Official Review: Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature

[jeanmtdb]

I think this book is very timely. It is something we have forgotten. Congratulations on BOTD!

[Phyll Kamau]

People sometimes focus on other aspects of their lives and ignore their mental and spiritual life. They end up living unfulfilled lives. If you feel that you have neglected your life's mental and spiritual aspects, then Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature by Chet Shupe is the book for you.

[nishureading]

I admire this critical review and I think the notion of women being oppressed in marriage needs further research to affirm it. Definitely going in to my tangible shelves.

[Chinazo Anozie]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature" by Chet Shupe.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature by Chet Shupe is a self-help book. This work brutally attacks the way of life and the interests of people who today are called "civilized." The author seems to agree with Nietzsche when he wrote that "whoever has not two-thirds of his time to himself is a slave." But is it just a lack of free time that is the real problem? Not at all. According to Chet, we "civilized" people are spiritually imprisoned by force of laws and institutions that deny us access to our innate emotional intelligence.

The development of civilization has proven to be harmful to the mental and spiritual health of modern man. People are enslaved by individualism and by problems that only exist because we Westerners place so much importance on the future that we end up forgetting to live in the present.

To show an opposite and ideal example of how we should live, the author analyzed the lifestyle of the Pirahã (a Brazilian indigenous tribe). He examined the lifestyle and the spoken language of a people who are seen as "backward" by many arrogant Westerners. Daniel Everett's book Don't Sleep, There are Snakes demonstrates that the Pirahã language has no past tenses nor future tenses. Because they live only for the present, they appear to be much happier and have a sense of collectivity that Western man did not even dream of having.

First, I will comment on the positive aspects without further ado. There is no doubt that Chet Shupe made an accurate diagnosis of some evils that plague individuals in Western countries. He thinks that the problem exists in many parts of the world, but I consider it a "Western problem." I concur with his arguments about "mental slavery," and that civilization (instead of making our lives easier) ended up making a good part of the population unhappy. To put it in context, approximately one-third of Americans today have symptoms of anxiety or depression. In short, the diagnosis of problems is pure gold, and there is not much to improve in this respect.

Another exemplary aspect that deserves praise is the fact that the book is professionally edited. I found only a few minor errors. At the beginning of the book, the author even praises the editor Marianne Ferrari for her work, and she performed very well indeed. Before I started reading the book, I was afraid that Chet Shupe, being an electronics engineer, would have some problems getting his ideas down on paper, but I was wrong.

The book, however, has some flaws. In the first place, the author affirms in all letters that marriage is an institution that is oppressive to women. This generalization may have been true in the past (maybe it still is in some parts of the globe), but to say that all women are going to be oppressed and become unhappy if they get married is entirely absurd. This argument does not hold water. Perhaps some traumatic events in his life have led Chet to think that way.

Another "mistake" that stands out is the conclusion that all human beings will automatically perceive problems and that a loving revolution will occur. From there, everyone will develop a "sisterhood" or "brotherhood" and abandon modern individualistic interests. The author himself says that he does not know how this will happen, but this idea is too simplistic and romantic to be taken seriously.

All things considered, Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature deserves three out of four stars. It is a fascinating book that addresses many topics ignored in similar books. I had to deduct one star due to the reasons mentioned in the paragraphs above. I would recommend it to everyone who wants to have greater mental and spiritual health in a world where individualism prevails.

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Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature
View: on Bookshelves

I always love reading about books or listening to people that have different ideas than mine. Like the reviewer, while I don't agree with some of the ideas proposed by the author, I would still love to read this to see where he is coming from. Nice one!

[Guda Lydia]

The sentiment 'whoever has not two-thirds of his time to himself is a slave' is quite relatable. Especially in such capitalist and busy schedule times. I like the spiritual and mental aspects. Congratulations on the BOTD.

[Walter R]

Indeed the development of civilization has proven to be harmful to the mental and spiritual health of modern man. Great review.

[Reema Aydieh]

A self-help book fit for a world of individualism and people causing more harm than good.
Thank you for this review!

[Alycia Leigh]

Nice and detailed review. I agree with your point about the marriage institution. The author does have a point that the roots of the institution stemmed from oppression of women (some were married off as pre-teens, even; their husbands had the legal right to beat them up etc), and in some countries today it is still so, though not in the "developed" countries. This is why I disagree with you saying his view is "absurd" (in some countries today women are still forced into marriages and abused in them, so it's not like his view doesn't have any basis), but I do agree that his view lacks nuance. Good job with the review overall.

[Ruchi Raina]

This book was very enlightening. It provided a very different way to see things. The author has talked about the importance of brotherhood and sisterhood in this book. Congratulations on BOTD!

[Sallylee]

This book got me very interested and it also resonates with a lot of situations that has happened with my life. Very good book to open and realize what's processing within one's mind.

[BrainyNg]

This is a great review. The authors storyline was quite distinct from any other. I liked the idea of discussing about civilization. It has done more bad than good. Nice review.

[Yvonne Monique]

I agree with the author that today's society is too much focused on individualism and worrying about the future. I doubt about the 'loving revolution, though.

[Misael Carlos]

The topic is very interesting and relevant so I’m looking forward to digging into this book to find out about the Pirahã tribe’s lifestyle and why they are seen as backward by some group. A language that has no past tenses nor future tenses? Intriguing indeed!

[Larisa Hristova]

Reading about human nature is always interesting. The point of view it provides enriches each of our worldviews. It is perhaps impressive to juxtapose modern "civilized" people with a Brazilian indigenous tribe whose language has no future or past tense. Perhaps I will read the book. The review is good, but I would not dispute the theories proposed by the author.

[Seamstress]

I don't like reading non-fiction at all, try to avoid it whenever I can and considering that according to description the book is quite specialized and I am not interested in this topic, it is not surprising that I prefer to skip it. No offence and congrats with BOTD!