychospiritual crisis to become “awakened” as well.
Dr. Kardaras has also, admittedly, lived a colorful life: he’s a former AAU National Karate champion, a recovering NYC nightclub owner and a coma survivor. Having once owned celebrity-studded NY nightclubs where he had mingled with the likes of JFK, Jr., Uma Thurman and Tom Cruise, Kardaras emerged from that glamorous-yet-self-destructive world to discover the powerful and transformative teachings of ancient philosophy. He’s a lifelong seeker who has explored many of the world’s wisdom traditions in an effort to become “awakened” and devotes much of his professional time towards helping others who are struggling with addiction or who are in psychospiritual crisis to become “awakened” as well.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 15, 2017
I ran out of patience and couldn't finish. He meanders ... throws in everything and anything he can think of to fill up the pages. He could probably make his point (if he has one) in about 3 pages.
That's a statement that can be made about many books on many topics ... except there are many that have artistry of expression that justify the extra length. This is not such a book.
That's a statement that can be made about many books on many topics ... except there are many that have artistry of expression that justify the extra length. This is not such a book.
April 10, 2018
I was patient up to about the halfway point, but this book is such a mess I realized my time could be spent better elsewhere. I would recommend Philosophy for Life: And Other Dangerous Situations as an alternative. It is not perfect, but it well constructed.
In short Kardaras talks about himself for a while. His research is mostly name-dropping popular literature you might encounter in the airport bookstore. That's not to say that some of those books are not excellent sources, but the way he calls them out smacks of a poorly constructed undergraduate research paper. I'm simply not confident that he has done the work and some of his data in reference to the natural sciences is verifiably false. He paints caricatures of philosophical approaches, religious beliefs, and scientific practices. Although some elements are well written and I can see where he is going with something, the total synthesis is a loose patchwork easily unraveled or in my case easily dismissed.
In short Kardaras talks about himself for a while. His research is mostly name-dropping popular literature you might encounter in the airport bookstore. That's not to say that some of those books are not excellent sources, but the way he calls them out smacks of a poorly constructed undergraduate research paper. I'm simply not confident that he has done the work and some of his data in reference to the natural sciences is verifiably false. He paints caricatures of philosophical approaches, religious beliefs, and scientific practices. Although some elements are well written and I can see where he is going with something, the total synthesis is a loose patchwork easily unraveled or in my case easily dismissed.
June 30, 2011
Half way through this book and I'm not sure I'll finish it. He has spent the first half defending his mystical views against science (with some very specious arguments). I am yet to know what those views are. It's like a bad mystery. It's taken so long to find out what the mystery is, that I'm not even sure I care to find out how it ends.
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I finished it. It is a very poorly argued book. His basic premise I'd that science doesn't know everything. But then goes on to say that since science does not know everything, my theory MUST hold water. This book is filled with that type of reasoning. A lot of the 'ancient wisdom' he esposes, was dismissed long ago. Since there isn't much known about Pythagoras he feels justified to fill the gaps with his own belief that one must meditate in front of a body of water in order to better stuns oneself to the vibrations of the universe. And as far as Plato goes, he never goes beyong Plato's Forms. There's not much philosophy here.
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I finished it. It is a very poorly argued book. His basic premise I'd that science doesn't know everything. But then goes on to say that since science does not know everything, my theory MUST hold water. This book is filled with that type of reasoning. A lot of the 'ancient wisdom' he esposes, was dismissed long ago. Since there isn't much known about Pythagoras he feels justified to fill the gaps with his own belief that one must meditate in front of a body of water in order to better stuns oneself to the vibrations of the universe. And as far as Plato goes, he never goes beyong Plato's Forms. There's not much philosophy here.
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July 4, 2011a fun read, though it makes me wish i lived near a body of water.
very much off topic: reading about pythagoras reminded that he and his buddies desperately loathed beans. here is one of my favorite quotes, not from this book so i give nothing away: Wretches, utter wretches, keep your hands from beans. it sounds like a monty python sketch, doesn't it?
very much off topic: reading about pythagoras reminded that he and his buddies desperately loathed beans. here is one of my favorite quotes, not from this book so i give nothing away: Wretches, utter wretches, keep your hands from beans. it sounds like a monty python sketch, doesn't it?
February 23, 2014
I've been studying a lot of Greek philosophy lately so I was happy to know about the people and ideas he was talking about. A year ago these ideas would have been over my head.
I disagreed with his conclusions in most cases and I also felt he misrepresented or guessed a lot.
He goes about searching for truth completely different than I do. He looks to the Greeks to form his truth while I know truth (as revealed by god) and read Greek philosophy to help explain that truth.
I disagreed with his conclusions in most cases and I also felt he misrepresented or guessed a lot.
He goes about searching for truth completely different than I do. He looks to the Greeks to form his truth while I know truth (as revealed by god) and read Greek philosophy to help explain that truth.
August 21, 2015
I expected something altogether different - not a discourse on religion, etc.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews