A guide for making sense of life--from action (good except when it's not) to thinking (depressing) to youth (a treasure). This book offers a guide to human nature and human experience--a reference book for making sense of life. In thirty-eight short, interconnected essays, Shimon Edelman considers the parameters of the human condition, addressing them in alphabetical order, from action (good except when it's not) to love (only makes sense to the lovers) to thinking (should not be so depressing) to youth (a treasure). In a style that is by turns personal and philosophical, at once informative and entertaining, Edelman offers a series of illuminating takes on the most important aspects of living in the world. Reviews: “Edelman offers a range of references and allegories to explain why a changing, growing self, constantly shaped by new experiences, is happier than the satisfaction any end goal can give us. It turns out the rewards we get for learning and understanding the workings of the world really make it the journey, not the destination, that matters most.”—Salon “Offers a happy addition to the classic recipe of ’self-knowledge, self-improvement, and, eventually, selfless conduct’—a coherent notion of the self.”—New Scientist “Weaves together his scientific expertise about our knowledge of how the brain works with references to Ulysses, Walt Whitman’s poetry and Edelman’s own passion for the Southwest desert.”—Post and Courier About the Author: Shimon Edelman is Professor of Psychology at Cornell University. He is the author of Computing the Mind, The Happiness of Pursuit, and other books. |