my mind on books

The Concealed Art of the Soul: Theories of the Self and Practices of Truth in Indian Ethics and Epistemology by Jonardon Ganeri combines two of my favorite subjects: Indian philosophy and ‘theories of the self,’ plus it is very well written, so I’ve been enjoying it quite a lot. Here’s a small sample:

Only at our peril does each of us conclude too soon that we have found the great truth about ourselves, the truth of who we are; it takes time for that truth to form and organize itself within us. The nuanced truth about ourselves, our condition, our lives and aspirations, should not come too soon, before we are receptive to it, before we can let it ‘blow through’ us. Indeed, were it to come too soon, we would not even recognize it as such; or else, it would mislead us. When it does come, its effect will be transformative; indeed, its arrival is only the beginning. If receptivity — openness to the truth — is one hard-won intellectual virtue, then so too is the capacity to allow the truth to ‘keep growing deep down’…. (p. 56)

In ‘Comment is free’ at The Guardian (UK) ‘Happy talk’ summarizes a recent lecture by Richard Schoch (author of ‘The Secrets of Happiness: Three Thousand Years of Searching for the Good Life‘); here’s an excerpt:

The fundamental error of the science [of happiness] – and the reason why so many of its recommendations sound trivial or just confused – is the assumption that happiness is the same as positive emotion. Researchers are continuously drawn back to this idea since it makes happiness measurable. In fact, that is in itself debatable. But if you do take happiness to be tantamount to pleasure you are left with a woefully insufficient model of felicity.

In a similar vein philosopher Colin McGinn has recently been wondering “whether utilitarianism might have neglected the fact that melancholy can sometimes be a good thing” (in response to the recent book Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy by Eric G. Wilson).

Happiness: How the World Keeps Smiling
is a beautiful travel diary/photo book with a happiness theme.

Link to New releases in happiness at Amazon.com

Bias and Belief wiki has a page of Key References, listing books for non-specialists and for specialists on cognitive biases. Many of the books have separate wiki pages with summaries or reviews.

I saw that the February theme for the Book a Month Challenge is the heart (romance, love, courage, the physical heart, etc.)

This might be an excuse — or better an occasion — to read Garcia’s Heart, which I’d noted earlier as an example of ‘neurofiction.’