The Path
Michael Puett and
Christine Gross-Loh
The aim
of this book is to show the reader how Chinese philosophy can make a
difference in our lives. It developed out of a popular course the
author teaches at Harvard University. It attempts to show that there
are other ways of finding balance, fulfillment and meaning in life
than only with the Western ideas with which we are accustomed to.
It
introduces the reader to various Chinese philosophers and their
thinking as well as showing the reader how these ideas can be applied
to everyday life. Much of it seems to be focused on the idea that if
you transform yourself and your way of thinking and the way you
engage with your friends, family colleagues etc., you can change how
others relate to you, thereby creating a different environment,
ideally one in which you will find more meaning and fulfillment.
While
the book had some interesting ideas and while it is intriguing to see
that ideas from thousands of years ago may still have relevance for
us today, I couldn't help but feel that the philosophers were chosen
at random, without a lot of explanation as to why only these thinkers
are included but not others. Also, the last chapter seemed to me as
if it would have been better as an introduction and overview rather
than a summary.
This is
probably a good book for those who want to explore what other
cultures have to offer and how it might be incorporated into one's
own life.
Thanks
to Simon and Schuster for providing the advance reader's copy
No comments:
Post a Comment