book recommendations

Jonathan Haidt - The Happiness Hypothesis
Short, accessible, transformative... this book reevaluates ancient wisdom in light of contemporary psychology and social psychology research - a must read for anyone wanting to grasp the cutting edge understanding of the human condition

Alasdair MacIntyre - After Virtue
Neither short nor particularly accessible - but transformative. His analysis of the root causes of our modern condition of interminable moral disagreement is the most cohesive and compelling that I have (yet) read. It has changed my opinion about certain aspects of enlightenment thinking 180 degrees.

Alan Watts - Tao: The Watercourse Way
short, accessible, transformative... In under 100 pages Watts has managed to compel the integration of the core precepts of Taoism into my spiritual worldview. Like the other major world religions, Taoism has areas where it provides surpassing wisdom... it is an approach whose capacity to generate peace and humility seem to me second to none.

for what its worth,
eric

P.S. The last two books recommended to me by members of my excellent book group... thanks!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

the experiment in naturalism ends

Image
A ten month experiment in naturalism - specifically in exploring my genetic hair growth patterns unimpeded by social convention or personal intervention - ended today... before the end of the experiment: after the end of the experiment: I have opted for reasons of time and resource consumption to return to my practice of periodic self-intervention with a pair of clippers.  The experiment was interesting and resulted in a practical appreciation for the potential value (never tested) of mustache wax for keeping one's mustache out of one's food and mouth...  The use of baking soda solution and apple cider vinegar for hair care worked very well, but with my natural oil levels and the daily run-commute the treatments needed to become more frequent as the mass of hair continued to increase.  The experiment did not culminate in the 'growth plateau' that I had aspired to when I began the experiment, but I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what I would like if
Read more

google plus, bing, new cloud apps and the achievement of balance

I think that this is my first blog post that has any significant intersection with my professional life, but after listening to a couple of Podcasts on Google Plus and hearing the incessant plugging for Bing on the Slate Gabfests (it is, IMHO, a little over the top... just let them run their ads, don't become their mouthpiece) I felt compelled to throw in my two cents about balance in the cloud-o-sphere out there... As a human being out there in the technosphere, it is in your best interest to preclude the emergence of a Goliath from the fields of competitors.  In no market since the discovery of fossil fuel has this been easier than it is with the internet in this age.  In the evolution of modern computing, anti-trust regulation against Microsoft and ongoing similar actions (mostly in and by the EU) works to thwart some of the most abusive practices that are trending toward monopoly.  But, the most important thing is user behavior, where you click and for what is the main determ
Read more