Reading Challenge Week 37 - A Book about Philosophy

To read or not to read? Liz, Scott and Brenda chose the affirmative. How did you go? I was surprised by the number of philosophy books on our shelves, as well as the many ebooks available. Did you learn about Aristotle, Confucius or Descartes? Or perhaps you read a book with a hearty dose of homespun philosophy? We'd love to hear your recommendations.

Elizabeth Smyth read The Philosophy of Tragedy: From Plato to Žižek, by Julian Young.

If you have ever wondered why people are drawn to tragic events, either as spectators or participants, this is the book for you.

Young takes us on a journey through the minds of renowned philosophers, from Plato and Aristotle through to Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and beyond. He considers the ideas of writers too, such as Miller and Camus.

Simple explanations help the lay reader understand what has clearly taken decades of scholarship to derive. For example, to help us understand Plato, Young likens poets to the media. We can then more easily understand Plato’s view that poets are too emotional to contribute to knowledge.

We go on to discover Aristotle’s deliberations on catharsis as a safe release of emotions, which he believed was preferable to repression. And his notion that we derive satisfaction from witnessing fictional representations of events that in real life would horrify us.

I particularly liked Hegel’s realization that, in the absence of an ethical resolution, a writer may as well give an audience a happy ending. For in tragedy, what difference does it make one way or the other? As long as we are left with an understanding of the protagonist’s one-sided point of view.

And then, how true is Schopenhauer’s observation that if we get what we want we are bored, not immediately, but soon after? That life swings between lack and boredom?

Finally, Young reminds us that the arts and aesthetics are crucial to human life. For me, this is the most important point of this book.

You can find The Philosophy of Tragedy: from Plato to Žižek on the shelf in the JCU Library at 809.9162 YOU, or in the catalogue along with five others written or edited by Julian Young.

Scott Dale read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig

There has been a lot written about Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (917.30492 PIR) over the years. It’s one of those books which seems to have been discussed a whole lot more than it has been read. I’ll attempt to let you know what it’s about, without getting too much into what it all means. Perhaps I should point out that there are potential plot spoilers below - but this is a book more concerned with philosophy than plot.

Before the book really begins we are told that it’s not actually about zen, nor does it focus too heavily on motorcycle maintenance. You’ll be pleased to know that values do feature.

This book is a fictionalised autobiography based on an actual motorcycle trip Pirsig took with his son across the north of the US, into Oregon and California. The narrator and his son travel with some friends for most of the trip and we see some different personality types in action on the road. What is actually happening on the road is interspersed with little thought monologues that the narrator calls Chautauquas. These Chautauquas cover the philosophical elements of the book.

And then there’s Phaedrus. We meet the spectre, or shadow, of Phaedrus fairly early on. Phaedrus is the name the narrator gives to the person he used to be. There’s nothing mystical about this. The narrator was once another person, but was committed to a mental health facility and underwent electroshock treatment against his will. He was released with a new personality. Throughout the journey we learn of Phaedrus, his life and what led him to a mental breakdown. The idea of quality played a big part in this.

The way this book was written is interesting. In an interview, Pirsig said he was actually a computer manual writer while working on the novel and for two years would wake at 2am, spend four hours working on his book and then go to work for the day.

I’m glad I took the time to read a book that was not at all as I’d anticipated. 

Brenda Carter read Creating Heaven on Earth: Experiencing Immortality in Everyday Life (ebook) by Paul Marcus

While searching for a book to read on this week’s theme, I was interested to see how closely connected philosophy, psychology and religion are. Creating Heaven on Earth: The Psychology of Experiencing Immortality in Everyday Life by Paul Marcus touches on all three as it suggests ways to experience a sense of timelessness and fulfilment through mindfulness and ‘flow’.

Rather than focusing on the kind of sublime experiences that might invoke these feelings, Marcus explores how simple and even mundane activities like gardening, having a cup of coffee with a friend, attending a baseball game, listening to music, or listening to or telling a story can be opportunities for immersion and sensory transcendence. The end result is not a life devoted to personal satisfaction but one that is other-centred, thus sharing the love.

“Everything has been figured out, except how to live”, noted Sartre. Experiencing Immortality in Everyday Life seeks to show us how.