This is a book that often caught my eye while browsing the shelves of many a bookstore--but up until now I had no interest in reading about Aristotle or Plato--however, I have always been fascinated with Plato's parable of the cave. It seems eerily preminiscent of humanity's love of looking away from reality--prefering to stare at flickering images projected on a cave wall, a TV screen or a smart phone. I thought this was a perfect title to round out my "Into the Light" category.
Reviews are pretty black and white about this book--but for me it served as a perfect introduction to how the memes of Aristotle and Plato have wound their way through society from the Ancient Greece to Modern Day Western Society.
Yes the author took a surface skim through history to give evidence of the continuing relavance of these two philosophers and yes a lot of reviewers have a point--if you truly want to understand you will need to read deeper. (That is a pleasure for me!) If nothing else this book gives one a template, a guideline of where to look.
Me, I would fall on the side of Aristotle, being that I am a science based researcher at heart. This book has encouraged me to read more about Aristotle, more about our "second nature", and more about evolution's role in moral virtues. Until now I had always looked morality, character, values, being good, virtues, etc. as learned qualities (made up values-best serving crowd control in a burgeoning society) not as entities that evolved through our genes. To me, this will become a fascinating learning adventure and a big reading curve. No worries, as a yogi, I will certainly be giving Eastern thought its time in the light.
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