Review of Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature
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Review of Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature
[Following is a volunteer review of "Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature" by Chet Shupe.]
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature by Chet Shupe is an intriguing and debatable book. The main theme of the book revolves around the dark side of civilization. As humans evolved, we moved from caves to huge houses and gradually lost the ability to admire the world and life. Until now, we thought of ourselves as the center of the universe. The sun was warming us, the stars were shining for us, but time passed and we gradually realized that we are not the center of this universe at all, we are just a tiny part of it. The sun moved from a magical, giant ball to a helium and a hydrogen star, and we learned to coexist with life. We are living in a most connected time in a history, and yet, an enormous amount of us feels isolated, alone. While reading the book, I remembered a phrase from one of my favorite books: “Look at the world, Georg, look at the world before you've filled yourself with too much physics and chemistry.” The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder.
The author has a very original and thought-provoking view on many issues. Sometimes we focus so much on the future that we forget to live in the present. The author suggests that we have two selves- One who is focused on the future and the other who lives in the present- and the constant tension between these two is the source of neurosis in modern man. While humans feel pretty great about things like phones and spaceships, our minds and bodies are fundamentally same they were thousands of years ago. We need selfless love, social connections and happiness. ,,We don’t love people because they need us. We love them because we need them. Love is not something we do. It’s something we need" Chet Shupe.
However, as someone who is deeply interested in philosophy and is studying psychology, I was very disappointed in the book. Despite the fact that the book is repetitive, in the end almost everything lacks argumentation and solid substantiation. For example, the author often repeats that language prevented us from living in the present and animals have language too, but vocalization do not enable them to share concerns about the future. Well, I don't think animals have similar concerns and let's not forget that we started communicating with each other thousands of years ago. We had no language, though we were drawing on the cave walls, we found a way to share our feelings, thoughts, maybe even worries about the future. The author also criticizes the education system and considers it as a deprivation of freedom, a distortion of human nature. It is true that the modern system has many flaws and problems, if this topic were saturated with arguments and not constantly talking about instincts and going back to nature, it would probably be very thought-provoking and interesting.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 starts. The book is professionally edited and has no profanity. I love books with similar content but this book is not reliable and lacks evidences. Nevertheless, the book was interesting and the author was able to convey his message in an original way.
I recommend this book to curious people, as well as people who are interested in similar issues and do not like modern life. The author also offers his own interpretation of certain passages from the Bible, which is interesting to me, but may be offending to some readers. I would also recommend it for people who like to think outside the box, you will come across many interesting theories in this book, although most of the theories lack solidification, I think it will be a good start for people interested in a similar topic.
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Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature by Chet Shupe is an intriguing and debatable book. The main theme of the book revolves around the dark side of civilization. As humans evolved, we moved from caves to huge houses and gradually lost the ability to admire the world and life. Until now, we thought of ourselves as the center of the universe. The sun was warming us, the stars were shining for us, but time passed and we gradually realized that we are not the center of this universe at all, we are just a tiny part of it. The sun moved from a magical, giant ball to a helium and a hydrogen star, and we learned to coexist with life. We are living in a most connected time in a history, and yet, an enormous amount of us feels isolated, alone. While reading the book, I remembered a phrase from one of my favorite books: “Look at the world, Georg, look at the world before you've filled yourself with too much physics and chemistry.” The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder.
The author has a very original and thought-provoking view on many issues. Sometimes we focus so much on the future that we forget to live in the present. The author suggests that we have two selves- One who is focused on the future and the other who lives in the present- and the constant tension between these two is the source of neurosis in modern man. While humans feel pretty great about things like phones and spaceships, our minds and bodies are fundamentally same they were thousands of years ago. We need selfless love, social connections and happiness. ,,We don’t love people because they need us. We love them because we need them. Love is not something we do. It’s something we need" Chet Shupe.
However, as someone who is deeply interested in philosophy and is studying psychology, I was very disappointed in the book. Despite the fact that the book is repetitive, in the end almost everything lacks argumentation and solid substantiation. For example, the author often repeats that language prevented us from living in the present and animals have language too, but vocalization do not enable them to share concerns about the future. Well, I don't think animals have similar concerns and let's not forget that we started communicating with each other thousands of years ago. We had no language, though we were drawing on the cave walls, we found a way to share our feelings, thoughts, maybe even worries about the future. The author also criticizes the education system and considers it as a deprivation of freedom, a distortion of human nature. It is true that the modern system has many flaws and problems, if this topic were saturated with arguments and not constantly talking about instincts and going back to nature, it would probably be very thought-provoking and interesting.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 starts. The book is professionally edited and has no profanity. I love books with similar content but this book is not reliable and lacks evidences. Nevertheless, the book was interesting and the author was able to convey his message in an original way.
I recommend this book to curious people, as well as people who are interested in similar issues and do not like modern life. The author also offers his own interpretation of certain passages from the Bible, which is interesting to me, but may be offending to some readers. I would also recommend it for people who like to think outside the box, you will come across many interesting theories in this book, although most of the theories lack solidification, I think it will be a good start for people interested in a similar topic.
******
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
