APRIL BOOK
Our April selection is The Reason of Things (link), an interesting potpourri of philosophical essays on everyday life by the noted British philosopher, author and activist A.C. Grayling (wikilink). Note: We're off our regular schedule in April. Due to scheduling conflicts, our meeting will be on April 21 (the 3rd Tuesday of the month). The usual time (7pm) and location (Zawa) still apply. All are welcome to join our animated gatherings. (With any weather luck, we may even be back outdoors on the patio.)
"A distinctive voice somewhere between Mark Twain and Michel Montaigne" is how Psychology Today described A.C. Grayling. A civilized society, says Grayling, is one which never ceases having a discussion with itself about what human life should best be. In this book, Grayling adds to this discussion a series of short informal essays about ethics, ideas, and culture. A recurring theme is religion, of which he writes "there is no greater social evil." He argues, for instance, that liberal education is better than religion for inculcating moral values. "Education in literature, history, and appreciation of the arts," he says, "opens the possibility for us to live more reflectively and knowledgeably, especially about the nature and variety of human experience. That in turn increases our capacity for understanding others better, so that we can treat them with respect and sympathy, however different their outlook on life." Thought provoking rather than definitive, these essays don't tell readers what to think, but only note what has been thought about how it is best to live. A person who does not think about life, the author reminds us, is like a stranger mapless in a foreign land. These brief and suggestive essays offer us the outlines of a map, with avenues of thought that are a pleasure to wander down.
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