When I was young, I read tomes of philosophy. Some made a difference, most did not. I guess my way of operating in the world reflects the cumulative effect of that reading, but I remember little about all that reading. Technical or academic philosophy now repels me.
At the Melbourne Writers Festival last year, I chanced upon a book that altered all that. Distraction: A Philosopher’s Guide to Being Free, by young Melbourne-based philosopher Damon Young, sounds like the dense academic verbiage I no longer abide. Not so. This book rocks! Let me quote from the author’s website:
In this insightful journey through the lives of philosophers, artists and great political thinkers, Damon Young shows how rewarding patient, sensitive and thoughtful attention to the world can be. He suggests that the opposite of a life of distraction is one of genuine freedom.
Amazingly, that blurb is accurate. A ruminative read through an eclectic gallery of thinkers and creators has fired up my imagination, and for the first time in years I’m keen to explore aspects of philosophy. But gently and in a drifting fashion that I call ‘dreaming.’
Slowly, slowly: ‘Balancing the Books,’ Damon Young’s final chapter, a 16-page guide to further reading, is the navigation panel to use. Over summer, I read Letters from a Stoic by Seneca. I struggled to stay engaged but the struggle seemed worthwhile. I’m now getting hold of Young’s suggested bio, Seneca: The Life of a Stoic by Paul Veyne.
Other reading is afoot . . . but more about that in another post.
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