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1Citizenjoyce
This is an offshoot of the main March TIOLI thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/110941
This will be a very difficult topic for me both because it is intellectually challenging and because it can be very divisive. People formulate theories of how the world works or should work and sometimes these theories ridicule or demonize people who don't hold the same theory. The cornerstone of my reading will be I and Thou by Martin Buber. Maybe he can help me realize why people so need to separate themselves from others and how not to do so.
I also plan to read:
Honor Code : How Moral Revolutions Happen by Kwame Anthony Appiah
12217::Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Michael Hecht
Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals by Hal Herzog
Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love by Andrew Shaffer
Women, Culture, Politics by Angela Davis
This will be a very difficult topic for me both because it is intellectually challenging and because it can be very divisive. People formulate theories of how the world works or should work and sometimes these theories ridicule or demonize people who don't hold the same theory. The cornerstone of my reading will be I and Thou by Martin Buber. Maybe he can help me realize why people so need to separate themselves from others and how not to do so.
I also plan to read:
Honor Code : How Moral Revolutions Happen by Kwame Anthony Appiah
12217::Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Michael Hecht
Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals by Hal Herzog
Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love by Andrew Shaffer
Women, Culture, Politics by Angela Davis
2countrylife
Well, now I know that philosophy isn't my bag. I had no interest in the field before this TIOLI, so thought this a good challenge to broaden my horizons, but just one book in, its definitely now confirmed! The book I chose was 5999603::Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder.
The author has used a fictional story to illustrate philosophy, and into this story, he sets the unfolding of a teenage girl's education in philosophy. As a device to enfold this history, it worked alright. But I didn't find that part of the book very well done. Alberto, an older philosopher, sets out to educate Sophie (15) about the world of philosophy. Perhaps in Mr. Gaarder's heart and world that might work. (It was written in 1991/Sweden.) But read by me in contemporary America, the cold contact with a young girl and all their subsequent meetings felt a bit creepy.
The portions regarding the ancient philosophers were well done and presented in manageable chunks. Coming, quite ignorant, to the subject, I thought it a very good history of philosophy. (4 stars) But setting those into the story, while educating Sophie, the narrative then suffered. Alberto teaches in paragraphs punctuated by Sophie's “Can you give me an example?”, “Go on.”, “I see.”, “What do you mean?”, “I would agree.”, and other such banalities. Then the way that Sophie's world was spun felt like something out of Twilight Zone to me. I didn't at all care for the story in which the history was set. (2 stars)
Did I learn a lot? Yes. Did I enjoy it? No. (3 stars)
The author has used a fictional story to illustrate philosophy, and into this story, he sets the unfolding of a teenage girl's education in philosophy. As a device to enfold this history, it worked alright. But I didn't find that part of the book very well done. Alberto, an older philosopher, sets out to educate Sophie (15) about the world of philosophy. Perhaps in Mr. Gaarder's heart and world that might work. (It was written in 1991/Sweden.) But read by me in contemporary America, the cold contact with a young girl and all their subsequent meetings felt a bit creepy.
The portions regarding the ancient philosophers were well done and presented in manageable chunks. Coming, quite ignorant, to the subject, I thought it a very good history of philosophy. (4 stars) But setting those into the story, while educating Sophie, the narrative then suffered. Alberto teaches in paragraphs punctuated by Sophie's “Can you give me an example?”, “Go on.”, “I see.”, “What do you mean?”, “I would agree.”, and other such banalities. Then the way that Sophie's world was spun felt like something out of Twilight Zone to me. I didn't at all care for the story in which the history was set. (2 stars)
Did I learn a lot? Yes. Did I enjoy it? No. (3 stars)
