English Country. E.L. Grant Watson

English Country
E. L. Grant Watson
Jonathan Cape: 1924.

Brief essays and journal entries that Grant Watson made throughout one year. He claims they were not meant for publication, but can one believe this? Perhaps. The writings are of such astonishing depths at times, that when reading, you are aware of being in the presence of genius. This guy is just amazing and some of the things he thinks about on a daily basis are wonderful. It seems that much of this comes from his having time to contemplate nature for hours or days on end. No talk of work, family or friends to muddle his thoughts with daily existence--he concentrates on nature immediately before him, the significance of life, of thought, of the source & nature of spirituality. Great stuff, made greater by his honest searchings, and his belief in the explanations he develops, even knowing that they are partial at best and mysterious for certain. Grant Watson's writing is both poetic and scientific; his grasp of language is beautiful to read.

Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Robert Pirsig.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
by Robert Pirsig.

A frustrating book to read because the whole time I was wondering: "But why is this book so popular?" A novel about a vain, egotistical and uncaring technical writer on a trip with his son. He (the narrator) used to be a vain, egotistical studing and teacher who perhaps cared a little for others. He then reinvents the philosophical wheel (or at least thinks he does) and becomes obsessed with the notion of quality. At last he has a moment of spiritual insight where it all makes sense. Instead of inspiring him--as such moments do for the rest of us--it drives him crazy and he goes to the psych ward where he undergoes electric shock therapy.

He re-emerges, feigning ignorance of his past life (but really he hasn't lost a single memory), discounts his previous obsession to a practical motorcycle-maintenance level and tries to live a 'normal' life. At the end, his old self comes back.

Boring. Author talks to you like you're an idiot. He is unaware of ridiculous logic and covers it up with long history lessons. Strange book, not to be read again.

Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning. Viktor E. Frankl.

Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning.
Viktor E. Frankl.
Insight Books: 1997.

A series of lectures and essays by Frankl, the inventor/developer of Logotherapy, a theory of psychology he developed while in WWII concentration camps. Besides Jungian theory -- which really appeals to my aesthetic side -- this is the only psychology I have found which I feel is pretty much correct. His basic tenet is that people's primary objective is to find meaning, "logo", in and for our lives. Along with this, Frankl believes that man is spiritual at core. Thus, for us to be really happy, even in a concentration camp, we must see a spiritual meaning for our lives. This doesn't mean we have to know the Meaning of Life, but at least an individual meaning.

Logotherapy is practical, though not to the extreme of behaviorism, yet it keeps psychology existential and humanist, not reducing man to Freudian drives & impulses.

An extremely important book, with a lot of truth mixed in. A good one to reread every few years.

The Nothing That Is. Robert Kaplan

The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero.
Robert Kaplan.
Oxford: 1999.

An interesting topic that intrigued me when I first read about this book in a review. The first half of the book is rather interesting, as Kaplan follows the development of the idea of zero through the 16th-17th centuries. Zero as a number was never really accepted until this time; before then, it was either non-existent, a place-header only, or a suspicious number used by mathmeticians and magicians.

Throughout this half of the book, the author's innumerable tangents, asides, and references -- literary, philosophical, historical, scientific, religious, or otherwise -- are distracting and annoying, but we still follow something of a course.

Once we reach the modern era, however, the book collapses into a rambling essay on "what is the meaning of nothing" with all the author's usual asides. Boring to wade through, as he seems to have no point other than show off his wide array of knowledge (which, of course, is a valid point for discussion, but not one I particularly care about.) If he had stuck to the history, this would have been a great, albeit short, book.

Metaphors We Live By

Metaphors We Live By

George Lakoff & Mark Johnson. University of Chicago: 1980.

A fascinating study on metaphors. This is the kind of linguistics I like because by studying the language, you can get to philosophical 'truths.'

The authors use many examples of metaphors, such as LOVE IS WAR or IDEAS ARE FOOD, giving specific instances of each over-arching metaphor. But they are primarily concerned with our use of metaphors as concepts - if we use the LOVE IS WAR metaphor, our reality is different than someone who uses the LOVE IS A JOURNEY metaphor.

The most interesting thing (a tangent, really) about their theory is the realization that within these conceptual metaphors, such as ARGUMENT IS A BUILDING, are unused specific metaphors, such as "his argument had many small rooms", that can still be understood. Attention, all poets!

The book, although not very interestingly written, contains some great content. A definite keeper to re-read if I ever find myself becoming too settled in my thoughts.