tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8344903994797974380.post5083734364239475484..comments2022-04-03T14:35:55.701-06:00Comments on Georg Feuerstein: Those Darn Philosophers! (2)Georg Feuersteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10043382250970089167noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8344903994797974380.post-49730295762735095722010-08-12T09:20:52.254-06:002010-08-12T09:20:52.254-06:00Love this, Georg. I was one of those kids who had...Love this, Georg. I was one of those kids who had a natural bent toward the "big questions" starting with lying on the grass looking up at the star at 14, or realizing suddenly, at about the same age, that I couldn't buy all the stuff I had taught in my ultra-traditional Catholic altar boy upbringing, and how do I deal with that utter void in my life, etc. <br /><br />I'm looking forward to your future blogs.<br /><br />Bob Weisenberg<br /><a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/author/bob-weisenberg/" rel="nofollow">ElephantJournal</a>Bob Weisenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01442738029941563325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8344903994797974380.post-91224837977582641822010-08-11T12:04:22.645-06:002010-08-11T12:04:22.645-06:00Thanks Frank. Yes, I had noticed the peculiar disa...Thanks Frank. Yes, I had noticed the peculiar disadvantage of the Americans. But their loss is the advantage of the political elite.<br /><br />I've made a note of McCarty's book....Georg Feuersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10043382250970089167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8344903994797974380.post-80327240686713221702010-08-10T23:51:32.737-06:002010-08-10T23:51:32.737-06:00Georg,
I am sure you have confronted this sad fa...Georg, <br /><br />I am sure you have confronted this sad fact as well, and perhaps things are different in Europe, (from my experience with an English Grad program, English students seem much better prepared for critical thinking) but in the States and Canada, unless someone has specifically taken some philosophy classes, most folk are truly 'philosophically illiterate.' We aren't really taught how to think in our schools.<br /><br />And I agree that if philosophizing isn't about the investigation of what is (and what it takes to live) the 'good life,' than it's all too often little more than mental masturbation -- as is so much contemporary professional philosophy, unfortunately.<br /><br />Thankfully, there are exceptions and I don't know if you are aware of this book that I have been recommending to my students interested but unexperienced: "How Philosophy Can Save Your Life: 10 Ideas That Matter Most," by Marietta McCarty.<br /><br />Each chapter focuses on one theme (for example: Simplicity, Perspective, Individuality, Serenity, and Joy). In each Chapter she examines these topics, introduces two philosophers and there take on the subject (philosophers include: Epicurus, Socrates, Plato, Epicetus, Shunryu Suzuki, the Dalai Lama, Charlotte Joko Beck, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Albert Camus among them), followed by Discussion Questions she suggests sharing in the form of a book club/philosophical salon, so that engaged in this way, "clear thinking, quiet reflection and good conversation" may be encouraged.<br /><br />metta,<br />frank judePoep Sa Frank Judehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13609272991412471770noreply@blogger.com