Tag Archives: philosophy

Present Concerns and even more Lewis quotes

Posted on December 17, 2020 by smellincoffee

Although Present Concerns’ title makes it sound as though it consists of essays by Lewis written about 1940s issues,   the contents still speak to our present day.  One of the passages, quoted to me from a friend, leapt out … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

An Antidote to Chaos

Posted on August 25, 2020 by smellincoffee

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos © 2018 Jordan Peterson 402 pages Life is pain. We can surrender to it — or we can make it meaningful. Clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson here offers a prescription to those facing … Continue reading →

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The Architecture of Happiness

Posted on August 5, 2020 by smellincoffee

The Architecture of Happiness © 2006 Alain de Botton 280 pages I never thought much about the meaning of architecture until attending a lecture by James Howard Kunstler, given at my university in autumn 2008, entitled “Peak Oil and the … Continue reading →

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Stoicism and Western Buddhism

Posted on July 11, 2020 by smellincoffee

Stoicism and Western Buddhism: A Reflection on Two Philosophical Ways of Life © 2018 Patrick Ussher 88 pages We read philosophy in order to live philosophy. In Stoicism and Western Buddhism, Patrick Ussher explores the kindred beliefs and practices of … Continue reading →

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I Must Speak Out

Posted on November 20, 2019 by smellincoffee

I Must Speak Out: The Best of The Voluntaryist, 1982-1999 © 1999 Carl Watner 485 pages What distinguishes the State from an organized gang?     Carl Watner argues in I Must Speak Out that nothing whatsoever does, except its subjects’ belief. … Continue reading →

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Stoic advice on overcoming anger

Posted on August 31, 2019 by smellincoffee

In the last couple of weeks I’ve  read a few books on nonviolence communication and  conflict management (How To Be Your Own Bodyguard; Verbal Judo (re-read); and How to Survive Aggressive People).    Tonight, in a similar vein,  I encountered a … Continue reading →

Posted in history, quotations | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Status Anxiety

Posted on February 7, 2019 by smellincoffee

Status Anxiety© 2004 Alain de Botton 306 pages Who said “comparison is the thief of joy”?  If they hadn’t, Alain de Botton would, as here he argues that most of our misery comes from the constant comparison of ourselves to others … Continue reading →

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How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life

Posted on March 6, 2018 by smellincoffee

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness© 2014 Russ Roberts269 pages\ An economist and a rabbi walk into a bar and co-author a work on the meaning of life. That’s not the … Continue reading →

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Atlas Shrugged

Posted on February 27, 2018 by smellincoffee

Atlas Shrugged© 1957 Ayn Rand1168 pages Sometimes the chains that bind us are made by our own hands.   Dagny Taggart knew as a young girl that she wanted to grow up to be the master of her family’s railroad system. … Continue reading →

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Amsterdam

Posted on January 16, 2018 by smellincoffee

Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City© 2013 Russell Shorto369 pages In the early 14th century, a group of fisher-folk around the Amstel river came together with a dream: to build a place where people could smoke weed … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments