Life, Death, and Other Inconvenient Truths

Shimon Edelman

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English

Massachusetts Inst of Tec
05 January 2021

Sociology & anthropology; Psychology

"An expert on happiness presents an engaging and inspiring guide to making sense of the human condition via brief essays on concepts from action, to love, to thought, to youth.

A reference book 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.

Edelman avoids reductive synthesis, staying clear of both exuberance and negativity. Drawing on an eclectic range of sources-quoting from a pre-Islamic Bedouin poem on one page, from Gogol on the next, citing both Borges and Marx-Edelman offers insights into the bright and dark sides of our nature. About anxiety, he observes, ""All sentient beings are capable of physiological stress response, but it takes special skills to also do anxiety."" Happiness is ""a commodity that Americans pursue with almost as much verve as oil."" Human language, on the other hand, is ""an essential window into the sublime."" All in all, human nature has much room for improvement. Working out ways to improve it, accompanied by this guide, is an exercise for the reader."

By: Shimon Edelman
Imprint: Massachusetts Inst of Tec
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 567g
ISBN: 9780262044356
ISBN 10: 0262044358
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 05 January 2021
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Shimon Edelman is Professor of Psychology at Cornell University. He is the author of Computing the Mind, The Happiness of Pursuit, and other books.

Reviews for Life, Death, and Other Inconvenient Truths

"""This work will be welcomed by any reader interested in the complexity of the human condition, and will especially appeal to students of the arts and literature, psychology, and ethics."" — CHOICE"