Review of Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature
Posted: 19 Sep 2021, 22:33
[Following is a volunteer review of "Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature" by Chet Shupe.]
Can you for a moment imagine how things would be if there were no rules or laws in place? Can a community, city, state, or nation do without laws? Be it the legal or moral laws? The author of the book “Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness”, Chet Shupe argues about the demerit of modern life and throws some light on the natural way of life. With some philosophical and rational arguments, he tries to make a point that in today’s civilized world we are indoctrinated to follow rules and laws which are not our basic nature, and thus we are not our true self but behave or act under the influence of institutional subjugation.
There are some great and thought-provoking arguments made by the author, which argues that in today’s modern life we focus more on our legal obligation, and in the process, we are alienated from our true feelings. With technology overtaking every sphere of our lives it has made our lives easy for sure but are we happy. His arguments about the institution of marriage make sense, and if you think of it, whatever the purpose was it has ultimately led to institutional subjugation. There is too much information for us to consume and as a result, most of our decisions are the result of this accumulated knowledge rather than our evolutionary wisdom, which the author believes is the one that represents us truly. Chet Shupe argues that there are two selves who live within us, one is based on evolutionary wisdom which we have acquired over a period of many centuries and one is the acquired knowledge that we have been indoctrinated by the various institutions of the modern civilized world.
Most of the points raised by the author are great and true as well. The institutions and laws are tools to control the citizens across the countries by a handful of people at the top, who most of the time above these laws and institutions. Civilization, he argues has taken human beings away from their natural way of living, he argues if there is no legal obligation then we may act/react differently to a situation, and that would be our natural reaction with no outside influence (law). Through various examples, the author tries to convince his readers that our instinct is much different and more simplistic than the rational decisions we make taking into consideration various obligations (legal, moral, social). He advocates the wisdom of the soul and spiritual home, which is based on a spiritual trust among people.
I found most of the arguments sharp and logical (though the author believes in instinct rather than logic) but the book falls short of letting the readers know how to achieve the “Wisdom of Nature”. In the author's defense, he clarified in the book not to expect any plans or instructions from him. I agree with most of what he was saying in the book because of my confirmation bias, I already knew what he was saying, and it was just a reaffirmation for me. Whatever his arguments are for the modern life governed by many external factors like laws and institutions, I think we need those laws and institutions to have stability. We need to reevaluate those laws and institutes and if need be update, change, or discard them, but we need the laws and institutes. If we simply go by our instincts as the author suggests there will be chaos which is not something we want. There are many great suggestions in the book that we can take home but discarding modern civilization and its laws is not certainly one of them. But there is a rational and logical rebuttal to each of his arguments. My takeaways from the book are moderation and reducing your dependency on modern technology, declutter your mind and spend quality time with your family, friends, and yourself.
Finally, I would say an interesting read. I rate this book as 2 out of 4. It may make you take a pause and think where you are heading in the mad race but falls short of providing you any solution. To me, it is a book that feels incomplete, but then there are certain things that you need to find on your own.
******
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Can you for a moment imagine how things would be if there were no rules or laws in place? Can a community, city, state, or nation do without laws? Be it the legal or moral laws? The author of the book “Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness”, Chet Shupe argues about the demerit of modern life and throws some light on the natural way of life. With some philosophical and rational arguments, he tries to make a point that in today’s civilized world we are indoctrinated to follow rules and laws which are not our basic nature, and thus we are not our true self but behave or act under the influence of institutional subjugation.
There are some great and thought-provoking arguments made by the author, which argues that in today’s modern life we focus more on our legal obligation, and in the process, we are alienated from our true feelings. With technology overtaking every sphere of our lives it has made our lives easy for sure but are we happy. His arguments about the institution of marriage make sense, and if you think of it, whatever the purpose was it has ultimately led to institutional subjugation. There is too much information for us to consume and as a result, most of our decisions are the result of this accumulated knowledge rather than our evolutionary wisdom, which the author believes is the one that represents us truly. Chet Shupe argues that there are two selves who live within us, one is based on evolutionary wisdom which we have acquired over a period of many centuries and one is the acquired knowledge that we have been indoctrinated by the various institutions of the modern civilized world.
Most of the points raised by the author are great and true as well. The institutions and laws are tools to control the citizens across the countries by a handful of people at the top, who most of the time above these laws and institutions. Civilization, he argues has taken human beings away from their natural way of living, he argues if there is no legal obligation then we may act/react differently to a situation, and that would be our natural reaction with no outside influence (law). Through various examples, the author tries to convince his readers that our instinct is much different and more simplistic than the rational decisions we make taking into consideration various obligations (legal, moral, social). He advocates the wisdom of the soul and spiritual home, which is based on a spiritual trust among people.
I found most of the arguments sharp and logical (though the author believes in instinct rather than logic) but the book falls short of letting the readers know how to achieve the “Wisdom of Nature”. In the author's defense, he clarified in the book not to expect any plans or instructions from him. I agree with most of what he was saying in the book because of my confirmation bias, I already knew what he was saying, and it was just a reaffirmation for me. Whatever his arguments are for the modern life governed by many external factors like laws and institutions, I think we need those laws and institutions to have stability. We need to reevaluate those laws and institutes and if need be update, change, or discard them, but we need the laws and institutes. If we simply go by our instincts as the author suggests there will be chaos which is not something we want. There are many great suggestions in the book that we can take home but discarding modern civilization and its laws is not certainly one of them. But there is a rational and logical rebuttal to each of his arguments. My takeaways from the book are moderation and reducing your dependency on modern technology, declutter your mind and spend quality time with your family, friends, and yourself.
Finally, I would say an interesting read. I rate this book as 2 out of 4. It may make you take a pause and think where you are heading in the mad race but falls short of providing you any solution. To me, it is a book that feels incomplete, but then there are certain things that you need to find on your own.
******
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon