Philosophy
Hamidreza Mahboobi Arani,
Abstract
"Ancient Greek Philosophy: from the Presocratic to the Hellenistic Philosophers" is a book written for undergraduate philosophy students in the United States. The author's attempt in this relatively concise book is to show that ancient Greek philosophy is not a history of disparate opinions from various ...
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"Ancient Greek Philosophy: from the Presocratic to the Hellenistic Philosophers" is a book written for undergraduate philosophy students in the United States. The author's attempt in this relatively concise book is to show that ancient Greek philosophy is not a history of disparate opinions from various philosophers, but rather a coherent line or lines of thought that extend throughout the period. Based on these lines of view, a unified narrative of this period's philosophy can be presented. The author, in particular, follows a line of thought in Greek philosophers' quest for actual knowledge and good and prosperous life that begins with Socrates and continues through Plato, Aristotle, and the late ancient philosophers. After introducing the work and providing a general report on its argumentative content, the current article reviews it primarily in light of the author's approach and goals. It clarifies its place in an undergraduate course on ancient Greek philosophy.
Philosophy
Hamidreza Mahboobi Arani
Abstract
Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World by Prof. Iddo Landau, is a warmly written book, rich with instances from the author's life, history, movies and literature. Prof. Landau attempts to offer new arguments and practical advice that make us become and stay alert to the already meaningful aspects of our ...
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Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World by Prof. Iddo Landau, is a warmly written book, rich with instances from the author's life, history, movies and literature. Prof. Landau attempts to offer new arguments and practical advice that make us become and stay alert to the already meaningful aspects of our ordinary lives and show how we can increase it, if necessary. He confronts most prevailing arguments in the literature that renders our life meaningless or insufficiently meaningful, including the arguments based on perfectionism, the existence of suffering and evil, death and total annihilation of our life and even the whole world and etc. According to Landau, these arguments can at most diminish the meaning in our life, not removing it. We, however, can still find many sufficiently meaningful aspects in our life which are ultimately related to the inherent value of our lives. The book, then, ends up building practical strategies to identify and recognize these aspects. In the current article, I will convey the argument of the book, then elaborate my take on the strategies prof. Landau utilizes this to persuade us that there are many sufficiently meaningful aspects in everyone’s life.
Philosophy
Hamidreza Mahboobi Arani,
Abstract
Weltschmerz’ Pessimism in German Philosophy by Ferdrick C. Beiser, is a study of the pessimism that dominated German philosophy in the second half of the nineteenth century. According to the author, Pessimism, broadly defined, is the doctrine that life is not worth living. This view was introduced ...
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Weltschmerz’ Pessimism in German Philosophy by Ferdrick C. Beiser, is a study of the pessimism that dominated German philosophy in the second half of the nineteenth century. According to the author, Pessimism, broadly defined, is the doctrine that life is not worth living. This view was introduced into German philosophy by Schopenhauer, whose philosophy became very fashionable in the 1860s. Beiser examines the intense and long controversy that arose from Schopenhauer’s pessimism, which changed the agenda of philosophy in Germany away from the logic of the sciences and toward an examination of the value of life. He examines the major defenders of pessimism (Philipp Mainländer, Eduard von Hartmann, and Julius Bahnsen) and its chief critic, especially Eugen Dühring. In this paper, I introduce the book’s general approach, aim, and contents, mentioning its privileges as a history of philosophy of an almost forgotten controversy and some wishes about its shortcomings.
