Candide by Voltaire is a satire about a young, good-natured, naïve man (Candide) who faces a series of tragedies. Candide was tutored by an old philosopher and author (Pangloss) who instilled in him the idea that “everything is the way it should be” and that they lived in the “best of possible worlds.” There is … Read more
The Prince by Machiavelli is an introduction to realpolitik. It’s important to understand that Machiavelli’s audience is a prince. Few can consider themselves princes in the modern world, and many of insights in this book involve warfare, how to successfully build and maintain an empire, and how to treat your subjects – none of these are … Read more
Slim looked through George and beyond him. “Ain’t many guys travel around together,” he mused. “I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.” Of Mice and Men is a story about George and Lenny, two guys struggling to make ends meet during the Great Depression in the … Read more
The Central Problem of Philosophy Camus starts The Myth of Sisyphus by stating that the central problem of philosophy is to figure out whether life is worth living, everything else is details. People don’t die in the name of the ontological problem. What gives life meaning is the irrational illusions. These same ideas that, when … Read more
The Role of Myths Myths are a mechanism we can use to find out who we are, and what we value implicitly. It teaches us about the stages of life, and how to pass through them successfully – while avoiding the psychological dangers along the way. In this post, I discuss the role of myths … Read more
Here are the summaries of the rules in 12 Rules For Life, a book by Jordan Peterson that calls on everyone to carry the burden of personal responsibility, and to face chaos forthrightly in a world that is becoming increasingly nihilistic and careless. Peterson’s remedy to this emergent leviathan of chaos that especially preys upon … Read more
10% Happier is a book about Dan Harris and his discovery of meditation. He takes us through his personal journey, starting with his addiction to the rush of adrenaline from covering live news events in dangerous locations to his subsequent breakdown on live TV as a news anchor. This prompted him to seek out the … Read more
Deep Work is a book about prioritization. It’s about structuring your day more thoughtfully and getting the most out of the finite attention you have. Things like social media and the many internet tools and distractions that exist today are a media junkie’s dream. And if you’re someone who uses those tools for work, you … Read more
My Notes For Maps Of Meaning 1 (2017) – Jordan Peterson Maps of Meaning 1 (Order vs Chaos) In my Maps of Meaning 1 notes, I summarize the introduction to Peterson’s lectures by following his arguments that start with a historical journey that includes the political war between Capitalism and Communism and the archetypal war … Read more
Why is Stoicism suddenly mainstream? I wouldn’t have imagined that in 2018, ancient philosophies would become more relevant. I decided to put some books on Stoicism on my reading list. to see what the hype was about. Meditation is the first book that introduced me to Stoicism. (Stoicism translates to Stoa or “porch”, which is … Read more