Sharing Improved Humanity
As this particularly bifurcated election season is illustrating, our shared experiences are all too often defined by what we believe separates us rather than our common humanity. Our societal anxieties generated by crass politics and consumerism only feed divisive perceptions of our fellow human beings. We all need periodic but gentle reminders to be better at our humanity, to be happy neighbors, and to be optimistic about our shared future. The following reading list was composed with this goal in mind, the goal of finding inner-peace to better understand ourselves and our responsibility to contribute kind, thoughtful participation.
"This is Water," by David Foster Wallace
Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon College. The speech is reprinted for the first time in book form in "This is Water." How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously? How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion? The speech captures Wallace's electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others.
"The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life," by Michael Puett
For the first time an award-winning Harvard professor shares his wildly popular course on classical Chinese philosophy, showing you how these ancient ideas can guide you on the path to a good life today.
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values," by Robert M. Pirsig
Here is the book that transformed a generation, an unforgettable narration of a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, undertaken by a father & his young son. A story of love & fear--of growth, discovery & acceptance--that becomes a profound personal & philosophical odyssey into life's fundamental questions, this uniquely exhilarating modern classic is both touching & transcendent, resonant with the myriad confusions of existence & the small, essential triumphs that propel us forward.
"Siddhartha: An Indian Tale," by Hermann Hesse
In the novel, Siddhartha, a young man, leaves his family for a contemplative life, then, restless, discards it for one of the flesh. He conceives a son, but bored and sickened by lust and greed, moves on again. Near despair, Siddhartha comes to a river where he hears a unique sound. This sound signals the true beginning of his life—the beginning of suffering, rejection, peace, and, finally, wisdom.
"Consider the Lobster and Other Essays," by David Foster Wallace
Do lobsters feel pain? Did Franz Kafka have a funny bone? What is John Updike's deal, anyway? And what happens when adult video starlets meet their fans in person? David Foster Wallace answers these questions and more in essays that are also enthralling narrative adventures. Whether covering the three-ring circus of a vicious presidential race, plunging into the wars between dictionary writers, or confronting the World's Largest Lobster Cooker at the annual Maine Lobster Festival, Wallace projects a quality of thought that is uniquely his and a voice as powerful and distinct as any in American letters.
"The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What it Means to Be Alive," by Brian Christian
The Most Human Human is a provocative, exuberant, and profound exploration of the ways in which computers are reshaping our ideas of what it means to be human. Its starting point is the annual Turing Test, which pits artificial intelligence programs against people to determine if computers can "think."
"If This Isn't Nice, What Is?: Advice to the Young: The Graduation Speeches," by Kurt Vonnegut
Master storyteller and satirist Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most in-demand commencement speakers of his time. For each occasion, Vonnegut's words were unfailingly unique, insightful, and witty, and they stayed with audience members long after graduation.
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