Philosophy: books and discussion

[troymc]

Originally Posted by TimMason

He saw the Devil as, in many ways, God's equal partner, believing that one should listen to both, and that the Devil's voice had been silenced or muffled by Law and Religion.

Very interesting! I had never heard that point of view before.

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Drive a Ferrari and you get all the chicks. Something like that

hmm...I think that may require some empirical evidence to support it. I may have to rent a Ferrari this weekend!


Troy

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by troymc

hmm...I think that may require some empirical evidence to support it. I may have to rent a Ferrari this weekend!

See? You just proved my point

[mikelvdb]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Hi All,

This thread is to discuss anything related to philosophy, and of course especially books: what you are reading, what you have read, what you'd like to read, what you think about them, what you like or hate about them...

Who am I to start this thread? Someone who knows practically nothing about philosophy. Which doesn't stop me from having strong opinions about it And occasionally even reading about it!

[Warning: long rambling post ahead. Feel free to skip it and go directly to the reply box to discuss your ideas and favorite books about philosophy]

This week I started reading "On The Shortness of Life" by Seneca. And suddenly I wondered why. Here I was, standing in a hot and crowded train, with my e-reader in one hand, reading the advice of a guy who lived 2000 years ago and presumably never had to lift a finger to earn a living, living as he probably did out of inherited farmland tended by slaves. What can this guy possibly offer me? Advice on how to get out of the politics of the Roman Senate to retire and think about life?

This is not a rhetorical question. I find the reading interesting, even though I cannot simply ignore everything I know, or think I know, that he doesn't and just agree on his views about life and people. I even find some of them slightly ridiculous. And yet, I am reading this book. I am not in the habit of reading a book if I don't feel I'm getting something out of it.

So, what am I getting out of this, and of philosophy in general? The first answer that came to my mind is just the pleasure of exercising my brain. I love to learn things, to connect things together, to find out about ideas and take them apart. To read the thoughts written by a Roman patrician 2000 years ago and try to connect them to my 21st Century knowledge and opinions. It's a pure intellectual pleasure, a little like solving a puzzle.

But that's not enough. There are many things that I don't know and could exercise my mind on. Some of them I even do read about, but not all of them. I make a selection. So why philosophy?

I think that in the end, what is special about philosophy is that it's, ultimately, about me. About trying to connect and make sense of all the little and big things I know, feel, sense and live. About comparing them to the thoughts of others, and connecting them together, or opposing them. About building a knowledge of myself and how I see life, the universe, and everything. And maybe my place in all this.

Maybe.

Or maybe I just read a book that mentioned Seneca and thought I'd read that one too, and anyway I need something to do on the commute train, and since so many people have read this guy there must be something valuable in there somewhere

Anyway, that was a rather long-winded intro. I feel I could go on like this for quite a long time, but it's time for dinner, so I'll leave you to talk amongst yourselves now

After reading this thread I come back to the start: I think you will be interested in André Comte Sponville (Une éducation philosophique, PUF).

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/André_Comte-Sponville

[GeoffC]

I thought this thread had gone to sleep ....

[WT Sharpe]

I'm glad mikelvdb decided to wake it up!

[GeoffC]

now we need a topic .... where's the Priestess when she's needed .... ?

[kennyc]

Yeah, we need our priestess!

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by mikelvdb

After reading this thread I come back to the start: I think you will be interested in André Comte Sponville (Une éducation philosophique, PUF).

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/André_Comte-Sponville

I just bought The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality by André Comte-Sponville and Nancy Huston. It's a short book (224 pages), and at $11.99, the Kindle edition only costs $1.50 (U.S.) more than the paperback. I guess that's because e-ink is more expensive than print ink, and they need a way to recoup their losses for the costs of all those ones and zeros in the binary code.

I have no idea what is meant by "Atheist Spirituality", but I suppose I'll soon find out.

In the meantime, folks may want to take a look at these two articles from Free Inquiry which are reprinted on The Council for Secular Humanism's website, http://www.secularhumanism.org/, and which may have a bearing on the subject.

"Taken in the Wrong Spirit" by Tom Flynn:
http://www.secularhumanism.org/index...age=flynn_29_3

"Spiritual but Not Religious" by the editor of Free Inquiry, David Koepsell:
http://www.secularhumanism.org/index...=koepsell_23_4

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by mikelvdb

After reading this thread I come back to the start: I think you will be interested in André Comte Sponville (Une éducation philosophique, PUF).

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/André_Comte-Sponville

Hi mikelvdb! Thank you for the reference, I have come across that name not long ago but I don't know anything about him. I'll have a look.

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I thought this thread had gone to sleep ....

Just taking a short nap, that's all

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

now we need a topic .... where's the Priestess when she's needed .... ?

What, do you need me to find a topic? Come on, you know better than that

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I just bought The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality by André Comte-Sponville and Nancy Huston. It's a short book (224 pages), and at $11.99, the Kindle edition only costs $1.50 (U.S.) more than the paperback. I guess that's because e-ink is more expensive than print ink, and they need a way to recoup their losses for the costs of all those ones and zeros in the binary code.

Well, I wouldn't complain if I were you. I haven't looked at the price of this book in France (supposing it's out in e-book form) but I can tell you that here, Michel Onfray's books are only about 3 times as expensive in e-form as the paperback version. But of course, French pixels are more expensive

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

In the meantime, folks may want to take a look at these two articles from Free Inquiry which are reprinted on The Council for Secular Humanism's website, http://www.secularhumanism.org/, and which may have a bearing on the subject.

"Taken in the Wrong Spirit" by Tom Flynn:
http://www.secularhumanism.org/index...age=flynn_29_3

"Spiritual but Not Religious" by the editor of Free Inquiry, David Koepsell:
http://www.secularhumanism.org/index...=koepsell_23_4

Thank you, I'll try to take a look.

I'm still reading Seneca by the way

[GeoffC]

I'm reading Chocolate and a tumbler of whisky ....

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I'm reading Chocolate and a tumbler of whisky ....

Worthy studies, that. Are you feeling wiser already?

I'm going crazy reviewing my fnac wishlist. Epicurus, Seneca, Shopenhauer, Kant, and even a book on Kant's sexual life (or apparent lack thereof). They also have several books by Comte-Sponville, but most are in pdf format and only one in epub. There is also a book on the history of Rome that looks very interesting. Aaaaaargh!

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Well, I wouldn't complain if I were you. I haven't looked at the price of this book in France (supposing it's out in e-book form) but I can tell you that here, Michel Onfray's books are only about 3 times as expensive in e-form as the paperback version. But of course, French pixels are more expensive

I don't know why you're paying so much for the works of a French philosopher. If he were from America or somewhere, I could understand. You'd then be paying extra to have foreign electrons imported.

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

I'm still reading Seneca by the way

I'm 62% of the way through On Benefits. That puts me midway through Book V.

[TimMason]

It is an established fact that French electrons are far classier than American or English electrons, having that 'je ne sais quoi' that hoists them to summits undreamed of by the Anglo-Saxon variety.

Comte-Sponville used to be on television regularly after having been 'discovered' by Michel Polac. I remember reading one of his books, but cannot recall what he said.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by TimMason

It is an established fact that French electrons are far classier than American or English electrons, having that 'je ne sais quoi' that hoists them to summits undreamed of by the Anglo-Saxon variety.

Comte-Sponville used to be on television regularly after having been 'discovered' by Michel Polac. I remember reading one of his books, but cannot recall what he said.

would that account for their virtual success in South Africa ?