Vote for the October 2012 book of the month
- Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
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Vote for the October 2012 book of the month
The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers by Will Durant
The Conscious Brain by Jesse J. Prinz
Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain by Michael S. Gazzaniga
The Ravenous Brain: How the New Science of Consciousness Explains Our Insatiable Search for Meaning by Daniel Bor
"The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master."
I believe spiritual freedom (a.k.a. self-discipline) manifests as bravery, confidence, grace, honesty, love, and inner peace.
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Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month
- Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
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Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month
"The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master."
I believe spiritual freedom (a.k.a. self-discipline) manifests as bravery, confidence, grace, honesty, love, and inner peace.
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Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month
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Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month
I am.Chinny wrote:I have a pdf version of Durant's book, if anyone is interested.
"Argument is propaganda for one observer, the essence of human discourse for another." -Feyerabend, Against Method, p. 236 (2010)
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Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month
I am, too.Chinny wrote:I have a pdf version of Durant's book, if anyone is interested.
-- Updated September 4th, 2012, 7:22 am to add the following --
I see Durant's book is on the history of philosophy. An topic I explored avidly many years ago but which, for me, has long since lost its appeal.
Mostly because I have come to the realization that the cogitations of early philosophers have little other than basic matrices of reason to offer. Not because of any want of intellect on their part but, rather, because of the gross lack of information about the workings of our world that was then available. The IT acronym GIGO: Garbage in - garbage out expresses this succinctly.
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Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month
I see the history of philosophy as important since we can learn why we use the conceptual framework we do, how philosophers have dealt with certain issues, and also to learn how not to treat certain philosophical problems. As they say, if you do not know history, you are doomed to repeat it. In a way, reading the history of philosophy is like a form of contraception: it helps prevent giving bith to ideas that have been bastardized by other men. But there might be a 'hole' in my argument here.PeterKinnon wrote: Mostly because I have come to the realization that the cogitations of early philosophers have little other than basic matrices of reason to offer. Not because of any want of intellect on their part but, rather, because of the gross lack of information about the workings of our world that was then available. The IT acronym GIGO: Garbage in - garbage out expresses this succinctly.
It is true that in science it is not always worthwhile to read the history, but philosophy isn't science, nor should it try to be. Philosophy is the analysis of the concepts we take for granted, and the honest analysis of those concepts in order to arrive at the truth of the matter at hand. Science does have a role, sure, but philosophy ought not to be reduced to science. Philosophy is concerned with argumentation, logic, and a faithful description of human experience. If anything, science and philosophy (as a historically-driven discipline) have much to learn from each other.
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Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month
However, in my view, it has little direct relevance to our current quest for better understanding of our world and there is little justification for the quite common habit of extensively quoting earlier philosophers to support conjectures.
But then, I must admit to being fairly committed to the empiricist faith.
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Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month
I will be very happy with it. please, Chinny ^^Chinny wrote:I have a pdf version of Durant's book, if anyone is interested.
2024 Philosophy Books of the Month
2023 Philosophy Books of the Month
Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Mitzi Perdue
February 2023
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness
by Chet Shupe
March 2023