Philosophy Books

In a world saturated in lies, half-truths, and propaganda, a primer on logic is essential reading. This book cuts through the nonsense we are exposed to on a daily basis and gives the reader tools for seeing the world more clearly and thoughtfully.

This book provides great examples of how information is constantly misconstrued in daily life. If you are religious, as I am, you will have to fight through the continuous references back to the authors arguements against religion and how illogical religion and believers are. The book is a great reference for media and politics (especially with the it being election season in the USA).

Admittedly, I was hoping for something along the lines of "Freakonomics" or "Blink," and this just didn't quite do it for me. Honestly, I just couldn't get into it.

After reading this book and then noticing some of the negative reviews, I was perplexed as to why. So I clicked on the lower reviews and noticed a common theme; they're all upset about Whyte's attempt to diminish Christianity and religion as a whole. So for readers who are very sensitive about religion, I would not recommend this book. But if you can see past the religious aspect and into some of the more meaningful arguments Whyte presents, this book is superb. And as to whether or not Whyte succeeds in discrediting religion, I'll let you be the one to determine that. I just hope you aren't convinced by some of these hocus-pocus reviews because most of the information in this book is critical to the average person.

Jamie Whyte has given us a very good review of the commonest forms of invalid arguments, well worth reading, despite some flaws:

On page 4, he writes: "It [entitlement] has a political or legal interpretation, by which we are all entitled to any opinion we might have, however groundless. But it also has an epistemic interpretation, that is, one related to, or concerned with, truth or knowledge."

(1) On page 5, he writes "So, the two senses of entitlement could not be further from each other."

The first of three meanings of entitlement given in The American Heritage Dictionary is: "The act or process of entitling." For example, Mr. White entitled his book "Crimes Against Logic." I submit that this sense of 'entitlement' is further from either ot the two senses mentioned by Mr. Whyte than those two are from each other. Mr. Whyte grossly overstated his case; he need only have pointed out that the two senses he mentioned are not the same, from which his conclusion quite correctly follows, that equivocating between those two senses constitutes muddled (and often deceptive) logic.

Of all the many times I have read "nothing could be further from the truth." I don' recall any time I couldn't think of something further from the truth. For an enlightening discussion, see Isaac Asimov's The Relativity Of Wrong.

At the bottom of page 5, (NOT A FLAW) he mentions that "When confronted with counterarguments, [many of us] do not pause and wonder if they might be wrong after all. They take offense." For more background on this unfortunate fact, see Farhad Manjoo's excellent True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society, and see my review thereof.

(2) On page 104, after discussing the faulty reasoning behind Karl Marx's claim that capitalism exploits the workers, Whyte writes: "But I deny it is exploitation." Because Marx grossly overstates his case it does not follow that Whyte may legitimately overstate his. Not all capitalist enterprises exploit their workers; I think (and hope) that most don't, BUT SOME DO! For egregious examples thereof, see Professor Kevin Bales' Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy and Ending Slavery: How We Free Today's Slaves.

Another non-flaw: On page 112, Whyte writes: " The main benefit of snorting cocaine, perhaps the only benefit, is the pleasure it gives the snorter. Prohibitionists never consider this benefit." I would add, of course not; they probably don't consider it a benefit. Puritanism has been defined as "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, might be having a good time."

(3) And finally, on pp. 115-6, is the worst flaw in the book: Whyte is himself guilty of equivocation. He writes: "For example, describing an income-tax cut as a 'giveaway' assumes that a citizen's gross income is not her own but is, rather, the property of the government. Describing the grvernment's spending plans as generous embodies the same assumption. The virtue of generosity does not consist in giving away others' money: it requires you to give away your own." He is equivocating between 'generous' in the sense of a generous (ample, bigger than average) portion (e.g. of food) and 'generous' in the sense of a generous (unselfish, sharing) person. Also, it is not true that describing an unwarranted tax rebate to the wealthy as a 'giveaway' or a transfer payment to a poor family as 'generous' assumes what he claims it does. It actually assumes that the PORTION of a person's gross income that is paid in taxes thereby BECOMES government property, which it does; NOT that her entire gross income IS government property, which it isn't.

People unfortunately tend to take government services for granted, and resent having to pay for them, but they would be very upset if the government stopped providing schools, police protection, national defense, roads, bridges, tunnels, garbage collection, and all the many other services they get for their tax money.

Despite two minor flaws (1 & 2) and one rather major one (3), this book has much to recommend it. It is well worth the price.

watziznaym@gmail.com

This is seriously one of the best books I've ever read. I bought a second one for my best friend as soon as I finished reading it the first time.

Although I'm aware of a recent strike on some brazilian postal services, I'm concerned about the delay on the delivery of the 2 books I bought through this site. I'd appreciate if you could give me some inoformation on when or how I could get them.
Thank you.
Vanessa

Here is to a tremendous book. I got this book because it looked interesting and I was curious to read about a real life teacher in LA (for a great movie, see "Stand and Deliver"). This guy is amazing. My wife also read this book and was very impressed. It is a quick read (200+ pages) and very entertaining.

The first book describes the behavior this teacher is able to instill in his kids and his goals in doing so. The next part deals with how to teach certain subjects and make it interesting. I was blown away. I loved it. This guy is a genius.

This book is terrific for anyone raising kids and especially for teachers (at any level - church, elementary, middle, high, workplace, etc.). The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I wanted it to be longer. Please, enjoy this book!

TEACH LIKE YOUR HAIR'S ON FIRE was our book club's recent selection. Several members are retired teachers, and were stupified at the amount of time the author devotes to his class... and somewhat skeptical. Those of us who aren't teachers found literally dozens of fascinating, practical tips about interacting with children in a variety of situations... travel, reading, character development, dining, finances... This is a terrific book, not only because it paints a fantastic picture of possibilities and change, but also because it is infused with such enthusiasm.

Rafe Esquith does not claim to be a teaching genius. He is honest about mistakes he has made over the years but his dedication to his students and his principled approach to teaching shine through on every page.

His classroom management skills are centered on Lawrence Kohlberg's Six Levels of Moral Development. As I read about his students accomplishments and challenges it occured to me that a teacher can get a lot of teaching done when students are willing to learn and will forgo disruptive behavior.

One the most moving things about Esquith's Room 56 is the fact that former students return there on Saturdays to study and learn. Esquith shares book lists and resources that he uses and is brutally honest about faculty meetings and the latest ineffective fads in reading and writing instruction.
Teachers and school administrators will be inspired by this book.

On Being Certain started out moderately interesting but at page 52 I hit a severe snag. When an author gets something I know about so totally wrong (or is being gratuitously nasty) I find I cannot trust what he says about things I don't know so much about. The comment that B.F. Skinner wanted to raise people like veal is so totally absurd I couldn't finish the book and will be returning it to Amazon for a refund.

A fun and informative read. Robert Burton informs,presenting factual and ironic detail of the brain an our behavoral responses to external and internal memory. Recomended for students of psychycolgy, marketing and those interest in broadening their understanding of human behavior.

A readily readable and thoughtful look at how our minds work in relation to things our minds produce like thoughts and ideas. It goes on to raise important questions about the implications of "the feeling of knowing" for philosophy, psychology and indirectly politics. It is a worthwhile read. It might have been improved by a more extensive look at the neurology of this erstwhile affect.

I think my title above gets to the substance of Dr. Burton's narrative. How do we know what we know? Dr. Burton posits that the feeling of knowing is a necessary biological function required to allow humans to contemplate thought and take action. In other words, there has to be some reward for a person to think about and know what they are concluding and this reward comes in the feelings of knowing, certainty and correctness. The problem is that the feeling is not always corroborated by the facts. How many times have you been dead certain of something, only to be later proven wrong? And of those times, how many are followed by hindsight reframing of the situation to maintain your correctness?

Burton delves into the physioligical details, philosophical ramifications and cultural and social implications of the reality that we may never be able to grasp 100% certainty on any subject. The subject poses conundrums about issues like free will, religious beliefs and other areas, and Burton explores these in his text.

My concerns are that Burton starts out by stating that some of what he discusses is his own speculation, but never clearly tells us where that occurs. In addition, he is guilty of his own bent towards certainty when he states that the case for evolution is air-tight (it's not). Finally, someone once said that the seeds of destruction of a false belief are contained in that fasle belief's own logic. So, if the conclusion is that we can never be 100% right, then that very conclusion can never be 100% right, so maybe it's wrong and we can be 100% right. Kapeesh?

That being said, there is a lot of interesting material about how the brain works, and a lot of food for thought about how it is that we know what we know.

I am always slightly annoyed when a book is not about what is is supposed to be about. A few chapters of this book - those towards the end - are on why the feeling of certainty is just that: a feeling. This leads the author to some interesting discussions about how the 'feeling of certianty (a feeling though it is) is something that tends not to be subject to reason, but owes more to emotion. The author also goes into some really interesting thoughts about evolutionary reasons why the feeling of certainty as a tool to help us survive in an uncertain world (where we have to act, so we might as well act with conviction).

Unfortunately, this only happens well into the second half of the book (maybe 2/3rds of the way through). The first many chapters are stage setters. There are chapters about distinguishing what is meant by "mental states," "feeling" and "sensation," chapters describing how we know that emotions like fear, deja vu, and religious experience are chemical in nature, and how the "mind" is an emergent property tying together several components of the brain into a unity.

The author also spends quite a bit of time talking about what neuroscientists term the "hidden layer." That is, when we make decisions, the brain "surveys" a whole host of things - past experiences, attitudes one has acquired, things one has learned, etc. - to come to a conclusion, but this is all "hidden" form our consciousness. Thus, the author concludes that while we may feel like our deliberations are conscious, often the bulk of our deliberation is unconscious.

All of this, the author tells us, supports the thesis (that he eventually gets to) suggesting that certainty is a feeling,, and not always one subject to rationality as we generally assume. Since we have seen that attitudes like fear, deja vu, and sense of purpose are feelings like any other, and we have seen that feelings like these are often not subject to rationality (try convincing a clinically depressed person that the feeling of purposelessness is only a chemical "illusion"), and we know that much of our thought is unconcious, we can also infer that the feeling of certianty is subject to all of these. (Try convincing a young-earth creationist that the earth is more than 6,000 years old and that their certainty is not due to the strength of the idea.)

Really, I don't have any huge qualms with this. We've all seen people be so certain of something that is (to us) obviously wrong, and know all to well that people's attachment to ideas often has not a thing to do with rationality. (And we all, if we are honest, realize that we have been the 'dummy' in this scenario as well.)

My biggest problem, from a literary standpoit, is that the author takes a very long time to get to his point, beginning many chapters with something like: "I want to talk about the feeling of certainty. But first, let's..." Once that happens too many times, I begin to lose patience, particularly when some chapters (like that reviewing the difference between "feelings" and "sensations") simply go on longer than they should.

My philosophical beefs with the book is: the author, who suggests may times that we cannot step beyond our feelings of certainty if they are strong enough, would be well served to have included a chapter on examples where people DO change their minds about things they were once deeply certain about. The fact that this happens - albeit happens only with difficulty and pain - gives empirical lie to this thesis.

Really, this is a quite interesting book with an interesting case that simply takes the author too many pages to make. I resisted the urge to skip ahead numerous times (and did skip half a chapter that seemed to veer frequently off topic). I wish the author would have discussed the issue of 'certainty' more than the tertiarilly related matter of brain states like fear and deja vu.

In the end, I would reccomend this book to people as a follow-up read to books like "Mistakes Were Made," which give a much more direct discussion of our brain's tendency to fall into illusions of certainty. This book does that, but simply tries to do so much more that it may better have been written as a collection of loosely related essays.

I had a really hard time with the subject matter. One better have a very strong constitution to read this....

Perfect condition and received promptly.

This is a classic of the Catholic religion.

I became familiar with this when I was in college and I had difficulty with mental illness.

I am very different from other people in the way I think. I have something like severe autism caused by brain injury combined with a high tendency to think about and want to please other people.

today I was thinking about some feedback I got and I realized that it is all going wrong b/c of my tendency to blame others, among other things.

I am very different from other people. I need to work out conversations via grammatical or other, mathematical, rules. this is like autism and it reflects that my injury started to show up in the 6th grade, when I was diagramming sentences.

and the thing is when you are different you want to be the same.

but this book, it doesn't really matter the specifics of the language b/c the concept, of dealing with something huge and coming out the other side, is very important to me.

I am almost 40 and facing this issue.

my tendency is to panic and blame people rather than take responsibility for being different. whatever that means. I don't know what that means.

it's OK, I have to trust that there will be another side for me when I come out of this whatever it is, this passage through acceptance.

This book was very difficult to read because it doesn't use contemporary colloquial English.

According to critics and scholars, E. Allison Peers did an outstanding job translating this work. Without a doubt: it is so (I assume.)

According to me, I need a translator to translate this translation into a work that I can understand easily.

I blame my lack of education for my troubles reading and understanding this book, of course.

However, to those people out there with just a basic education, like me, be warned: reading this book will be an arduous effort. A very difficult effort indeed.

I've found a more accessible translation online:

http://www.karmel.at/ics/john/dn.html

Other than that, it is a remarkable and inspiring work.

I believe this book could be understood better if previously one had read the works of Bernadette Roberts.
In fact, I think that reading only the first outlined title would suffice.

What is Self?: A Study of the Spiritual Journey in Terms of Consciousness,

The Path to No-Self: Life at the Center

The Experience of No-Self: A Contemplative Journey

This is by far one of the very best spiritual guides for anyone who is going through a trial that seems almost unbearably difficult to work through. It is a timeless classic that offers comfort, hope and a sense that this darkness can lead to transformation.

The authors examine all aspects of the amazing grace demonstrated by the Amish people in tiny West Nickel Mines, PA after the ghastly killing of five school-age girls by a distraught "Englishman". The Amish's version of Christianity, focused sharply on the Lord's Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount, tells them to forgive others, lest they be forgiven by God for their sins. Centuries of thinking and living this way make other reactions to tragedy almost unthinkable within the Amish community, though forgiveness does not erase grief. Christians may think differently about their interpretation of Christ's teachings after reading this book. Description of the killings themselves are mercifully brief, though still poignant.

Very highly recommended to all readers.

Sometimes kindness comes from the least expected of places. "Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy" is a look back at the shocking kindness shown by the Amish after a horrible tragedy in the Nickel Mines of Pennsylvania claimed the lives of ten schoolgirls. Shattering the stereotype of the Amish as a backwards people who condemn the outside world for their heretical ways, it's a refreshing look at a good, albeit unique type of people. "Amish Grace" is a refreshing tale of the good side of religion.

The mix of Amish background and history with the present gave me a much better understanding of the Amish,why they believe, and who they are.
I wish I could have a commitment and devotion as strong as theirs. This book not only shows their strengths, but also their weaknesses, and how they cope with both. Anyone whether religious,or a non-believer should read this book so they can strengthen their own personal beliefs.

Highly recommend for everyone interested in improving their own life.

EJ

This book is a moving portrait of the tragic shootings of Amish school children in Nickel Mines, PA. Above all, however, it an insightful view of Amish culture and faith, especially with regard to forgiveness. The book's spare and elegant prose was perfectly suited to the subject. I bought 2 additional copies as gifts for friends.

This book is a grace note in an age of religiously fuelled hate crimes and suicide bombings. It is not only about how the Old Order Amish found it within themselves to forgive the killer of their young girls, it is also one of the best books on religion and ethics that I have ever read.

If the reader learns one thing from the Nickel Mines school shooting, it is this: "the Amish commitment to forgive is not a small patch tacked onto their fabric of faithfulness. Rather, their commitment to forgive is intricately woven into their lives and their communities."

The Amish take the Lord's Prayer to heart. If they themselves wish to be forgiven, they must forgive.

"Amish Grace" gives an account of Charles Carl Roberts IV and the instruments of cruelty and death that he brought to the small Nickel Mines schoolhouse on October 2, 2006. But as the authors put it, the biggest surprise "was not the intrusion of evil but the Amish response." How and why the Amish forgave the killer in their midst is the main focus of this book.

One of the contrasts I couldn't help drawing from this story was the Amish response to the murder of their children, versus the way John Walsh, dedicated host of "America's Most Wanted" reacted to the murder of his six-year-old son, Adam. Since that horrible day in 1981, Walsh has devoted himself to bringing criminals to justice, and has been instrumental in rescuing abducted children. In 2006 President Bush signed a new bill into law that changed how Americans protect their children against sexual predators such as Charles Carl Roberts IV. The law is called "The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act."

If John Walsh had been Amish, would any of these good and necessary deeds have been accomplished? On a more personal level, were the stricken Amish parents better able than Mr. Walsh to live with their grief because they forgave their children's killer?

In the course of writing this book, the authors develop answers to questions such as the above, from the Amish and non-Amish point-of-view. They don't preach. They don't resort to sociological mumbo-jumbo. They tell the stories of good people, who are also fallible human beings. They conclude that "Amish-style forgiveness can't be strip-mined from southern Lancaster County and transported wholesale to other settings. Rather, the lessons of grace that the rest of us take from Nickel Mines must be extracted with care and applied to other circumstances with humility."

This is a thoughtful, well-written book.

I thank my teacher friends, who gave me this phenomenal recording as a retirement gift. From the first sound of the music and sound effects, through the incredible narration, to the comprehensibility (thanks to the NIV version), I am mesmerized. I have read the Bible a number of times, but I have never experienced it until now. I thought the readers were going to be identified, but I'm glad they were not because as I listened they became the people from the Bible, not actors. I greatly appreciate the attempts at pronouncing some of those names that I don't think anybody really knows how to pronounce, particularly given the way we spell and pronounce some of our children's names these days. A stellar project.

This is a wonderful way to hear the Bible in a manner that allows it to come alive. I have heard some other audio versions of the Bible and they always sounded boring. This one makes the Bible sound like what it really is EXCITING!

My shipment came right on time and was in perfect condition. All the CD's were present in the case with no scrates or marks. Listening to the audio Bible has been awsome for me, it's helped me read along some of the books I find difficult and long. Am a single mom of two and it's the audio Bible has been a perfect away for me to spend time in the word.

If you want a good audio Bible for either your home or your Church for Bible studies this is the complete audio Bible for you "Inspired by the Bible Experience" is the one that you should have cause it has great audio effects as well as a wonderful script and great actors playing the parts the best way they know how. also if you use this for a Bible study this will be a good way to tell the story so they can really get the feel of what the bible is really about. So I highly recommend "Inspired by the Bible experience"

This was a wonderful collection!! I travel a lot and have listened to the Bible on CD before but this is a classic...it is so well acted out that I have cried, laughed but mostly pondered the messages. Talk about making "it real"! Nothing takes the place of reading the Word for yourself but this is excellent...I strongly recommend it.

Haidt says there are three ways to change your state of happiness: drugs, meditation and psychotherapy. This book is a effectively a good dose of psychotherapy and has some really excellent stand alone chapters particularly on love and romance and highlights in the study of what makes people happy, particularly based on scientific research from the 20th century. This book is an exploration of happiness that is anchored in ancient wisdoms we may be familiar with - Roman stoics, a bit of Greek philosophy, Buddhist and Hindu ideas, Lao Tzu and teachings from the Bible.

Not all may agree with Haidt, especially on the utility of antidepressants. I also go along with the criticism that he may have generalised too much. As G. Johnson points out above, Buddhism is more complex than Haidt's analysis. The notion that Buddhism teaches inaction, passivity and simple detachment does not take into account that Buddhism does describe at least 11 kinds of happiness from sensual pleasures to extraordinary happiness in the third Jhana (at least in theory). Buddhism could be dichotomised into lay practice vs monastic practice and a Mahayana vs a Theravada approach. The Mahayana and Lay Buddhist practices emphasize a proactive endeavor to assist those who may need it. But, as the Theravadin's point out, it's probably better to deal with your own problems first. Haidt's Dhammapada quotations from Mascaro as translator should be regarded as a pretty poor rendition of an ancient text.

There is also this peculiarly American division between liberals and conservatives, one that is unique to the US and can only be seen in an American context by those of us English speakers not from the USA.

Haidt sometimes uses ancient Wisdom in caricature so that he can state a different more advanced philosophy for the technologically sophisticated times we enjoy. At this level, I think he has it pitched about right to suit cultured, middle class and educated societies trying to encapsulate for themselves, the nature of happiness and how to get it in a generally secular context.

I especially enjoyed his graphs in the relationship chapter showing a distinction between visceral short term affection vs long term companionship based affection. He has also introduced with great simplicity some profound ideas of modern psychological studies from Freud to ? ... We certainly have little time to study the copious alternative treatises and this is definitely a good place to hunk down and research. So real happiness consists of Flow States of mind where you get absorbed in an activity rather than the short term thrill of winning something ... meditation is simply extending the flow state of mind to a deeper level.

I would recommend this modern appraisal of the nature of happiness as explored by the new science of psychology and certain ancient thinkers. Haidt's is an impressive short compendium rich in references. I think it is refreshing that he is so open to teachings alien to himself including Buddhism and this is a book that could get many of us started on our own explorations.

I find it disagreeable that our baseline happiness may be set by our genes and would endeavor to strive to increase it - this to me is an aspect of being human even though it may be very difficult to overcome the genetic conditioning. Even genes like some God cannot be all powerful and deserve to be brought down to size.

Jonathan Haidt is one of several front-line researchers in the field of Positive Psychology. This book, The Happiness Hypothesis, is a beautifully written, erudite series of lessons about how current research verifies or challenges a host of ancient teachings about happiness ranging from ancient Egypt,Greece, and China and crossing over to Hebrew and New Testament Bible teachings and 20th century psychology. Suitable for lay readers as well as psychology majors both undergraduate and graduate. The goals of this book are very ambitious but skillfully achieved at almost every turn. While the final chapter was somewhat anticlimactic, in my view, the time spent studying the book overall was well worth it. Highly recommended.

Jonathan Haidt has done a great job of nailing the topic. This is the best work I have found for understanding the elusive state labeled happiness. His discussion of negativity bias is particularly well done. Copies given to friends result in responses ranging from 'very helpful' to 'best book I've read'. Coverage of taboos may be a turn-off to some, but to date no complaints. Haidt is generous in sharing his sources. He also shows the appreciation and pride of a great teacher in his descriptions of research by his students. I highly recommend both the book and the CD.

R. Scott Clark, Ed.D.

This book was referred to in a newspaper article on current brain research, which is of interest to me, so I bought it in spite of the somewhat gimmicky title. I'm so glad I did. It explains in layman's terms why the people with whom we disagree can't help being so darn stubborn! It also exposed my lovingly-cherished illusions about my own open-mindedness. If we all understood what the author explains so clearly, perhaps we could overcome some of our divisions and biases. And that just might save civilization.

I purchased this book on the recommendation of David Brooks, the New York Times columnist. It was on the list of books he recommended in his column about how "we" need to change how we think (and act) in this world. (Which I agree with wholeheartedly.)
In any case I purchased this and another of his recommendations, Michael Gazziniga's The Ethical Brain. After perusing the Gazziniga book I decided to start with the Haidt. I regretted his choice of the title, after all, what can be more fleeting than "happiness"?
I persevered through to the end. It had a few bright moments, no, instants; but it was basically the musings of a college boy. It seem so full of ordinary, everyday information and nothing worth note. It's a mystery to me why anyone would recommend it.
I am giving it three stars after reading the review from 'a reader in front of the front range'. I figured if he gave it three stars, I should be as generous - otherwise, I was tempted to assign only two.

This book is a compilation of interesting clinical cases in neurosciences, brain injury and therapy, mainly unrelated to one another. You could easily read only those chapters of your interest.

It seemed to me that as "unifying thesis", the author chose the idea of the "self" and how it might be only a "phantom" of our brain, suggesting that the "unity" and individuality that we perceive as self might be an illusion created by the way our mind works. He illustrates how this illusion of unity is broken with some brain injuries, like people that "neglect" their left part of the body, people that see "visions" or people that don't perceive parts of their body as belonging to them but to other persons.

In the section related to phantom limbs, the author explains the idea that we are born with a "body image" that persists even after a limb has been amputated, that after such an amputation, the neural circuitry in our brains "remap" and that we can "trick" our brain with mirror images of our body, thereby demonstrating that our self perception is a "making" of our neural connections.

In another section the author states that there are two different neural pathways that start in the eyes, one that leads to the object recognition part of our brains and the other that allows for space awareness and motion. In this chapter, the author mentions that injury in the first neural pathway can lead to people that see without seeing, meaning that they "perceive" and can act upon this perception, but they are not consciously aware of it (as if guided by a phantom in their brains, not by their conscious self).

The author does not succeed to unify all the clinical cases presented in the book with the "phantom of the self" idea since in most cases he does not make the connection evident enough, so what should probably be one of the main ideas of the book ends up being weekly supported and remains largely unnoticed by the reader.

Although I do not fully understand the biological, philosophical and social implications of this thesis, the book is interesting by the clinical cases themselves. I was surprised how quickly I finished this book and wished to read more about the topic.

This books presents detailed and well documented transcripts of clinical trials in the areas of neuroscience/ology. A few interesting experiments involved subduing a patients phantom limb pain, in this case the sensations of their own fingers clawing into their palm, by constructing a simple box paneled with mirrors that would provide the visual of having two hands to a hand amputee patient. Another case is in plasticity where the rubbing certain areas of a patients face with a Q-tip invoked sensations of the Q-tip rubbing along the now amputated hand. This is also the first book I have read that had so many interesting and insightful footnotes.

If you're reading this review, then you're wasting your time by not reading the book. A friend gave me his copy of the book and I literally could not put the book down. Later, I decided that I wanted a copy for myself.

The book is extremely well written; not only Ramachandran is one of the leading scientists, he also possesses an affinity for writing. It even gets better, you will be delighted by his sense of humor which adds to the joy of reading.

The most important aspect of the book is of course the science content. While one or two sections might seem a bit technical (I am fairly certain anyone can handle those sections), the science in general is well explained and is highly awe spiring. I will never forget my excitement and sense of wonder while I was reading through this book. If you want to have an idea of how we see, how we think, how our brains operate then this book is highly recommended.

Reading this book gives one a foundation on which to build the complete picture. Yes, the book is not giving the reader the complete picture. But it does provide the foundation. Now what the reader needs to do is study the books on the Buddhist teachings of emptiness by Guy Newland or Jeffrey Hopkins. After having done this, now one is able to connect the dots, build the complete picture. What is very odd is how authors of this discipline, with all their studies, with all their research, have not yet arrived at this juncture. Hmmmm....it truly makes one wonder.

While this book may not be for everyone, I believe that most people will have a hard time putting it down. Ramachandran's ability to explain absurdly complicated concepts with simple language and simple methods is just one of the facets of his genius. After readking Phantoms I burned through at least 4 other books he wrote, but still Phantoms is by far the best.

This book is exciting because, in addition to the original "Metaphors We Live By" it contains a 30 page Afterword by the authors, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, written 25 years afterward. They track effects of their original revolutionary thinking on several different domains of discourse. They also mention one theoretical aspect of their theory of metaphors that, in retrospect, they would modify. This book is a must-have in a cognitive science library, along with Lakoff and Johnson's later books, written together and separately. "Philosophy in the Flesh" is especially notable for its further collaboration of Lakoff and Johnson, a linguist and a philosopher.

This was a great book. It's subject is how metaphors are not merely a poetic device, but a way of thinking that people use everyday and aren't even aware that they are doing it.

If you're interested in linguistics or philosophy or even psychology and sociology (or, like me, literature and math), then pick this one up as a great introduction to this creative topic.

After reading the other reviews, I feel obliged to opine about the book. I am a philosophy student. I generally introduce myself as a logician, but on the philosophy side. My areas of interest in philosophy are language, mind, epistemology, and metaphysics.

This book, as witnessed by the previous reviews, has a strong impact on readers. I agree with this sentiment. However, I disagree with the other sentiments that are expressed by the other reviewers. The other reviewers take the conclusions that the authors come to on face value. However, they fail to see some of the logical consequences of their view. For instance, the authors seem to be committed to what in philosophical circles is called anti-realism. This position can be boiled down to the claim that there is no external world; that may be a little harsh, but I feel that it expresses the overall point of anti-realism. the authors are committed to this position because they argue that truth, which is usually taken to be a correspondance between our statements and the facts, coherence between our statements, or some variation of pragmatism, is dependent upon metaphorical structuring of our experiences and the metaphorical concepts fittting together. This seems suspiciously circular; our metaphors and the sentences they ground are true when they fit together with the experiences that are structured by those very metaphors. we are never coming in contact with the world as is. there is always a metaphor between us and the world (except, of course, in our primitive concepts, one wonders why if primitive concepts, like up-down, front-back, can be conceptualized from experience alone, other concepts cannot be as well).

On another topic, when considering what a metaphor is, we understand that a metaphor puts two different and distinct things into a "X is B" relationship. For instance, "love is a journey." However, not all sentences of the form "X is B" are metaphors; for instance, "humans are mammals". Some, for example, are definitions. How can we tell the definitions from the metaphors? The only way is to know that the two objects in the metaphor are, in fact, different and distinct. This, however, involves conceptual understanding of the two objects apart from the metaphor. Thus, the concept has to be formed prior to the metaphor; the metaphor does not structure or ground the concept.

All in all, as a logician, I found the book to be distressing. The authors never really gave enough conclusive evidence to convince me that our conceptual system is metaphorical. In fact, the more I read the more I was convinced that their scheme presupposed a non-metaphorical conceptual scheme. However, I would recommend the book, but not in isolation. Don't indoctrinate yourself. If you read this, read something in support of the opposing position (I wish I could direct you to something here, but I have not done much research on the responses to Lakoff and Johnson). Hear all the arguments before you make a judgement as to whether our conceptual system is metaphorical.

The book's focus is on the fact that many of the sayings we use in daily life can be seen as metaphors for more literal explanations. For example it takes a chapter to explain how we feel that "up" is "good" and "down" is "bad." It is not really a book for reading. It is a philosophical look at language. If you like 200 pages of explaining how the saying "You're the top" is a metaphor for about the top being better than the bottom than this is the book for you.

I read this book back in the 90s while I was studying psycho-linguistics as an undergrad and then grad student. My linguistic interest aptly augmented my interest for roles in information technology - implementation and management (ie communication principles, hierarchical, object-oriented, top-down, bottom-up, etc analysis and implementation are all good examples of applied abstraction, which plays a fundamental role in linguistic theory). Later, while giving a lecture on technical writing to a small group of grad students, I realized that this book would be the perfect tool to bridge the gap between the writing process and the technical subjects the students were writing about. Since the book was not initially on the reading list, but I felt passionate about its potential, I purchased a copy for each student. The results were typical - some students 'got it' and others, evidently, could not make the connection. The point being that the book offers suggestions and great examples of how language works and how people think - people who have a sense of abstraction will be able to apply this book to almost any discipline. Currently, while involved in programming and numerical analysis for integration of IT projects, I still see myself thinking in terms of metaphor and realize how greatly they do impact and affect the way we live. This book goes a long way to frame the basics.

This book is inspiring. Kornfield makes many important points, the most central being: does your path have a heart? I understand this to mean: reflect on what is most valuable to you in life. Read about the experiences of people near death and what they consider to be the best parts of their lives. Then ask yourself: is your path leading you to this valuable center of living?

Jack is excellent at describing the perils of spiritual striving: the ways that by striving to attain some fixed notion of "spirituality" that we actually increase our self-divisions and compartmentalization. I agree with him that working closely with a healer (which could be a psychotherapist, or could be someone with a different title) is necessary to resolve stuck family karma and to see into our blind spots.

For some reason psychotherapy and Buddhism mixed together seem to create joyless writers. This is no exception.

Here is a lawyer joke. Lawyer tells his client, "I can write a 10 page opinion for 2 thousand dollars or a 2 page opinion for 10 thousand dollars. Which do you want?" We have the 10 page version.

Beware of authors who use their own quotes to begin each chapter. We are not talking modest. Why in the world would I want to read a quote as the kickoff of each chapter taken from the chapter itself? Perhaps the next edition will come underlined by the author.

There are many other books that cover the same ground with more wit, more depth and fewer words. Seek them out.

I found this book to be very helpful in approaching Buddhism generally and Buddhist meditation specifically. I learned a lot about what to expect out of any Buddhist practice as well as pitfalls. So why not 5 stars? Well, as an atheist I find certain things a little difficult to accept: rebirth and karma as an example.

I have MANY books on spirituality,buddhism,science and Yoga,and this book was a purchase required for my Yoga teacher training. However once I started reading it I was really happy to continue reading!it just is filled with everthing nessisary in helping you along your lifes path.Based on Buddhim at it's core,however it is not about Buddhism or teaching you about it's phylosophy. The author uses his knowledge and understanding and life experiences to help you along your path. The book leaves nothing un turned, it deals with everything! i have many books and there was still many things in the book that touched and moved me dearly.
I would certainly recomend this book to ANYONE,it is a great book for anyone regardless of their beliefs.Try it and you will feel thankful you did!

While it is very 'pragmatic', I think this will be it's downfall. All the mystery is replaced with how 'meditation' will be such an aid in making one righteous. EMPTINESS and NO-SELF (rather wondrous buddhist teachings) are treated, in my opinion, to a very one-sided interpretation. Only those taken with 'sitting' will find this book inspiring.

Here's a sample:
'As our development of self grows and our heart becomes less entangled, we begin to discover a deeper truth about self. We do not have to improve ourselves; we just have to let go or what blocks our heart.' (pg. 209)

This sounds rather too psychological for me. If its psychology we're advocating (very pragmatic) then lets call a spade a spade. Aren't we merely using 'meditation' to work on ourselves? Oh, and all those 'paradoxical' buddhist terms really are nothing more then the way Easterners talk about what we call psychology, only they use 'meditation' instead of a couch! It's ok if one feels that way, however, that may obscure things that don't fit that profile. The real danger here.


"Wishing to get out of birth and death, wishing to attain release, you try to become unified; but one does not attain unification after becoming homogenized. If you try to make yourself unified, you will certainly not attain unification." Chan Master Foyan (1067-1120)