Kevin's Favorite Philosophy Books

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Books Reviewed:

 

 

 

By James Redfield.

For a book that's hopelessly mired in the muck of late-80's/early-90's misty-swirly New Age metaphysics, it really does have a few interesting "insights," if you'll pardon the pun. It's written in the form of a spiritual journey across the planet, but clearly it's meant to be a text that people will study. I didn't go in for the explanations of why certain energy auras appear to be certain colors and so forth.

But on the other hand, a key point in the middle of the book is how humans attempt to control each other, and dominate each other, and compete for control of the "energy flow" -- no matter what the cost. Both the personal and the national conflicts of this world arise, according to the book, because people maintain irrational and unhealthy opinions (actions, ideas, etc.) in order to control the energy flow. The book goes on to describe a spectrum of four basic "control dramas" that people act out in order to gain control of the energy, which I found surprisingly accurate and useful. His ultimate prediction for the state of the human race is annoyingly similar, in some ways, to the future I'm writing about in my novel about surfers in space. I swear I thought of it first! Not similar enough for a copyright infringement, I don't think; but similar in the role of technology and in people's motivation for living.

 

 

By Richard Bach.

These two books somehow embody a lot of the best qualities of the much-feared 'scourge' of secular humanism, while nevertheless being spiritual. Like Jesus actually said, after we die God is going to be a lot more concerned with how we treated our real-life friends and neighbors, than the conformity of our eschatological beliefs to the latest-updated decrees and dogmas. And that's what these books are about.

The latter is a parable of what Jesus Christ would do if he were re-incarnated as a seagull, and it's complete with the betrayal by his friends and the condemnation by the Earthly secular/religious authorities of seagulldom. Still, if you have an open mind, you get as much out of it as you do from any Gospel.

The former book was more literally about the return of a human who was far-advanced spiritually, but it offered many more personal insights, like the one that really hit home with me, "If your happiness in this life depends on the reactions of others, then you're really screwed." Check 'em out.

 

 

By William Golding.

It's arguable whether this might be considered sociology or just fiction, but it wound up here on my list. This book takes the stereotypes of "the noble savage" and "innocent as a babe" and drags them through the Mercury-rich red mud of a paradaisical South Sea island.

Prepubescent kids shipwrecked there, in a seeming Land of Plenty, begin constructing their own little society, free from the taints and prejudices of the Old World. But by the end you're hard-pressed to discern any difference between them and their adult counterparts. Which makes the kids and the adults both come off with with the worst qualities of each. Well-written and disturbing at a very visceral level.

 

 

By Dan Millman. (1) The Way of the Peaceful Warrior; (2) The Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior; other books less directly related to this storyline, including "No Ordinary Moments."

These books influenced my thinking at an early age (Freshman in college), and happily, I've never recovered. If I had to pick one single book for everyone on Earth to read, preferably as a teenager, it'd be the first book in this series. Through the humble example of the narrator, a code of conduct and philosophy is developed which won't steer you wrong in any situation. The second book, though no less peppered with wonderfully human characters and situations, really made believable the Hindu idea of Chakras and how we can improve ourselves by keeping in mind (not necessarily doting upon) the flow of mental and bodily energy through those non-physical centers. Yet because they're written as narratives about actual (supposedly true) events in Dan Millman's life, the books never give off that peculiar 'New Age' aroma that repulses so many people.

The author also wrote a book called "The Warrior Athlete" which, though more limited in scope, is still (I believe) great reading if you're competing physically in any kind of sports event. He then went whole-hog into Numerology at some point and released a book about that, which I try to ignore.

Here's one of my favorite quotes from the first book:

[discussing t'ai chi, the Chinese martial art consisting of a complex routine of smooth yet intricate movements]

...To help relax, I began swaying back and forth in the movements of t'ai chi. I concentrated on softness and balance, feeling like seaweed floating in the ocean.

A few boys and girls from the high school stopped and watched me, but I paid them no attention, letting my concentration flow with the movements. When I finished and walked over to put my sweat pants back on over my running shorts, my ordinary awareness asserted itself: "I wonder if I looked good." My attention was captured by two pretty teenagers who were watching me and giggling. "I guess those girls are impressed," I thought, as I put both legs into one pant leg, lost my balance and fell on my ass.

A few other students joined the girls in their laughter. I felt embarrassed for a moment, but then lay back and laughed with them.

 

 

By Herman Hesse.

These are three unrelated books that had a dramatic impact on me because I read them as I was passing through stages of my life that were eerily, allegorically similar to the subjects of these stories. I read Steppenwolf when I was getting a handle on my antisocial lifestyle and contempt for worldly details. Siddartha hit me as I was refining my asceticism into a spiritual hunger. And the tale of Narcissus and Goldmund mirrored my devotion to a wayward friend who shall remain here nameless. There's so much more to these books than that, they really jump off the page and into your eyes, assuming you can buy a decent translation from the original German.

I knew that my dreams had been right a thousand times over, just as yours had been. It was life and reality that were wrong... You have a dimension too many... Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds no home in this trivial world of ours... All we who ask too much and have a dimension too many could not contrive to live at all if there were not another air to breathe outside the air of this world, if there were not eternity at the back of time.

 

 

By Fritjof Capra.

The writer/author of the movie Mindwalk turns out a mind-blowing exploration of the similarities between subatomic physics and Eastern religion. Only rarely does he push the comparison too far. In short, the same scientific discoveries and theories that gave us objects as commonplace as lasers and transistors also prove that we are all connected to each other and that mechanistic rationalism can never explain concepts like thought, intention, and (the all-important) observation. If you're ever puzzled about why people think there are philosophical implications to physics concepts like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and Particle-Wave duality, then you need to read this book. And even better, you don't need to already be a physicist in order to get through it.

 

 

By Benjamin Hoff.

The author makes a thorough exploration of the parallels between Eastern philosophy and the children's books by A.A. Milne. Furthermore, if you ever noticed that an attitude of childlike simplicity always works better than the overcomplicated second-guesses of an "adult," here is the proof. He wrote a sequel called The Te of Piglet which I didn't like as much, but might still be worth a glance.

 

 

By Robert M. Pirsig.

This book starts out as a travelogue but rapidly mutates into a great exploration of a deceptively simple philosophical question: What is "Quality"?

Quality is a trait that can be applied across all situations, and people disagree in their application of the word, yet everybody seems so certain they know what it means that virtually nobody ever thinks about defining it. Turns out the act of defining the word is so difficult that the author has several losing bouts with the question "what is the definition of 'sanity' " before he can figure it out. Dang if this book doesn't make you think pretty hard.

 

 

 

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