Great Thinkers: Simple Tools from Sixty Great Thinkers to Improve Your Life Today.
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- Create Date：2021-08-21 09:53:18
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：The School of Life
- ISBN：0993538703
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Summary
Simple tools from 60 great thinkers throughout history to improve your life today。 Typically， great thinkers have been included in encyclopedic works on the basis of reputation and historic influence。 The School of Life takes a different approach， focusing instead on the thinkers whose ideas are the most helpful to our lives now。 This is a collection of sixty of the most important and most useful ideas of Eastern and Western culture。 The focus of this book is to present some of the greatest minds of our time in a clear， relevant and charming light。 Many of these thinkers have previously been caught in a fiendish trap; what they've said has been hugely relevant and important， but how they have said it has resulted in them going unheard。 The sixty chosen thinkers include La Rochefoucauld， Lao Tzu， Matsuo Basho， Sen no Rikyu， Alexis de Tocqueville， St Benedict， Donald Winnicott， John Bowlby， Melanie Klein， Andrea Palladio， Coco Chanel， Henri Matisse; as well as more familiar entries such as Plato， Wittgenstein， Foucault， Marx， Confucius and Freud。
Reviews
Tank the Swank
，
The School of Life at it again。 This collection is a great way to learn about the political scientists， authors， philosophers and artists you should know about but don’t necessarily， and introduce you to those you’ve not necessarily heard of but should。
Vinh
，
Full of wisdom！
Liz
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4。5 A solid read。 Beautiful thick and heavy book that made me feel smarter turning each page。 Really loved the choices of people， learnt a lot from those I admire and those I’d never heard of before now。 Very simple and easy to digest。 I liked the different sub topics and the small snippets about the person’s personal life and history alongside their thoughts。 Didn’t quite fall in love with it all the way just felt like something was missing。
Nori Smeets
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Every Thursday another big thinker for the past year was refreshing and I really enjoyed the School of Life course。As I like to make lists， my favourites: Plato， John Rawls， Lao Tse， Rachel Carson， Edward Hopper and Virginia Woolf。Modern philosophy I found very difficult and psychology too unscientific。 Will need another year （at least！） to watch all recommended docus， read all books and to order my mind。
Danielle M
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Wealth of knowledgeFastest 441 pages I have ever read。 Highlighted through out books to remember key concepts of each philosopher。 Great Book
Richard D。 Jacques
，
This is a good book， especially for people who think beyond the consumer， corporate， advertising world that dominates so much of our culture。 Instead of buying something that you probably don't need， buy this book。。。 This is a good book， especially for people who think beyond the consumer， corporate， advertising world that dominates so much of our culture。 Instead of buying something that you probably don't need， buy this book。。。 。。。more
Michalis Manassakis
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A brilliant resource of brilliant ideas & thoughts。 Loved every page of this ！
Tanja
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The chapters （thinkers） are cut extremely short， and the thinkers' thoughts are boiled down to the shortest essence。 Intriguingly， quite a bit of those 10-12 pages per thinker are used to describe the salaciousness （or lack therof） of his personal life （unfortunately， only very few women are included）。 It all feels a bit voyeuristic， like you're sitting in the school library pretending to read some great tome of work， while actually you're hiding a copy of OK！ magazine inside the pages。On the ot The chapters （thinkers） are cut extremely short， and the thinkers' thoughts are boiled down to the shortest essence。 Intriguingly， quite a bit of those 10-12 pages per thinker are used to describe the salaciousness （or lack therof） of his personal life （unfortunately， only very few women are included）。 It all feels a bit voyeuristic， like you're sitting in the school library pretending to read some great tome of work， while actually you're hiding a copy of OK！ magazine inside the pages。On the other hand， the selection of 60 thinkers is quite original。 Alain de Botton's interest in architecture for example shines through the selection。 On the other hand， the natural sciences and its thinkers are sorely lacking， wheras the social scientists seem almost overrepresented。Overall， a very entertaining read， that does only partly what the cover says: it seems to focus more on the thinker， than his thoughts， or tools to improve life。 。。。more
Henry
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- Stoicism: set expectations low， believe in fate。 Tackle your worst fear head-on （if you're worried about being homeless， then be homeless for a while so you'll be comfortable with being homeless）- People move in herds， and truth lies in the middle: when people were overly religion heavy， science was ignore。 Or - in today's world， when everyone is science heavy， religion is ignored- It's easy for individuals to feel lost about their work， since the work is so specific。 Thus it's important for l - Stoicism: set expectations low， believe in fate。 Tackle your worst fear head-on （if you're worried about being homeless， then be homeless for a while so you'll be comfortable with being homeless）- People move in herds， and truth lies in the middle: when people were overly religion heavy， science was ignore。 Or - in today's world， when everyone is science heavy， religion is ignored- It's easy for individuals to feel lost about their work， since the work is so specific。 Thus it's important for leaders to tell each person why their work matters to the whole: each solider knows the big picture， thus feeling useful and important - You can learn from just everybody。 It's actually far more dangerous to stay with people within your sphere too long （Nassim Taleb， The fastest way to become rich is to socialize with the poor; the fastest way to become poor is to socialize with the rich。） 。。。more
Fatima Zahra
，
It’s a great way to have an introduction to big thinkers， like philosophers， they explain in short what their thoughts were and what ideas they had。 Unfortunately， you are not going to find any quotes and details。 But that’s okay because A LOT of thinkers are introduced in 4/5 pages + there are really nice & colorful artworks and pictures。 That’s why I gave 4 stars; really good to learn about new， important people， but u shouldn’t buy this book if you want details。
Jeremiah Carag
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Great introduction to various luminaries in different fields。 While I appreciate that the author focused on the application of these thinkers' work to daily life， there were times that I felt like he oversimplified their contributions。 I think a simple summary of the concepts and ideas that they have developed would have been sufficient。 Otherwise， it's a great way to get acquainted with these thinkers and allow the reader to explore them further on their own。 Great introduction to various luminaries in different fields。 While I appreciate that the author focused on the application of these thinkers' work to daily life， there were times that I felt like he oversimplified their contributions。 I think a simple summary of the concepts and ideas that they have developed would have been sufficient。 Otherwise， it's a great way to get acquainted with these thinkers and allow the reader to explore them further on their own。 。。。more
Anahita Solot
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خیلی کتاب مفیدی بود و دید خوبی بهم داد。 خیلی آروم آروم خوندم و کلی نوت برداشتم。 ازش لذت بردم。
Abhiroop Sarkar
，
Over 400+ pages， this book drives home Alain de Botton's philosophy of culture as a cure to nihilism。 If you have not watched Alain de Botton's TED talk titled "Atheism 2。0" make sure to watch it to get a summary of what to expect from this book。Culture is defined somewhat loosely and de Botton picks thinkers from philosophy， political theory， psychology， literature etc to address how to fill the cultural void created by the rise of capitalism and the discovery of scientific theories。On the plus Over 400+ pages， this book drives home Alain de Botton's philosophy of culture as a cure to nihilism。 If you have not watched Alain de Botton's TED talk titled "Atheism 2。0" make sure to watch it to get a summary of what to expect from this book。Culture is defined somewhat loosely and de Botton picks thinkers from philosophy， political theory， psychology， literature etc to address how to fill the cultural void created by the rise of capitalism and the discovery of scientific theories。On the plus side， this book is basically a bedtime read， avoiding going into the depths of the works of each thinker。 The popularising is intentional and any concerns about over-simplification are shrugged off by the author， in the preface， as typical academic rhetoric。 You would be hard-pressed to find a book equally praising the works of Karl Marx and Adam Smith within consecutive chapters。Overall a modest coverage of a wide body of Western literature and philosophy。 Rating: 3。5/5 。。。more
John Nowlan
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Really helpful ideas and philosophies to live your life by。 It has given me plenty of new authors， artists and thinkers too explore。Coco Chanel and Andy Warhol were particularly interesting as they were some of the more modern inclusions that I knew off but really had little idea of the philosophy behind their work。
tragic lemons
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It's great。 I would reread it if I could。 It just showed me how limited my mind really is。 A 10/10 for anyone looking to broaden their horizons It's great。 I would reread it if I could。 It just showed me how limited my mind really is。 A 10/10 for anyone looking to broaden their horizons 。。。more
Anna Lindeman
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Overall it is a good collection， but come on School of Life， you can do better than having only NINE women and almost no non-white men included in this book。 Time for an updated version with less white men and more diversity please （even though somewhat surprisingly this was only published in 2016！）。
Iván Dure
，
4。5。 What a great book， this for sure is one of the most instructive， delighting and thoughtful books I read so far。 Very easy to understand if you want to approach Philosophy， Psychology through the lens of Great Thinkers， or if you just want some fresh， interesting and comforting ideas about life， love and death。 （I must say I was sort of surprised by the lack of diversity and women representation portrayed in the book， however， it doesn't take away any of the book's value）。 4。5。 What a great book， this for sure is one of the most instructive， delighting and thoughtful books I read so far。 Very easy to understand if you want to approach Philosophy， Psychology through the lens of Great Thinkers， or if you just want some fresh， interesting and comforting ideas about life， love and death。 （I must say I was sort of surprised by the lack of diversity and women representation portrayed in the book， however， it doesn't take away any of the book's value）。 。。。more
Ignas Petrusis
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The book is great。 It’s a must to have on the shelf。 Incredible amount of genius gathered in one place。 Interesting facts and vivid descriptions。 Only one star because of the last read article about Spinoza， where the author states that Spinoza’s Ethic’s contains arguably a whole more wisdom than the Bible。 Really？？？ C’mon。 Who said that？
Diego Kuri
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What a way to start the year！ This books create a waterfall of interests in multiple subjects， highly recommend it。
Alexander H。 Ellis
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An excellent survey of a broad range of thinkers， both Eastern and Western （albeit the Eastern thinkers are reserved mostly to "Eastern Philosophy"）。The book operates by providing a short chapter on each individual and a very digestible summation of their finest ideas and how they relate to our everyday life in the 21st century。 The text is inflected with the emotional focus on philosophy that is typical of other School of Life works。 An excellent survey of a broad range of thinkers， both Eastern and Western （albeit the Eastern thinkers are reserved mostly to "Eastern Philosophy"）。The book operates by providing a short chapter on each individual and a very digestible summation of their finest ideas and how they relate to our everyday life in the 21st century。 The text is inflected with the emotional focus on philosophy that is typical of other School of Life works。 。。。more
Aimée
，
I found this book to be useful as well as enjoyable。 The concise summaries of the philosophers， religious thinkers， etc。 were very well done -- distilling complex and often large bodies of work can be very challenging， and it is done consistently well here。
Stanley
，
Tato knizka sa da zaradit medzi motivacnu literaturu， ale nie klasicku， skor je to z pohladu velkych myslitelov ktory priniesli ludsku pokrok v jednotlivych odvetviach kde su povazovany za velikanov， ako napr。: filozofia， psychologia， ekonomia， architektura， maliarstvo， literatura a ine。Velmi strucne opisany ich zivot， zhrnutie ich diel a aky zmysel mali ich diela ktory by sme si mali z nich zobrat do zivota。
Dasuni Saparamadu
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Thought provoking。
Maher Razouk
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لاوتزو : التنّين التاوي。。لا يُعرف الكثير حقًا عن الفيلسوف الصيني لاو تزو （يُعرف أحيانًا باسم لاوزي أو لاو تزي） ، وهو شخصية إرشادية في الطاوية أو التاوية التي هي ممارسة روحية لا تزال شائعة。 ويقال إنه كان حارس سجلات في بلاط أسرة تشو الصينية في القرن السادس قبل الميلاد ، وكان أقدم معاصرًا لكونفوشيوس。 قد يكون هذا صحيحًا ، لكنه ربما يكون أيضًا أسطوريًا تمامًا - مثل هوميروس في الثقافة الغربية。 من المؤكد أنه من غير المحتمل （كما تقول بعض الأساطير） أن يكون قد ولد عندما رأت والدته نجمًا ساقطًا ، أو وُلد ر لاوتزو : التنّين التاوي。。لا يُعرف الكثير حقًا عن الفيلسوف الصيني لاو تزو （يُعرف أحيانًا باسم لاوزي أو لاو تزي） ، وهو شخصية إرشادية في الطاوية أو التاوية التي هي ممارسة روحية لا تزال شائعة。 ويقال إنه كان حارس سجلات في بلاط أسرة تشو الصينية في القرن السادس قبل الميلاد ، وكان أقدم معاصرًا لكونفوشيوس。 قد يكون هذا صحيحًا ، لكنه ربما يكون أيضًا أسطوريًا تمامًا - مثل هوميروس في الثقافة الغربية。 من المؤكد أنه من غير المحتمل （كما تقول بعض الأساطير） أن يكون قد ولد عندما رأت والدته نجمًا ساقطًا ، أو وُلد رجلاً عجوزًا بشحمة أذن طويلة جدًا - أو عاش 990 عامًا。يقال إن لاو تزو قد سئم الحياة في محكمة زو حيث ازداد الفساد الأخلاقي فيها。 لذلك غادر وركب جاموس إلى الحدود الغربية للإمبراطورية الصينية。 على الرغم من أنه كان يرتدي زي المزارع ، إلا أن مسؤول الحدود تعرف عليه وطلب منه تدوين حكمته。 وفقًا لهذه الأسطورة ، أصبح ما كتبه Lao Tzu هو النص المقدس المسمى Tao Te Ching。 بعد إنجاز كتابه ، قيل إن لاو تزو عبر الحدود واختفى من التاريخ ، وربما أصبح ناسكًا。 في الواقع ، من المحتمل أن يكون Tao Te Ching عبارة عن تجميع لأعمال العديد من المؤلفين بمرور الوقت。 لكن القصص عن Lao Tzu انتقلت عبر المدارس الفلسفية الصينية المختلفة لأكثر من 2000 عام وأصبحت منمقة بشكل رائع في هذه العملية。يوجد اليوم ما لا يقل عن 20 مليون تاوي ، وربما حتى نصف مليار ، يعيشون حول العالم ، وخاصة في الصين وتايوان。 يمارسون التأمل ، وينشدون الكتب المقدسة ، ويعبدون مجموعة متنوعة من الآلهة في المعابد التي يديرها الكهنة。 يقوم الطاويون أيضًا بالحج إلى خمسة جبال مقدسة في شرق الصين من أجل الصلاة في المعابد وامتصاص الطاقة الروحية من هذه الأماكن المقدسة ، التي يعتقد أن الخالدين يحكمونها。تتشابك الطاوية بشدة مع فروع الفكر الأخرى مثل الكونفوشيوسية والبوذية。 غالبًا ما يُعتقد أن كونفوشيوس كان طالبًا لدى لاو تزو。 وبالمثل ، يعتقد البعض أنه عندما اختفى لاو تزو ، سافر إلى الهند ونيبال وقام إما بالتدريس أو أصبح البوذا。 لا تحترم الممارسات الكونفوشيوسية حتى يومنا هذا فقط لاو تزو كفيلسوف عظيم ، بل تحاول أيضًا اتباع العديد من تعاليمه。وجد كونفوشيوس الحياة مزعجة ، تمامًا كما وجد العالم مليئًا بالأشخاص المنحطَين ، ووجده بوذا مريرًا ، مثلما وجده مليئًا بالمعاناة。 لكن لاو تزو وجد الطعم حلوًا。 هذا معبر ، لأن فلسفة لاو تزو تميل إلى النظر إلى الخلاف الظاهر في العالم ورؤية الانسجام الكامن وراء شيء يسمى "التاو"。يشبه Tao Te Ching الكتاب المقدس إلى حد ما: فهو يعطي تعليمات （غامضة أحيانًا ومفتوحة عمومًا لتفسيرات متعددة） حول كيفية عيش حياة جيدة。 يناقش "التاو" ، أو "الطريق" العالم ، وهو أيضًا الطريق إلى الفضيلة والسعادة والوئام。 هذه الطريقة ليست محيرة أو صعبة بطبيعتها。 كتب لاو تزو ، "إن التاو العظيم هو الطريق المستوي للغاية ، لكن الناس يحبون أن يأخذوا الطرق الجانبية。" من وجهة نظر لاو تزو ، المشكلة في الفضيلة ليست أنها صعبة أو غير طبيعية ، ولكن ببساطة هي أننا نقاوم البساطة : المسار الذي قد يجعلنا أكثر محتوى。لكي نتبع التاو ، علينا أن نتجاوز مجرد القراءة والتفكير في الأمر。 بدلاً من ذلك ، يجب أن نتعلم wu wei （"التدفق" أو "العمل السلس"） ، نوع من القبول الهادف لطريقة التاو ، والعيش في وئام معها。 قد يبدو هذا نبيلًا وغريبًا ، ولكن معظم اقتراحات لاو تزو في الواقع بسيطة للغاية。أولاً ، يجب أن نأخذ المزيد من الوقت من أجل السكون。 قال لاو تزو: "للعقل الساكن ، يستسلم الكون بأكمله。" نحن بحاجة إلى التخلي عن جداولنا ، ومخاوفنا وأفكارنا المعقدة لفترة من الوقت ، وببساطة تجربة العالم。 نقضي الكثير من الوقت في الاندفاع من مكان إلى آخر في الحياة ، لكن لاو تزو يذكرنا بأن "الطبيعة لا تسرع ، ومع ذلك يتم إنجاز كل شيء。" من المهم بشكل خاص أن نتذكر أن بعض الأشياء كالحزن ، وزيادة الحكمة ، وتطوير علاقة جديدة - تحدث فقط وفقًا للجدول الزمني الخاص بها ، مثل تغيير الأوراق أو ازدهار المصابيح。عندما نتحلى بالصبر ، نحتاج أيضًا إلى أن نكون منفتحين。 قال لاو تزو: "فائدة القِدر تأتي من فراغه"。 "أفرغ نفسك من كل شيء。 دع عقلك يصبح ساكنًا"إذا كنا مشغولين جدًا بالقلق أو الطموح ، فسوف نفقد ألف لحظة من التجربة الإنسانية التي هي موروثنا الطبيعي。 نحن بحاجة إلى أن نكون مستيقظين على الطريقة التي ينعكس بها الضوء على البركة ، والطريقة التي ينظر بها الآخرون عندما يضحكون ، والشعور بالرياح تتلاعب بشعرنا。 تعيد هذه التجارب ربطنا بأجزاء من أنفسنا。هذه نقطة رئيسية أخرى في كتابات لاو تزو عندما يقول :«نحن بحاجة إلى أن نكون على اتصال مع نفوسنا الحقيقية。 نحن نقضي وقتًا طويلاً في القلق بشأن من يجب أن نصبح ، ولكن بدلاً من ذلك يجب أن نخصص بعض الوقت لنكون ما نحن عليه بالفعل。 قد نعيد اكتشاف دافع سخي ، أو جانب مرح كنا نسيناه。 غالبًا ما يقف غرورنا في طريق ذاتنا الحقيقية ، والتي يجب العثور عليها من خلال تقبل العالم الخارجي بدلاً من التركيز على صورة داخلية حرجة وطموحة للغاية» كتب لاو تزو: «عندما أتخلى عن ما أنا عليه الآن ، أصبح ما قد أكون»。The School Of LifeGreat ThinkersTranslated By #Maher_Razouk 。。。more
Steve
，
An excellent book from The School of Life。 Unlike other books that survey philosophy and ideas， this one selects 60 thinkers whose ideas are considered to be specifically useful and practical for living one's life。 Ranging across philosophy， political theory， Eastern philosophy， sociology， psychotherapy， art & architecture， and literature in an easy to read approach。 Very informative and enjoyable read。 An excellent book from The School of Life。 Unlike other books that survey philosophy and ideas， this one selects 60 thinkers whose ideas are considered to be specifically useful and practical for living one's life。 Ranging across philosophy， political theory， Eastern philosophy， sociology， psychotherapy， art & architecture， and literature in an easy to read approach。 Very informative and enjoyable read。 。。。more
Ricardo Castañeda
，
I was fascinated with this book。 I've always searched for ways to understand how philosophy and "thinking" in general has evolved throughout the history of humankind， and I believe this book summarizes it perfectly。 Very easy to digest， still deep enough to have a very good understanding of all the concepts covered。 I was fascinated with this book。 I've always searched for ways to understand how philosophy and "thinking" in general has evolved throughout the history of humankind， and I believe this book summarizes it perfectly。 Very easy to digest， still deep enough to have a very good understanding of all the concepts covered。 。。。more
Aditya Venkat
，
I had the opportunity to pick up this book from the School of Life store in Amsterdam after I serendipitously ran into it。 Honestly， the reason I picked it up was that the sample had beautiful paper and illustrations of the people described and， I wanted to contribute in some way to their fantastic YouTube channel。The book is great for a slow and occasional read （and in my head， like many folks here， I read it in Alain de Botton’s calm voice） and ideally not meant to be read cover to cover。 It’s I had the opportunity to pick up this book from the School of Life store in Amsterdam after I serendipitously ran into it。 Honestly， the reason I picked it up was that the sample had beautiful paper and illustrations of the people described and， I wanted to contribute in some way to their fantastic YouTube channel。The book is great for a slow and occasional read （and in my head， like many folks here， I read it in Alain de Botton’s calm voice） and ideally not meant to be read cover to cover。 It’s also best for that time of day （or night） when things are slower and you have time to reflect on these people and the various ideas and emotions they bring to your attention。 It’s hard for me to say if this abridged text of each person’s life does any justice to their work as I haven’t gone through any of them deeply。 But what the book does do is， with a little bit of conscious effort， give you plenty of different perspectives to think about and incorporate in tiny ways in your everyday life， especially in these difficult times。 If you’re the type of person who’s building up a collection for a personal library， this has to be a part of it。 。。。more
Jaron Dunford
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Notes from Great Thinkers:Plato devoted his life to helping people reach eudaimonia。 Almost means happiness but is really close to fulfillment， because happiness suggests continuous chirpiness， whereas fulfillment is more compatible with periods of great pain and suffering， which seem to be an unavoidable part of even a good life。The Stoics were keen astronomers and recommended the contemplation of the heavens to all students of philosophy。 On an evening walk， look up and see the planets: you’ll Notes from Great Thinkers:Plato devoted his life to helping people reach eudaimonia。 Almost means happiness but is really close to fulfillment， because happiness suggests continuous chirpiness， whereas fulfillment is more compatible with periods of great pain and suffering， which seem to be an unavoidable part of even a good life。The Stoics were keen astronomers and recommended the contemplation of the heavens to all students of philosophy。 On an evening walk， look up and see the planets: you’ll see Venus and Jupiter shining in the darkening sky。 If the dusk deepens， you might see some other stars – Aldebaran， Andromeda and Aries， along with many more。 It’s a hint of the unimaginable extensions of space across the solar system， the galaxy and the cosmos。 The sight has a calming effect which the Stoics revered， for against such a backdrop， we realise that none of our troubles， disappointments or hopes have any relevance。Wisdom can come from multiple sources。 From intuition but also from rationality， from science but also from revelation， from pagans but also from monks。 How often we get dismissive if an idea comes from an apparent wrong source， someone with the wrong accent， a newspaper with a different political creed to ours， a prose style that seems too complicated， or too simple - or an old lady with a woolly hat。Happiness involves aligning our will with that of the universe。 The universe - God - has its own projects and it is our task to understand rather than rail against。 The free person is one conscious of the necessities that compel us all。Greatness comes from being able to learn from our envious creatures。 Everything that makes us envious is a fragment of our true potential， which we disown at our peril。 We should learn to study our envy to help discern the shape of a future， better selfIt’s only at a few odd moments， perhaps late at night， or when we’re ill and have been alone all day， or are on a walk through the countryside， that we come up against the uncanny strangeness of everything: why things exist as they do， why we are here rather than there， why the world is like this， why that tree or this house are the way they are。 To capture these rare moments when the normal state of things wobbles a little， Heidegger talks， with capital letters， of the Mystery of Being。 His entire philosophy is devoted to getting us to appreciate， and respond appropriately to， this rather abstract but crucial concept。 For Heidegger， the modern world is an infernal machine dedicated to distracting us from the basic wondrous nature of Being。I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately to front only the essential facts of life， and see if I could not learn what it had to teach， and not， when I came to die， discover that I had not lived。 Thoreau believed that people often ‘miss’ life—they remain so stuck in their ways that they fail to see that other approaches to fulfilment exist: “it appears as if men had deliberately chosen the common mode of living because they preferred it to any other。 Yet they honestly think there is no choice left。” After some time in the cabin， Thoreau discovered a different， more conscious lifestyle。The economy is intimately tethered to our preferences and choices。 And that these are open to transformation。This experiment is called ‘the veil of ignorance’ and through it Rawls asks us to imagine ourselves in a conscious， intelligent state before our own birth， but without any knowledge of what circumstances we were going to be born into; our futures shrouded by a veil of ignorance。 Standing high above the planet， we wouldn’t know what sort of parents we’d have， what our neighborhoods would be like， how the schools would perform， what the local hospital could do for us， how the police and judicial systems might treat us and so on… The question that Rawls asks us all to contemplate is: if we knew nothing about where we’d end up， what sort of a society would it feel safe to enter？ In what kind of political system would it be rational and sane for us to take root – and accept the challenge laid down by the veil of ignorance？ Well， for one thing， certainly not the United States。 Of course， the US has a great many socioeconomic positions it would be truly delightful to be born into。 Vast swathes of the country enjoy good schools， safe neighborhoods， great access to colleges， fast tracks into prestigious jobs and some highly elegant country clubs… To be generous， at least 30 per cent of this vast and beautiful nation has privilege and opportunity。 No wonder the system doesn’t change: there are simply too many people， millions of people， who benefit from it。Buddha claimed we must change our outlook， not our circumstances。This is another key point of Lao Tzu’s writing: we need to be in touch with our real selves。 We spend a great deal of time worrying about who we ought to become， but we should instead take time to be who we already are at heart。 We might rediscover a generous impulse， or a playful side we had forgotten， or simply an old affection for long walks。 Our ego is often in the way of our true self， which must be found by being receptive to the outside world rather than focusing on some critical， too-ambitious internal image。 “When I let go of what I am，” Lao Tzu wrote， “I become what I might be。”There is a story about the three great Asian spiritual leaders （Lao Tzu， Confucius， and Buddha）。 All were meant to have tasted vinegar。 Confucius found it sour， much like he found the world full of degenerate people， and Buddha found it bitter， much like he found the world to be full of suffering。 But Lao Tzu found the world sweet。 This is telling， because Lao Tzu’s philosophy tends to look at the apparent discord in the world and see an underlying harmony guided by something called the ‘Dao’。Durkheim also saw that religion created deep bonds between people。 The king and the peasant worshipped the same God， they prayed in the same building using the same words。 They were offered precisely the same sacraments。 Riches， status and power were of no direct spiritual value。 Capitalism had nothing to replace this with。 Science certainly did not offer the same opportunities for powerful shared experiences。 The Periodic Table might well possess transcendent beauty and be a marvel of intellectual elegance – but it couldn’t draw a society together around it。In traditional societies， people’s identities are closely tied to belonging to a clan or a class。 Their beliefs and attitudes， their work and status follow automatically from the facts of their birth。 Few choices are involved: a person might be a baker， a Lutheran， and married to their second cousin – without ever having made any self-conscious decisions for themselves。 They could just step into the place created for them by their family and the existing fabric of society。 But under Capitalism， it is the individual （rather than the clan， or ‘society’ or the nation） that now chooses everything: what job to take， what religion to follow， who to marry… This ‘individualism’ forces us to be the authors of our own destinies。 How our lives pan out becomes a reflection of our unique merits， skills and persistence。 If things go well， we can take all the credit。 But if things go badly， it is crueller than ever before， for it means there is no one else to blame。 We have to shoulder the full responsibility。 We aren’t just unlucky any more， we have chosen and have messed up。 Individualism ushers in a disinclination to admit to any sort of role for luck or chance in life。 Failure becomes a terrible judgement upon oneself。 This is the particular burden of life in modern Capitalism。 。。。more
Jimbo
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Incredibly useful and full of wisdom。 One of my all-time favorites
Egui Herling
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