Category: PHILOSOPHY

LIFE PERSPECTIVE

Emerson simply asks, “How can I become fully myself?”

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Eckhart Tolle on Great Western Classics (Reflections on the Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Thomas a Kempis, and Plutarch)

Author: Eckhart Tolle

Narration by: Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle (Born in 1948, now 78 years old, German self-help author, counselor who draws from Zen Buddhism, Christian mysticism, Sufism, and Hinduism.)

Tolle offers an interesting perspective on living one’s life. The first chapter seems almost unintelligible because of its audio quality but draws one in because of the mystical sounding narration. Those who believe in God as supreme creator, or nature as the guide for life will find Tolle gives room for both beliefs. Those who are skeptical of belief in God will still be drawn into his history of the “…Great Western Classics”.

Montaigne suggests the appeal of his essays lies in the middle of the human population. Montaigne suggests the in-between are those who are not highly intelligent, who are abysmally ignorant; preferentially plebeian, and ordinary, i.e., a demeaning characterization of the middle class.

Tolle begins with a brief history of Plutarch (46-120 CE), a Greek philosopher, historian, and essayist. He notes Plutarch believes in self-observation and moral development more than social position or success as a measure of man. By writing of Plutarch, Tolle introduces the importance of character as opposed to vice. Plutarch believes consciousness of oneself is more important than worldly success or position.

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677, Dutch philosopher of the Enlightenment, biblical critic.)

Spinoza rejected the idea of a God creating the universe. He believed God is nature. In contrast, Schopenhauer’s God is “human will” rather than a divine creator. Additionally, Nietzsche explicitly rejects belief in God. Like Spinoza, the Stoics believe God is nature while Marcus Aurelius is open to a divine order but not the Christian idea of a personal creator. Plato obscurely argues a “Demiurge” or craftsman creates a world order out of chaos. Epictetus disagrees and believes nature created an ordered cosmos. Whether nature or God created the world, Tolle offers a brief history of the philosophers and thinkers of “The Great Western Classics”.

FREE WILL VS. DETERMINISM

Tolle’s first brief histories are of Plutarch, Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus. Tolle suggests Plutarch is a well-educated elite in Rome who believes self-observation is key to guidance for one’s life. Likewise, Aurelius, Rome’s emperor, notes how important it is to be self-aware and to be present in the moment to understand things as they are; not as we wish them to be. It is relevant to note that Plutarch and Aurelius are wealthy Roman aristocrats while Epictetus is a former slave who is given freedom by his owner. Despite their societal differences, they appear to share the philosophy of the Stoics who do not believe in a Creator God but in living in accordance with nature, reason, and virtue.

Buddhist guidance is described as “the way”  by Batchelor.

Tolle compares Aurelius and Epictetus to Buddhists, Taoists, and (in a limited sense) Christian mystics despite their dissimilar social and political status. They both follow the path of reason and ethical practice but from different social positions. Tolle suggests both men believe human beings should follow a Stoic path by living in accordance with nature, reason, and virtue. Human beings should strive to be free of their psychological weaknesses by being conscious of their own prejudices when living and communicating with others. They endorse surrender to the present, acceptance of what appears to be true, avoidance of personal ego, and being consciously present in one’s observations and conversations.

Cultural differences.

Tolle suggests that Emerson, Aurelius, Epictetus, Kepis, and Plutarch believe that character matters more than wealth or status. Each believes self-examination is essential to one’s philosophy of life. All argue virtue is more important than pleasure. However, there are major areas of disagreement. Stoics like Aurlius and Epictetus trust reason, rational self-discipline, and alignment with nature. They believe wisdom is in understanding reality. In contrast to the Stoics, Thomas Kepis believes faith, humility, devotion to Christ, and dependence upon God are the key to a good life.

Tolle succinctly outlines different philosophies of life in his brief history of “…Great Western Classics”. Where Plutarch, Aurelius, and Epictetus ask, “How can I become a virtuous person” Kepis asks, “How can I become closer to God?”.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882, American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionist, and poet.)

Emerson simply asks, “How can I become fully myself?”

LIFE

Eric Weiner’s book is an interesting and entertaining journey through philosophy by traveling the world and offering brief vignettes of one obscure writer, and several famous philosophers.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Socrates Express (In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers)

Author: Eric Weiner

Narration by: Eric Weiner

Eric Weiner (Author, American journalist, former NPR correspondent.)

“The Socrates Express” is an entertaining writer’s understanding of important historical philosophers. Though Weiner is not formally educated in the discipline, his wide knowledge from reading their written works is summarized in language that can be understood by anyone interested but not steeped in philosophy. His wide travel exposes him to many of the environments in which great philosophers created their known works. What makes “The Socrates Express” entertaining is Weiner’s clever writing and the countries he travels to, some of which he has lived in for a time. He travels to Athens, Kyoto, Frankfurt, Delhi, and the home of Henry David Thoreau who lived at Walden Pond in Concord, MA.

Agnes Callard notes that Socrates is an interrogator who elicits others to understand the meaning of human life.

The “Socretes Express” explains the author’s trips to Athens, his trip to Kyoto for Sei Shōnagon’s (a lesser-known philosopher), to Frankfurt for Schopenhauer, to Delhi for Mahatma Gandi, and Massachusetts for Thoreau. There are many other philosophers Wiener touches upon but these four are good examples of the span of Wiener’s understanding of their philosophies. Not being schooled in philosophy, what Wiener explains is entertaining and interesting to its listeners and readers.

A description of Socrates is given by Weiner as one of the Greeks in Athens who earned a reputation as great warrior in war and a close friend of many important Greeks of his times. He allegedly never wore shoes and walked around Athens teaching old and young citizens about the meaning of life. Many of Socrates’ opinions resonate with the philosophy of life.

As most know, Socrates never wrote his thoughts down but became a foundational philosopher revealed by writings of Plato and later teachers like Archimedes. Weiner explains the foundational philosophical beliefs of Socrates are in Plato’s stories of Socrates life and death. Those beliefs, though not precisely listed by the author, are an unexamined life is not worth living, virtue is knowledge, the soul is the true self while its care is life’s highest priority, it is better to suffer injustice than to commit it, no one is wise including Socrates self-recognition, philosophy is preparation for death, and moral order is real and knowable through reason. Though these beliefs are only summarized in “The Socrates Express”, they are revealed by Plato’s writings about Socrates imprisonment and death.

Socrates parable of the cave is detailed by Weiner. It still means as much about humanity today as when Socrates walked the streets of Athens.

Socrates is saying human beings live in a cave seeing only the shadows of life while only a few, maybe like Einstein, see the foundations of nature that are still largely unknown.

Sei Shōnagon (966-1017 or 1025, Japanese author, poet who served the Japanese Empress Teishi around the year 1000. Shōnagon wrote a book titled “The Pillow Book”.

It is interesting that Weiner chooses to include Sei Shōnagon in his list of philosophers because she is not considered a philosopher but had written a book titled “The Pillow Book” that shows a distinctive way of thinking about life experience. Though not systematic she shows a philosophical view of life, she notes how close observations of ordinary moments in life are a source of insight to the meaning of human attention, aesthetics, and social behavior. In Weiner’s trip to Kyoto, one who has visited Japan appreciates Shōnagon’s understanding of Japan’s culture. Shōnagon explains beauty has a serious social value. She sees how seasons shape daily life in Japan and shows that women, like men, have powerful intellectual voices. She notes a good life depends on paying attention to nature and human relationships.

ARTHUR SCHOEPENHAUER (1788-1860 DIED AT 72)

Weiner travels to Frankfurt and briefly summarizes the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer. He notes how Schopenhauer believes most people to not really listen to their environment. He believes humans create their own suffering by always wanting something more. Like Shōnagon, Schopenhauer believes human beings need to notice and appreciate the small things in life to be happy in order to achieve some level of fulfilment in life.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948, Lawyer, Leader of India’s independence from British Rule.)

Weiner travels to India with an encomium on travel by rail. That mode of travel mirrors his journey through philosophy to give the book its title; i.e., “The Socrates Express”. With Gandhi’s brief history, we enter the philosophical belief of nonviolence as an active philosophy. Gandhi explains violence is an inadequate answer to injustice. To Gandi, knowing the truth is rarely, if ever, fully understood by human beings. Human understanding, in Gandi’s philosophy, is always limited by a human’s knowledge. The whole truth is too complicated for complete human understanding. This philosophical belief is the source of Gandi’s adherence to non-violence. Facing injustice requires moral courage; not physical force. Non-violence obviates the need for perfect knowledge while offering opportunity for human comity, self-restraint, and behavioral change.

David Henry Thoreau (1817-1862, writer, environmentalist, ecologist, philosopher.

Weiner travels to Massachusetts to visit Thoreau’s cabin site on the northern shore of Walden Pond in Concord, Ma. The original cabin no longer exists but is rediscovered in 1945. The site is marked by granite posts and memorial markers. Weiner explains Thoreau believes most people move through life half-awake and rarely notice the world deeply. He moved to Walden Pond to experience seasonal changes, the behavior of local animals, the sounds and colors of a life in the world. He defined the importance of simplicity and independence of one’s thoughts. The real currency of life is time. Thoreau is not characterized as a hermit fleeing society but as a human seeking a clearer vision of life on earth. He explores life as it is rather than as a habit of existence.

Eric Weiner’s book is an interesting and entertaining journey through philosophy by traveling the world and offering brief vignettes of one obscure writer, and several famous philosophers.

HUMAN FLAW

“Gilead” is a difficult story to listen to or read because one begins with attachment to its main character but ends with recognition that we are all human which by definition makes us flawed.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Gilead (A Novel)

Author: Marilynne Robinson

Narration by: Jim Jerome

Marilynne Robinson (Author, born in 1943, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005. Time magazine lists her among 100 of the most influential people in America.)

As one grows older, Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead reflects on what it is like to be nearer the end than the beginning of life. Some thought is obviously given to Robinson’s title for her book. Considering the fame of Robinson’s writing, one might look up the word Gilead and find it has a biblical meaning as a place of healing and a place of iniquity. Robinson’s point seems that we live in a world of profound moral wrongdoing that is always in the process of healing. One looks back on life and presumes they know Robinson’s reason for writing “Gilead” as a picture of one who tries to be a healer of humanity for our imperfect, sin-burdened lives.

Being a preacher who is also a father, husband, and fellow human being.

“Gilead” is a story of an older husband and father who is heir to generations of preachers in a small mid-western town. The author’s subject is a preacher who is nearing the end of his life. It is about a preacher who lives among people who live in a town populated with educated atheists and deeply serious believers in God and heaven. Putting aside its argument about the value of belief in existence beyond death, it is an entertaining story of a preacher in his 70s. Whether one believes in God or not, Robinson’s story of old age is a reminder of our imperfect lives.

In a marriage, one wonders how any husband and wife might respond in a crisis. Who would take command and who would follow in a crisis?

The preacher falls in love twice in his life. His first wife dies in childbirth. The preacher marries a second time, and his new wife bares a son. He loves his life and hopes to raise a son who he hopes will carry on the tradition of a preachers’ life. However, his son seems disinterested in becoming a preacher. The pains of an older life are detailed and show how even a believer in God and good will toward others does not protect one from the faults of human judgement and society.

There are heroes and villains in America’s Civil War. 

At this point in the story, one sees the preacher as a good man with a family history that shows his grandfather served in the civil war as a union soldier that fought for the freedom of enslaved Americans. In returning to civilian life, he is guardedly received by his adult son (also a preacher) for his role in the war. One actively served in the Union army while his son polished his credentials as a town preacher. This town preacher appears to disagree with his Preacher father’s decision to fight for racial justice; presumably because of reservations about killing fellow Americans for the cause of racial justice. A tension between the son and the returning father is evident in the way the town preacher buries his father’s gun and disposes of his father’s presumed clothing from the Union army. The town preacher shows a level of judgementalism that hints at unspoken prejudice and an emotional reserve that hides a human flaw; i.e. namely, disbelief in the equality of all human beings.

The remainder of “Gilead” addresses the town preacher’s son who becomes a preacher and is the main character of the book.

The catalyst of the story is a returning son of the preacher’s closest friend of 40 years who is also a preacher in this small Iowa town. The prodigal son is viewed as a “good for nothing” highly intelligent young man who broke many rules in his life in Gilead. He left town in disgrace for having impregnated a local girl without marrying her. In his life away from Iowa, he has a son from an interracial relationship that is revealed to the primary preacher of the author’s story. The prodigal son asks the preacher for his blessing. At first the preacher seems reluctant but eventually offers God’s blessing to the now 40 something man who is leaving town. His initial reservation of offering a blessing shows the limits of the preacher’s character. In the end, the preacher shows the boundlessness of his belief in God and heaven with his compassion for what he seems to view as a lost “boy-man”.

“Gilead” is a difficult story to listen to or read because one begins with attachment to its main character but ends with recognition that we are all human which by definition makes us flawed.

WHO ME?

As a stoic, there is a philosophical conflict between what may be a stoic’s public duty and their belief in inner retreat. The sad truth is that inner retreat is easier for most human beings.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Book of Stoicism (Essential Writings on Stoic Philosophy)

Author: Manly P. Hall

Narration by: Gordon Rothman & 2 more

Manly P. Hall (1901-1990, Canadian writer, lecturer, astrologer, and mystic.)

What exactly is stoicism? The most important Stoic philosophers identified by Manly P. Hall in “The Book of Stoicism” are identified in reverse order of their deaths. Marcus Aurelieus, Epictetus, and Seneca formed the foundational tenants of Stoicism.

Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor, the last Emperor of the Pax Romana which is an age of relative peace, calm, and stability, Stoic Philosopher, 161-180 AD.)

Aurelius, a Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD wrote “Meditations”. He notes that focus on the present moment, acceptance of fate, duty to the common good, and resistance to anger and corruption are hallmarks of Stoic belief. The most difficult of these characteristics is “resistance to anger”. The other noted characteristics are easier because emotions one has as they mature are difficult and varied based on familial and personal experiences.

Epictetus (Greek Stoic philosopher, born into slavery, lived in Rome until banished, and spent the remainder of his life in northwestern Greece, 50 to 135 AD.)

Epictetus lived from 55-135 preceded Aurelieus and is noted for being a Greek teacher who systematizes the ethics of stoicism. He had lived as a slave in the Roman era. He recognizes personal judgment, choice, and desire, regardless of our human circumstance, are the most important needs for personal health, wealth, and reputation. It is up to the individual to organize their thoughts and actions to become the best version of themselves.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and satirist, 4 BC to AD65.)

Seneca lived from 4 BCE to 65 AD, as the earliest of the three, and is identified as a statesman who spoke and wrote about anger, the benefits of stoicism, dealing with hardship, and being happy with yourself. To accomplish that happiness, one must manage their emotions, be friendly to others, manage time for interpersonal relations while pursuing a simple contemplative life. Seneca faced death as just another fact of life with the belief that every human being has a moral responsibility for living life with the intent of benefiting society. This is an ironic belief because Seneca lived amid the corruption of Nero’s court. One wonder how he manages to live in Rome until his death at age 61.

Stoicism is supposed to be a unified philosophical system of beliefs.

Stoic belief has conflicts with rhetoric and ethics. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion through language. Ethics is the study of right and wrong. A stoic believes the universe has a rational, and deterministic order that unfolds as fate. If that is accepted as truth, it means everything unfolds in life according to fate. One asks oneself, how can humans be responsible for anything, if life is a matter of fate? The stoic’s response is that external events are fated, but human inner-responses are free. Why would one act ethically if outcomes are predetermined? Epictetus argues we only control what is up to us like Marcus Aurelius is noted to have struggled to reconcile his duty as a leader to what may be a cosmic inevitability. The tension between fate and ethical response is not entirely answered by a Stoic who says inner responses are free when the end result remains fated. The only psychological consolation seems to be feeling one did what was right despite what inevitably happens.

Then, there is the conflict between stoic emotional discipline and rhetorical passion.

A stoic is expected to be emotionally restrained but may use emotional rhetoric to give urgency to persuade another person to act differently. Appeal to one’s emotions by using emotional rhetoric is a betrayal of stoic idealism. Words matter. Finally, the stoic writes of universal social responsibility but encourages personal detachment from society. As a stoic, there is a philosophical conflict between what may be a stoic’s public duty and their belief in inner retreat. The sad truth is that inner retreat is easier for most human beings.

WARNING

“The Fire Next Time” signals a political and prophetic warning to America. The continued existence of Baldwin’s observations about racial inequality are compounded by the rising gap between rich and poor and gender inequality in the 21st century.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Fire Next Time

Author: James Baldwin

Narration by: Lawrence Fishburne

JAMES BALDWIN (1924-1987 AMERICAN NOVELIST, SOCIAL CRITIC)

“The Fire Next Time” is written when James Baldwin is only 38 years old. He lives for 25 more years before his death in 1987. His book about life as a Black American is an emotional journey into the struggle of Black Americans that exposes the venality of white suppression and inequality in American history. The intensity of his writing is a brutal exposure of the consequence of discrimination that overwhelms a reader or listener. In many ways, his book is professorial but his view of life as a minority in white America is appalling.

“Learning from the Germans” tells of how post WWII Germany dealt with the history of the holocaust more forthrightly than America has dealt with racism and its evil.

Baldwin exposes the hypocrisy of American democracy, the moral bankruptcy of racial hierarchy, and the failure of American institutions to live up to the values expressed in the American Constitution. The founders argue “all men are created equal” while history shows human equality has never been achieved in America. Baldwin clearly explains America’s failures but is decidedly vague on how those failures can be corrected. He clearly disagrees with the Nation of Islam’s belief in Black self-determination through separation of the races but is ambiguous about organized movements to correct discrimination.

Racist rally in America.

Baldwin explains how white liberals are too complacent, conservatives too cruel, Black separatists to fatalistic, and American institutions too dishonest to forthrightly deal with human inequality. His foundational belief is that a fight for civil rights, and continued arguments for equality are essential requirements for America to achieve the goals that are stated and implied by the Constitution.

“The Fire Next Time” signals a warning to America.

“The Fire Next Time” signals a political and prophetic warning. The continued existence of Baldwin’s observations about racial inequality are compounded by the rising gap between rich and poor and gender inequality in the 21st century. If America refuses to confront inequality, there will be a national reckoning that will be violent and unavoidable.

ETHNICTY

Roth shows acculturation is both an opportunity and danger in “The Plot Against America”.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Plot Against America

Author: Philip Roth

Narration by: Ron Silver

PHILLIP ROTH (WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION, MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE AND MORE)

Roth’s “The Human Stain”, and “The Plot Against America” are troubling fictional stories of American society. Roth’s imagination seems somewhat out of control in “The Plot…” but his point is that American democracy, like all forms of government, is flawed by the nature of human beings. Popular election is no guarantee of government probity because the public is as easily led by lies as the truth; i.e., something we see in today’s American government. “The Plot Against America” creates a fictional story of the advance of a racist to the Presidency of the United States at the time of Hitler’s government putsch in Germany.

Charles Lindbergh (Famous aviator who expressed suspicion of Jews and is characterized as a supporter of Hitler.)

America had several famous supporters of Hitler’s ascension in Germany; i.e., not only Charles Lindbergh, but Henry Ford, Father Charles Coughlin, and Jospph P. Kennedy Sr., to name a few. Lindbergh believes in white supremacy but excludes those of Jewish ethnicity because he believes Jews are not a part of the American or Western racial community. He believes Jews are a separate people with separate loyalties. This conforms to Hitler’s view of German society as superior to all others. Added to Lindbergh’s racism is his belief that communism threatens individual liberty, a foundational democratic belief. Lindbergh is vociferously anti-communist even though Russia is led by white rulers. Lindbergh believes centralized state control, state suppression of dissent, and forced conformity are anti-American. This is an ironic view because Hitler insists on state control, suppression of dissent, and a forced conformity; i.e., beliefs Lindbergh infers he abhors.

Roth writes a story suggesting Lindbergh run against Franklin Roosevelt for President. Lindbergh wins in this fictional story. In truth, Lindbergh never runs for President. History actually shows the Republican party approaches Lindbergh in the late 1930s to run against Roosevelt because of his celebrity, anti-war message, and isolationist beliefs. However, Lindbergh turns the Republicans down.

There are many reasons why American Democracy continues to prosper despite elections of inept and unethical political leaders.

Wendell Lewis Wilkie becomes the nominee for President by the Republicans in 1940. (1892-1944, an American lawyer.)

Wendell Willkie is the Republican Party’s choice for President. What makes Roth’s story interesting is his concern for loss of Jewish ethnic identity from the influence of Americanization. Two fundamental points are made in the title of the book. There is the obvious “…Plot Against America” with Lindbergh as an America candidate for President who supports Hitler. A less obvious point is Roth’s more subtle “…Plot…” by American society to diminish ethnicity. In Roth’s story, Lindbergh is elected as President of the United States.

Human acculturation is a fact of life in any form of government.

Drawing the line between cultural disintegration and acculturation is different in an autocracy than in a democracy. A perfect democracy allows ethnicity to flourish within the boundaries of common societal norms while an autocracy demands conformity to specific societal norms that, in some autocratic countries, become demands. Roth’s point in “The Plot Against America” is that ethnic identity is a fundamental right of human beings that should not be denied by any government. This is not to say that ethnic identity is not influenced by society, but that ethnicity should only be a natural, not governmentally enforced influence. Roth’s story shows a fine line that is crossed by America in influencing Jewish culture to become less ethnic. He tells the story of a government endorsed program to offer Jewish children the opportunity to become laborers on American farms. That experience leads to a Jewish child’s exposure to eating pork which is explicitly forbidden by the Torah because it is considered unclean. Roth shows “old world” ethnic’ cautions are sometimes abandoned because of life experiences that diminsh ethnic taboos.

Discrimination based on ethnicity, race, or sex diminishes democracy.

Roth shows acculturation is both an opportunity and danger in “The Plot Against America”. One may read into Roth’s story that he regrets the Americanization of Jewish ethnicity. To the extent that the discipline of education may be harmed by acculturation, one is inclined to agree with Roth. On the other hand, ethnic identification has led to unequal opportunity based on ethnicity, race, or sex which should have nothing to do with innate capability.

A WRITER’S JUDGEMENT

“There is Simply Too Much to Think About” is a time-consuming read with a depth of understanding about writing that gives one “…Too Much to Think About” because of its author’s humbling intelligence. The fundamental point Bellow makes is that art is as important as science for the advance of society.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

There Is Simply too Much to Think About (Collected Nonfiction) 

Author: Saul Bellow

Narration by: Malcolm Hillgartner

Saul Bellow (Author, Canadian-American novelist who has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the Pulitzer Prize.)

This is a daunting book by an accomplished novelist who explains what makes reading fiction and nonfiction worth one’s time and attention. The range of subjects Bellow covers is immense. He not only writes about literature but politics, philosophy, Jewish identity, American culture, history, and other subjects that overwhelm a reader/listener. Bellow suggests good nonfiction and fiction are about characters who write about life that makes them important enough to have meaning to readers and purpose for writers. A writer creates an understanding of characters in the context of a society in which they live. A good writer’s attention is given to the contradictions and complexity of living life. What Bellow means by nonfiction writers is those who witness life unfolding and relate that understanding from a perspective which may or may not resonate or at least be understood by a reader.

Though Bellow mentions few female authors, he shows strong opinions about famous male authors.

Bellow offers a tour of twentieth century writers he believes are examples of good nonfiction writers. He notes Ralph Ellison, Phillip Roth, and J.D. Salinger as examples of great nonfiction writers. At the same time, Bellow explains how deeply his life feeds into his writing. He reveals his own strengths and weaknesses. He acknowledges being drawn into trendy ideas of others that gloss over truth and mislead readers with contradictions. Like all human beings, Bellow can be misled by second-hand assertions about historic events and characters that lack verifiable truth. The result may be misrepresentation and sometimes cruel judgements about private lives and the history of humanity. Written misrepresentations reveal as much about the writer as the subject.

Ralph Ellison (Author of “Invisible Man”)

Bellow offers some warnings to readers of both good and bad writers. He suggests a reader should be careful about reading too much into writer’s characters or experience in a story. One thinks of Ellison’s “Invisible Man” and how it reshaped many readers understanding of race and identity. Ellison is not writing a protest novel. It is about social invisibility, Black identity, politics, and the meaning of life. Phillip Roth’s Colman Silk is accused of racism and forced to retire but he is not a racist. He is obviously falsely accused because he is secretly African American passing as white. Truth of a story is revealed in detail created by good writing.

Though not having personally read Bellow’s books, he notes that his writing is largely based on episodes from his own life.

Being born in a Montreal Jewish slum and raised as an immigrant in Chicago he experiences discrimination as a baby born in a Montreal slum and as an immigrant on Chicago streets. The working-class environment of Chicago streets gave Bellow a level of freedom and exposure to life as just another young boy finding his way in life. He could measure himself against more diverse life experiences in Chicago without losing his Jewish identity. As an immigrant, it added to his identity and broadened his understanding of life as a human being. He became streetwise in responding to the world.

The experience of life.

Bellow clearly illustrates a personal belief and understanding about life. He is an obvious master of American language. His intellect and curiosity are overwhelming. There is an emotional and moral seriousness that is sometimes funny and at others quite confrontational. He masterfully turns lived experience into art. There is a level of overconfidence in his judgement and personal contradictions crop up in his writing. On the one hand he distrusts ideology but writes a highly ideological view of writing. He defends the importance of art but criticizes culture. He lauds intellectual independence while insisting on his own beliefs. He is a bit combative toward academics, critics, and seems somewhat dismissive or impatient with those who struggle with his opinions. The title of Bellow’s book says it all–“There is Simply Too Much to Think About”.

Bellow believes the arts are the essential ingredient of what Martin Luther King’s quote depends upon.

Bellow is very judgmental about the writers he reviews in his “…Much to Think About” book. His greatest praise goes to Ralph Ellison, Phillip Roth, James Joyce, and Franz Kafka. His sharpest criticism is of Updike, Hemmingway, T.S. Eliot, Salinger, and James Baldwin. Updike is called too polished, Hemingway too emotionally shallow, Eliot too culturally conservative, Salinger too mystical, and Baldwin too damaged by ethnic prejudice. Despite his criticism, Bellow finds their works have power and meaning implying they are worth reading. Most who recognize or have read some or all of these authors will likely find them worth the time and effort to read them and come to their own conclusions.

“There is Simply Too Much to Think About” is a time-consuming read with a depth of understanding about writing that gives one “…Too Much to Think About” because of its author’s humbling intelligence. The fundamental point Bellow makes is that art is as important as science for the advance of society.

CONSCIOUSNESS & AI

A.I. is a tool of human beings and will always be a tool. If Pollan is right that human thought originates with emotion, A.I. regulation, and transparency must be aligned with human values of truth, right conduct, peace, and non-violence. If A.I. is used for military or authoritarian advantage, it may lead to the Armageddon of biblical prediction.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

A World Appears (A Journey into Consciousness)

Author: Michael Pollan

Narration by: Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan (American journalist, author, Lecturer at Harvard University, co-founded the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, received an M.A. in English from Columbia.)

Pollan is not a scientist, but he is a writer who has an opinion about consciousness based on detailed interviews with scientists and consciousness researchers. He defines consciousness as the subjective experience of being alive. Pollan interviews mainstream and recognized researchers like Roland Griffiths, and Robin Carhart-Harris while avoiding fringe theorists. He interviews scientists who are empirically grounded by experimental testing.

Roland Griffiths (Deceased American psychopharmacologist.)
Robin Carhart-Harris (British psychopharmacologist & Professor of Neurology.)
Giulio Tononi (Italian psychiatrist & neuroscientist.)
Stanislas Dehaene (French cognitive neuroscientist.)
Thomas Nagel (Retired American philosopher.)

Pollan also reads the works of Tononi, a neuroscientist who investigates “Integrated Information Theory”, Dahaene, a neuroscientist who researched “Global Neuronal Workspace Theory, and Thomas Nagel, a philosopher who coined the phrase “hard problem of consciousness”. He attacks the subject from multiple angles with experimental research done by plant and animal neurobiologists, AI researchers, and psychologists. What Pollan concludes from his interviews is that consciousness is the felt experience of being alive. This broad conception takes in all life based on interviews Pollan has with many science experts and philosophers who work in broad fields of human, plant, and animal life.

Stefano Mancuso (Italian botanist and writer, a professor at the University of Florence and the director of the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology.)

Stefano Mancuso explains vineyard-like plants exhibit consciousness in their drive for growth and survival with roots that behave with “swarm intelligence” to detect a pole nearby. A vinery’s root tips communicate with each other and make a collective decision to grow in a particular direction. Though this process is slower than in the animal kingdom, Mancuso’s experiments show vines preternaturally use their root systems to reach out to a planted pole to improve their growth through photosynthesis. The point of Pollan’s observation about plants is that a brain and neurons may not be required to show and sustain life, but plants appear to exhibit intelligence and sentience without a brain or animal-like nervous system. Plants seem to live without thought or emotion.

The easy part of consciousness is observed cause and effect. The hard part is knowing where cause comes from and why it arises in the first place.

Based on Pollan’s interviews of scientists and philosophers, he develops a central argument that animal/human consciousness comes from life’s need to maintain stability. However, his argument is that sentience does not come from initiated thoughts but from emotions that generate conscious thought. The implications of that belief are frightening because it may explain why consciousness leads to futile war. If thought process is a follower of emotion, reason plays second fiddle to action. Current events in the world show Pollan may be right. Fear of nuclear annihilation may be the cause of America’s futile war with Iran. Russia’s fear of becoming a lesser hegemonic power may be the cause of Ukraine’s territorial theft. If Pollan is correct, the futility of war will never end with emotion as precursor to thought and action.

Pollan’s interviews with representatives of the science and philosophical communities strongly implies human thought is as likely irrational as rational and may or may not be concerned about survival. The threat of A.I. is that it is used to reinforce the irrationality of emotion as a precursor to thought and action.

“Burn-In” is meant to reveal how human-machine integration challenges human society, both ethically and pragmatically.

What comes to mind is that A.I. might be able to assuage irrational decisions but A.I. is of no help if human thought is initially driven by emotions. A.I. only amplifies the harmful potential of irrational human decisions with thoughts only initiated by emotions. One comes away from Pollan’s book with fear.

Information is energy in today’s A.I. world., just as steam was in the industrial revolution.

Pollan ends “A World Appears” with a journey through philosophy that is interesting but unique to him. Some may become distracted by his personal journey, but his view of consciousness is enlightening and frightening.

A.I. is a tool of human beings and will always be a tool. If Pollan is right that human thought originates with emotion, A.I. regulation, and transparency must be aligned with human values of truth, right conduct, peace, and non-violence. If A.I. is used for military or authoritarian advantage, it may lead to the Armageddon of biblical prediction.

Decisions We Make

Our decisions, when faced with good and bad events, make us who we are in life.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Midnight Library (A Novel)

Author: Matt Haig

Narration by: Carey Muligan

Matt Haig (Author, English journalist.)

Looking back at one’s life one wonders what our lives may have been if we chose differently. “The Midnight Library” cleverly explores that idea with a character named Nora. Nora decides to commit suicide by overdosing. With the effect of whatever drugs Nora has chosen, she enters a state between life and death. The reader/listener and Nora enter a surreal library filled with books about Nora’s many lives. It is called “The Midnight Library”. It is a library of books about an infinity of lives that Nora has lived and different decisions she has made when faced with good and bad events in her life.

The decisions we make as we grow older change our lives in an infinite number of ways. Every book in “The Midnight Library” is based on different lives Nora has lived. Her age and experience in each book differ based on decisions she has made during each life she has lived. Her decisions and their consequences are recorded in the books of her “…Midnight Library”.

Nora enters an in-between world managed by a librarian named Mrs. Elm. Elm is a guide or gatekeeper of Nora’s many lives based on decisions she has made in each singular life. Mrs. Elm is a re-creation of Nora’s school librarian who had given her attention, advice, and care as a schoolgirl. Mrs. Elm becomes Nora’s guide in “The Midnight Library”. The library is filled with books of an infinite number of Nora’s lives based on different personal decisions she has made in her nuclear family, i.e., in each library book, Nora is a daughter with the same mother, father, and brother.

History of one person’s life with many different outcomes.

One’s life experience has consequences.

Mrs. Elm appears to be the embodiment of Nora’s will to live and would undoubtedly disappear if Nora dies from her attempt at suicide. It seems Elm is trying to show Nora life’ opportunities are infinite based on the smallest and biggest decisions she makes in her life. Of course, this is meant to suggest a truth about all lives. However, one wonders how human beings can know their future based on decisions they have made in their life. Knowing that one will either regret, despair, or benefit from big and small decisions seems dependent on too many variables for our intelligence or nature to know or predict.

The author argues every decision we make has a consequence in our lives.

A midnight library illustrates the value of knowing the results of our decisions in life, but it tells little about the cumulative impact of regrets that accompany those decisions. Making decisions in life may end with regret because of unexpected consequences to ourselves or those close to us. The result of decisions we make in our lives unfold slowly. In that unfolding, we change our minds, we adapt to new circumstances that were unforeseen. There are too many things that happen in the course of one’s life to assure any end result we seek. Perfect understanding of the consequences of decisions we make is impossible to know. What Haig infers is that life and living are imperfect, often filled with pain, and unanticipated consequences. It is how we deal with good and bad events in our life that make us who we become.

Nora risks her life to enter “The Midnight Library”. The consequence of overdose can be incapacity, brain damage, or death.

One continues to listen to Haig’s story and wonders if Nora survives her overdose. One may think this is a novel about a “many worlds” hypothesis created by Hugh Everett III in 1957, but it is not a story about alternative universes. It is a story about human beings on earth with a point of view about human decision making and its consequence in our lives. One comes away from “The Midnight Library” knowing no life is perfect. Just being alive and learning how to cope with what is good and bad in life is all that counts.

All humans make decisions based on incomplete information. Our ability to cope, our curiosity, and participation in life keeps us connected with society. Haig implies being connected to our humanity is the best we can do as human beings. Our decisions, when faced with good and bad events, make us who we are in life.

HUMAN INTROSPECTION

Brianna Weist philosophical book is worth listening to as a guide but not as an authority of how one should live their life.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think 

Author: Brianna Wiest

Narration by: Abby Craden

Brianna Wiest (Author, earned a BA in English and received an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from Elizabethtown College.

This is an odd book because it is written by someone who is not a psychologist, psychiatrist or therapist but presumes to know how one can understand themselves, think differently and become a more psychologically heathy human being. “101 Essays…” has become a popularly read and listened to book by the public. Of course, one can take her observations like one would take the meaning of many non-fiction authors who have a point of view about life and living. They are called philosophers.

One finds Wiest’s essays make sense, but her formal education makes one uncomfortable with her expressed beliefs.

On the other hand, what formal education was there for Socrates? (A. I. generated image of Socrates as a young man.)

a youthful Socrates in ancient Athens, standing in a sunlit agora, wearing simple Greek robes, with thoughtful expression and strong features, classical style portrait

Weist is straight forward in her opinions, and she taps into a human wish for one to be psychologically and physically as good as they can be. Changing “…the Way You Think” is no easy task but the idea of consciously understanding ourselves is an oxymoron that limits one’s ability to change. We are as likely to lie to ourselves about who we are or what we believe as to have a true understanding of ourselves.

Daniel Kahneman is a renowned psychologist and Nobel laureate.  He is an American citizen that served in the Israeli military and used his education, research, and experience to write “Thinking Fast and Slow”.  His observations explore many aspects of human decision-making.

Weist logically argues one can become a better human being by changing the way they think. She is not acting as a clinical psychologist but as a philosopher of life and how one may make the most of it. If one understands Weist from that perspective, she is like Marcus Aurelius, Soren Kierkegaard, or Simone de Beauvoir. She has a philosophical point of view but not necessarily a happier or more fulfilling life.

The meaning of experience on one’s life is often too opaque for one’s understanding without the help of others.

Weist writes we should see what hurts others and ourselves and quit doing those hurtful things by changing our mind. This seems a good idea but denies the subjectivity and the unique experiences in one’s life. Many people are unable to understand the impact of experience on their lives. They are unable to change the way they think because they are unable to understand how or why an experience has affected their lives. Only with the help of a qualified psychologist, psychiatrist, or trained therapist can most people objectively understand themselves to constructively change their mind.

Nevertheless, Weist philosophical book is worth listening to as a guide but not an authority on how one should live their life. Most human beings are not introspective enough to find their way through life without the help of a person trained to elicit what we do not know about ourselves. On the other hand, it appears Weist has a genius beyond her years of life.