“The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did not exist.” -The Usual Suspects
Very informative and thought-provoking b“The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did not exist.” -The Usual Suspects
Very informative and thought-provoking book. The book explores concept of Devil, God, and evil vs. good through Western literarure, philosophy, science, psychology, history, and theology. It explores evolutions and devolutions of the concept. At some points, I became seriously disappointed in "intellectuals," yet people like Jung, O'Cannor, Mann, Bernanos, and above all, Dostoevsky, were among few who really understood Devil.
In Death in the Afternoon, Hemingway shares the sights, the sounds, the excitement, and above all, the knowledge which is fuelled his passion for SpaIn Death in the Afternoon, Hemingway shares the sights, the sounds, the excitement, and above all, the knowledge which is fuelled his passion for Spain and the bullfight. This book is sophisticated and well-written, inspired by the intense life, as well as the inevitable death, of those hot, violent afternoons....more
Meh... Honestly, I found the book a bit boring, but that is perhaps because I had done her advice before in my life. There wasn't anything new for me tMeh... Honestly, I found the book a bit boring, but that is perhaps because I had done her advice before in my life. There wasn't anything new for me there......more
For more information regarding my rating, please read a sophisticated and comprehensive review of my Goodread's friend, Missy. htLook who's talking...!
On Fairy-Stories is an essay by Tolkien that tries to answer three questions: What is a fairytale? What is their origin? What is the use of them?
In thiOn Fairy-Stories is an essay by Tolkien that tries to answer three questions: What is a fairytale? What is their origin? What is the use of them?
In this essay, Tolkien argues that all fairytales have four shared features: They start with "Once upon a time..." - an unknown date They are dealing with royalty or members of loyalty (e. g., Prince and Princesses, Queens and Kings, etc) They have the element of magic - the most necessary feature in all fairytales They finish with "...lived happily ever after." (the story gets dark and hopeless, but it will ultimately end happily.)
This essay is well-elaborated and -categorized....more
On Three Ways of Writing for Children is a short yet intriguing essay on children literature and fairy tales by great fantasy writer, C. S. Lewis.
LewiOn Three Ways of Writing for Children is a short yet intriguing essay on children literature and fairy tales by great fantasy writer, C. S. Lewis.
Lewis argues the importance of moral imagination and storytelling for children. According to Tolkien, he explains, the appeal of the fairy story lies in the fact that man there most fully exercises his function as a 'sub-creator'; not, as they love to say now, making a 'comment upon life' but making, so far as possible, a subordinate world of his own. Since, in Tolkien's view, this is one of man's proper functions, delight naturally arises whenever it is successfully performed. For Jung, fairy tale liberates Archetypes which dwell in the collective unconscious, and when we read a good fairy tale we are obeying the old precept 'Know thyself'.
I am an old soul with a child heart. I enjoy watching cartoons and reading children's great classic books. I have an overly active imagination, and like Lewis, I don't feel ashamed of any of these at all. For me, children are not stupid, gullible individuals in desperate need of advice from grown-ups, but rather, humans who perceive the world from a unique and remarkable perspective. I respect children and their sacred world.
Lewis beautifully puts it, "We must meet children as equals in that area of our nature where we are their equals. Our superiority consists partly in commanding other areas, and partly (which is more relevant) in the fact that we are better at telling stories than they are. The child as reader is neither to be patronized nor idolized: we talk to him as man to man. But the worst attitude of all would be the professional attitude which regards children in the Jump as a sort of raw material which we have to handle. We must of course try to do them no harm: we may, under the Omnipotence, sometimes dare to hope that we may do them good. But only such good as involves treating them with respect."...more
Owen takes a penetrating look at the earth’s shrinking resources and the delusion underlying our solutions to these problems. In the process, he persuOwen takes a penetrating look at the earth’s shrinking resources and the delusion underlying our solutions to these problems. In the process, he persuades us that the serious environmental problems that humanity faces won’t be fixed by scientists and engineers, but by our behavioral changes, namely consuming less. Owen’s latest becomes a declaration against the massive greenwashing campaigns of the past decade and the presentation of scientific data that lets us ignore questions we already know the answers to and don’t like. Owen admonishes locavorism, excoriates solar panels, lambasts natural gas as a substitute for coal, faults compact fluorescent lights, and upbraids innovations in transit. To wrap up, the book concisely analyzes the programs and laws made to protect the planet end up creating far more carbon emissions and encouraging even worse behavior.
I usually don't read environmental books or articles, but this book had very interesting approach toward what they tell us we are ought to do to save the nature. I don't have enough knowledge to assess his arguements, but I think for folks who are interested in environmental issues this book will be thought-provoking. However, I think author left me with questions more than answers. I'm not sure what are his suggestions and if they work....more
I have to admit that I was wrong about Freud. He was indeed a genius. His approach towards dreams and subconsciousness stunned me. He studied dreams wI have to admit that I was wrong about Freud. He was indeed a genius. His approach towards dreams and subconsciousness stunned me. He studied dreams with an incredible delicacy, and much like a surgeon, he dissects parts of dreams and suggests his interpretations of them.
In Freud’s opinion, dreams represent our desires and pains. For him, the dream is like a stage with a mysterious and symbolic show full of metaphors, and by decoding the meaning behind it, one can unravel the secrets, desires, and pains. Dreams, in Freud's view, are formed as the result of two mental processes. The first process involves unconscious forces that construct a wish expressed by the dream, and the second is the process of censorship that forcibly distorts the expression of the wish. In Freud's view, all dreams are forms of wish fulfillment. He dissected many dreams and nightmares to prove his idea.
I think it is helpful to add my strange experience here: I’ve been thinking about Freud’s theory and thought, “I should examine his idea myself.” That night, I dreamed my brother had an exam the day after—which he really had—and I was angry over him for not waking up. In the dream, my efforts were in vain, and he insisted on sleeping. After waking up, I thought that obviously, my hidden desire couldn’t be my brother missing his exam, but after a while, I discovered the meaning. That night before going to sleep, my mother had asked me when I would like to wake up, and I answered, “when my brother wakes up.” My dream can be proof of Freud’s opinion: my hidden desire was not to wake up early, so I dreamed my brother not waking up for his exam: to fulfill my hidden wish of waking up late the following day.
Freud claimed that every dream has a connection point with an experience of the previous day. The connection may be minor, as the dream content can be selected from any part of the dreamer's life. Freud believed that dreams were picture puzzles, and though they may appear nonsensical and worthless on the surface, through the process of interpretation they can form a "poetical phrase of the greatest beauty and significance.”
I believe Freud had an innovative approach towards dreams, and since he found dreams a gate to subconsciousness, I think in the future I have to come back to this book and reread it thoroughly with other works of Freud. I'm also curious to study Jung's thoughts as well. I hope reading theories and thinking about them help me find a notion on mind, dreams, psychoanalysis, and subconsciousness.
P.S.: However, I still believe Freud over-sexualized dreams and everything, and I remain skeptical about these statements....more
“Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any ‘how'.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
Man's Search for Meaning is a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chr“Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any ‘how'.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
Man's Search for Meaning is a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War II and describing his psychotherapeutic method, which involved identifying a purpose in life. According to Frankl, the way a prisoner imagined the future affected his longevity. Part One constitutes Frankl's analysis of his experiences in the concentration camps, while Part Two introduces his ideas of meaning and his theory called Logotherapy.
Honestly, I was very skeptical about this book. I thought it was just another self-help book full of cliché quotes. However, after a few pages, Professor Frankl proved he is different. He saw war and Nazi death camps differently. If Freud believed humans are after pleasure and Adler believed humans are after power, Dr. Frankl believed humans are after meaning. He looked at all his misfortunes and sufferings through the eye of an explorer. For him, life was a quest for meaning:
“Dostoevsky said once, "There is only one thing I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings." These words frequently came to my mind after I became acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and death, bore witness to the fact that the last inner freedom cannot be lost. It can be said that they were worthy of their sufferings; the way they bore their sufferings was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom—which cannot be taken away—that makes life meaningful and purposeful.”
Frankl had lost his wife, brother, and parents tragically at concentration camps, but instead of faltering, he decided to help others--and thus--to help himself find the meaning of his own life. He was a hero of his own life, for he not only found the meaning of his life amongst the turmoils of his life but also helped thousands of others to find their meaning in life as well.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
According to him, “The meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system. The meaning of life always changes, but it never ceases to be. It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but right action and right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”
He is neither pessimistic nor optimistic but realistic. He doesn't want to lead his reader up to the garden path by deceiving them that everything is good. Frankl opens our eyes to the truth that life is indeed complex and difficult to bear, but one should find meaning in their existence and bravely face all the sufferings, for sufferings are necessary for humans to grow.
“But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.”
Instead of retelling the horribleness of the war or complaining about how SS agents were cruel, Frankl logically and unbiasedly examined humans as a creature free from any country, race, or gender. He believed that the meaning is not just the inner self, but the reflection of ourselves in the outer world that can be achieved through the eye of faith and love. For Frankl, “Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance… Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the beloved person; and even more, he sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized. Furthermore, by his love, the loving person enables the beloved person to actualize these potentialities. By making him aware of what he can be and of what he should become, he makes these potentialities come true.”
When he had a chance to flee from Nazi agents to the States, he encountered a Hebrew quote, "Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land." His American visa lapsed, and he lived almost a century (1905-1997). He believed addiction and suicide are a sign of the fall of our age, “For the world is in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best.”
In my personal opinion, I stand beside Frankl and hail for life, meaning, and suffering. I'm not unfamiliar to the emptiness and inner crisis, but I had touched the meaning of existence and had seen how my life enriches by courageous action of embracing challenges and sufferings. Man's Search for Meaning is a book that everyone should read--even if it is the only book or the last one they read. Each line of the book bears a precious understanding of life and for me, it was a treasure of pure wisdom and a sign of the beauty and divine meaning behind living....more
تنها میشه گفت قانع نشدم. آقای هدایت مطالعات نسبتا خوبی داشتن اما نه کامل و البته محدود به زمان خودشون. البته بگذریم که کلا این مسئله به شیوه احساسی برختنها میشه گفت قانع نشدم. آقای هدایت مطالعات نسبتا خوبی داشتن اما نه کامل و البته محدود به زمان خودشون. البته بگذریم که کلا این مسئله به شیوه احساسی برخورد کردن نظر من راجع به گیاهخواران اینه که باشه! اگه دوست دارید گیاهخوار باشید اما با رژیم غذایی بقیه کاریی نداشته باشید. مدت زمان زیادیه که انسان ها همه چیزخوار هستند و این عیب نیست. اگر مسئله کشتار حیواناته باید گفت اگر شیر گوزن بخورد مشکلی نیست اما انسان چرا! اصلا گوزن که هیچ! انسان کشته بشه مشکلی نیست اما گوسفند چرا! طبق تحقیقات اخیر گیاهان هم احساس دارند. پس اون زبون بسته ها هم زیر دندان های گیاهخواران در حال زجر کش شدن هستند. پس چرا کسی از اون ها دفاع نمیکنه؟! :')
نویسنده با توسل به احساسات موفق میشود احساست آدمی رو برانگیزد اما برای مباحث جدی باید از این مغلطه بافی ها دوری کرد. از طرف دیگه، چیزهایی که مربوط به حقوق حیوانات میشه مثل ضرب و شتم یا شکنجه حیوانات حین پرورش، ریشه اش به نظام اقتصادی برمیگرده تا نفس گوشت خواری. نویسنده ادعا میکند که در فطرت آدمی گیاهخواری بوده اما شواهد علمی حاکی از آن است که حدود 2 میلیون سال پیش ما شروع به شکار پستانداران بزرگ کردیم و برخلاف ادعای آقای هدایت، شواهد نشاندهنده آن است که ذات آدم به طور "طبیعی" همه چیزخوار است. در نهایت هم نویسنده در ستایش گیاه خواری به نظرات افرادی مثل تولستوی و فردریش نیچه اشاره میکنه که از نظر منطقی این مغالطه "توسل به مرجع" محسوب میشه. یعنی اینکه برای اثبات حرفتان به کسانی ارجاع میکنید که در این حوزه اساسا تخصصی ندارند و صرفا چون مثلا نویسنده نامداریست باید عقایدش رو کپی کنیم. در حالیکه هر انسانی عقل دارد و طبق عقل خودش تصمیم میگیرد! بسا نیچه و تولستوی و افرادی شبیه به آنها در بسیاری از جنبه های فکری و زندگی (مثل هر انسان دیگری) ضعف داشتند و نباید الگوی رفتاری باشند.
Livescience: "Based on the above evidence, humans are naturally omnivores and are adapted to an omnivorous diet. A meat-free diet is, however, a conscious choice made essentially for ecological, ethical, and health concerns."
"According to Harvard University evolutionary biologists Katherine Zink and Daniel Lieberman, the authors of the Nature paper, proto-humans eating enough root food to stay alive would have had to go through up to 15 million “chewing cycles” a year....saying no to meat today does not mean that your genes and your history don’t continue to give it a loud and rousing yes."
مقاله نیچر منتشر کرده: "As a new study in Nature makes clear, not only did processing and eating meat come naturally to humans, it’s entirely possible that without an early diet that included generous amounts of animal protein, we wouldn’t even have become human—at least not the modern, verbal, intelligent humans we are."
در مقاله ای پرفسور جان مک اردل میگوید: "There are a number of popular myths about vegetarianism that have no scientific basis in fact. One of these myths is that man is naturally a vegetarian because our bodies resemble plant eaters, not carnivores. In fact we are omnivores, capable of either eating meat or plant foods. The following addresses the unscientific theory of man being only a plant eater."
National Geography: "Human beings are the top predators on the planet. People are omnivores, meaning we are consumers who eat vegetation (such as onions or tomato sauce), meats (such as pepperoni or sausage), other animal products (such as cheese), and other."
NPR: "Also, they conclude, the big difference in breast-feeding times between humans and other primates is due to the better nutrition provided to both mothers and babies by meat consumption. The study was published online in PlosOne."
Veganbiologist: "Humans are omnivores, but can live on a completely vegan diet with the supplementation of B12 from fermentation. I think that trying to claim that humans are something else than omnivores are just counter productive since it’s quite easily debunked and we lose credibility. There are plenty of reasons to be vegan and still stick to what is true. This post is mainly focused on debunking the claim that humans are herbivores and should therefore eat only plants, but the post should qualify to debunk anyone claiming that humans are biological meat eaters and therefore should eat meat, likewise."
The book had two parts: 1. Evident facts 2. Cliché mottos
For me, super positive self-help books, like this one, make no sense because if you observe peThe book had two parts: 1. Evident facts 2. Cliché mottos
For me, super positive self-help books, like this one, make no sense because if you observe people, you understand that life and humans are too complicated to be either judged or adviced. We just can't write a formula and apply it to all....more
I think one of the ways to have a deep knowledge of history is to read the stories of people who lived in that time, especially those who had differenI think one of the ways to have a deep knowledge of history is to read the stories of people who lived in that time, especially those who had different opinions. So, it was interesting for me to read the letters of a woman who was against slavery but not a great fan of abolitionists. ...more
Parmida R. A.
>
Books:
non-fiction
(66)
Loading...
