ALL THINGS SHINING: READING THE WESTERN CLASSICS TO FIND MEANING IN A SECULAR AGE
By Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly
Reviewed by Dennis Bianchi
Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly use some of the greatest works of Western Civilization in an attempt to reveal how we have lost our engagement with and responsiveness to the world. Their journey takes us from the wonder and color of Homer’s polytheism in his Odyssey to the monotheism of Dante in his Divine Comedy; from the autonomy of Kant to the multiple worlds of Melville's Moby Dick; to the spiritual difficulties described by modern authors such as David Foster Wallace and Elizabeth Gilbert. And they finish by referencing the pro tennis star Roger Federer's performances of grace and power on the courts.
Mr. Dreyfus has been a philosopher at the University of California, Berkeley for forty years. He finds in the classic texts of our culture a new relevance for people’s everyday lives. His lively, thought-provoking lectures have earned him a podcast audience that often reaches the iTunes Top 40. Mr. Kelly is chair of the philosophy department at Harvard University. To quote a blurb from the book cover, "His is an eloquent new voice whose sensitivity to the sadness of the culture—and to what remains of the wonder and gratitude that could chase it away—captures a generation adrift." They write for the common reader, not for academia. They want to be read and understood by the general reading public, at least those of us who seek to understand the important question: How should we live our lives? They do a credible job in under 300 pages. If you have ever given some thought to reading any of the above listed works but found yourself intimidated, this book will be of great assistance and motivation.
The authors believe that many people today have, "a gut-level sadness... and lead meaningless lives." There is a quote that assists the reader to understand the title. Odysseus and his son Telmachus are discussing what they are able to see in the light provided by Athena.
Perhaps this is a lesson about the sacred that we are now in a position to appreciate: when things are going at their best, when we are the most excellent version of ourselves that we can be, when we are, for instance, working together with others as one, then our activity seems to be drawn out of us by an external force. These are shining moments in life, wondrous moments that require our gratitude. In those episodes of excellence, no matter the domain, Odysseus's voice should ring through our heads: 'Be silent; curb your thoughts; do not ask questions. This is the work of the Olympians.'
Whether you read the book for its philosophical content or not, the explication of The Odyssey, The Inferno, Moby Dick and some works of Kant and Nietzsche are extremely valuable. The authors don't simply provide their own definitions and explanations of these works but prod the reader to think about them as relevant and helpful in an everyday sense of how we should lead our lives. They provided that prod for me, a serious fan of baseball, by recalling Lou Gehrig and his speech to the crowd as he was forced to leave baseball due to an illness that today carries his name. Gehrig was apparently very shy, in spite of his outstanding physical abilities and moral courage, but he was urged strenuously to address the crowd on his last day at the park. His speech is still stirring.
Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
The authors continue that, "He described his heartfelt gratitude for the kindness and encouragement he had gotten from the fans over the course of his career, for the honor he felt playing with his teammates and for his coaches, and for the blessing of a good family and a wife who is a 'tower of strength and courage.' He concluded with another now famous sentence. 'So I close in saying, that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for.'... "At fewer than three hundred words, Lou Gehrig's farewell speech stands as perhaps the most powerful example of American rhetoric ever produced outside the political sphere."
So how do the authors travel from Ancient Greece, to Medieval Europe to 19th Century whaling ships to modern baseball parks and make it meaningful for the reader? One needs to read the entire book to answer that question completely but a couple of lines might help.
Homer's account...describes the way the most important or meaningful moments of existence present themselves to us. Of course it is true that meaningful events - like great moments in sport - involve entities that have a causal basis. But the causal structure of the leg muscles in Lou Gehrig's left thigh is neither here nor there when it comes to the question what it is like to be caught up in the response to one of his extraordinary plays or his moving farewell.
The authors make clear that it is not only sports that provide us with these opportunities to share the great wealth of good people, good moments, great and noble actions. It can be found in religious experiences or the political arena. And they make clear that the force of the energy (the authors refer to it as whooshing up) that springs up from those moments can be dangerous as well. We need to learn the craft of living and to know when to give in and become responsive, and when to walk away. According to the authors, people would do well to discover what they like and turn those things into rituals. Perhaps your morning cup of coffee becomes a ritual because you discover that it is more than just a jolt of caffeine. Maybe you just really like it. Why make it a ritual? If no other reason than to more fully appreciate that moment in as many of its aspects as possible.
This is not a book for everyone and will likely be met with criticism from some circles. The authors feel compelled, likely as a result of their training as philosophers, to prompt readers to leave behind their nihilistic views. I believe that not all of the world is as negative as these two authors seem to believe. I am recommending the book much more on its value as a way to read some great Western Classics in a way you may have not considered before, and as a book that could help the reader think more often about the value of literature as a means of improving one's life, not just as an escape. There is a message here about the positive value of living in the big real world, and doing so in a shared manner while rejecting the self-absorption and greed expressed in much of today's cultural attitudes.
