The Dream of Reason – A History of Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance by Anthony Gottlieb – the author has been a senior editor of The Economist, and that recommends him as a brilliant luminary, and once you read this marvel, you have the confirmation - 10 out of 10

 

The Dream of Reason – A History of Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance by Anthony Gottlieb – the author has been a senior editor of The Economist, and that recommends him as a brilliant luminary, and once you read this marvel, you have the confirmation

 

10 out of 10

 

This is a fabulous book, fundamental, and potentially life changing, for someone who decides to take this as an introduction to philosophy, and for anybody else in fact, because the outstanding author has achieved a magic combination of humor, anecdote, synthesis of the thinking of various great minds, in an exciting volume

 

We have the chance to learn form the ancient classics, from Aristotle https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/aristotle-in-ninety-minutes-by-paul.html to Socrates, Plato and others, the essence is there to be found and used – philosophy helps us find the meaning of life, how to live

There are important lessons to get from the stoics, epicureans, we have to think that the virtuous man is a happy one, and vice versa, one is not possible without the other, knowledge brings virtue and the latter has felicity with it, virtues come as a package. You could not be brave, without moderation, courage requires wisdom

 

Sonja Lyubomirsky is one of the experts on positive psychology, the author of the phenomenal The How of Happiness https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-how-of-happiness-by-sonja.html studies have confirmed the wisdom of the stoic and other doctrines, but especially Seneca, Marcus Aurelius have been right

‘Happiness Activity No 3 in the aforementioned book says -Avoid Over thinking and Social Comparison- using strategies such as distraction to cut down on how often you dwell on your problems and compare yourself with others’ and that is what the stoics have taught, wish for what you already have, you will be rich, if you avoid cravings

 

Seneca https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/05/on-anger-aka-despre-manie-by-seneca-one.html was one of the billionaires, the richest men in ancient days, and yet aware of the futility of accumulating fortunes, we could say that he knew what he was talking about, both from experience and with his fantastic mind, he had the money, knew all about it

Abraham Maslow was one of the greatest psychologists and he presented a model of the hierarchy of human needs, only in the reality of today, instead of looking for what they really need, humans long for the least necessary elements, they have the wrong assumption about what would make them happy, believing in myths

Stumbling On Happiness https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/06/stumbling-on-happiness-by-david-gilbert.html is yet another classic of psychology which looks at the projections we make, we say we would be happy, if only we were to move to California, Caribbean or Pacific islands, but when that happens, there is no mirth

 

That is because of the Hedonic Adaptation phenomenon, in short, it means that we get used to everything, good or bad, except for some serious, traumatic events, such as the death of a loved one, becoming unemployed, also very loud noises, it is not a good idea to move near an airport, thinking you will adapt to that rumble

Getting back to the ancient sages, Eudaimonia was a term that is explained in this glorious book, a masterpiece really, the Ancient Greeks had this word for happiness, but it was one feeling that covered much more terrain, it had to do with achievement, successful living, contentment, probably a state of grace, or Flow

 

The co-founder of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, proposes PERMA, as formula for happiness, as in Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Achievement, and that is another demonstration of how modern science confirms the ideas of ancient thinkers, not all of them, evidently, but the crucial ones

In The Dream of Reason, we have this incredible mix of the highest ideas, thoughts, ideals, and the amusing, the details about Epicurus (among others) and his alleged living with four women, one of them called Sweetie Pie, another I think was named Mamaria (or something close), however there is more about that

 

Both the Stoics and the Epicureans – to mention just these two schools of thought – are misunderstood today, in the public mind, the former are hermits, exaggerating Harpagons, while the latter are indulging addicts, party mad, always on a binge, and this is wrong, for the Stoics are well represented by Seneca, who was so rich

At the same time, the epicureans did insist on pleasure, only ‘not the pleasure of the dissipated, always womanizing (perhaps the stories with the four partners were just legends, ‘fake news’) and drinking, the pleasure that was seeked was one of tranquility, Ataraxia, equanimity, avoidance of pain, anxiety and fear…

 

Obviously, The History of Philosophy is not one without horror, tragedy, and we get those parts too, the burning on the stake, in one prominent case – I thought it was Giordano Bruno, but looking for that on the net, it was not confirmed so I must have confused the names – they burnt the thinker for alleged blasphemy, and did not even give him the curtesy of a garrote before the torture of the fire, then there was the castration of Abelard, after he had had an affair with his pupil, Heloise, they had a child together, but out of wedlock, that was anathema for those times

‘Philosophy is the activity which by arguments and discussion brings about the happy life, convincing us of how little we need, we strive to get things that are unnecessary ...one other funny example is ‘concentrate on flaws of the paramour, to avoid entanglement, if you think her delicate, she is probably half dead with coughing, using fumigants

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”