Μια καλή ζωή: Φιλοσοφία από την κούνια μέχρι τον τάφο

by Mark Rowlands, Ρίτα Αλεξίου (translator)

Φιλοσοφικό εγχειρίδιο ή λογοτεχνική αυτοβιογραφία; Το "Μια καλή ζωή" περιέχει το φανταστικό χειρόγραφο ενός άνδρα, που αυτοαποκαλείται Μίσκιν, το οποίο ανακάλυψε, σχολίασε και επιμελήθηκε ο γιος του Νικολάι, εντάσσοντας συγχρόνως και κάποιες παρεμβολές από κείμενα της μητέρας του, Όλγκα. Πρόκειται για τον απολογισμό ενός ανθρώπου, μέσα από ένα φιλοσοφικό πρίσμα, σε σχέση με τη ζωή που έζησε και τις επιλογές που έκανε (γέννηση, θάνατος, εκπαίδευση, έρωτας, θρησκεία, ηθική, αρρώστια, κ.λπ.). Ταυτόχρονα, είναι ένα ευφυέστατο παιχνίδι πολλαπλής συγγραφικής ταυτότητας.

Ο Mark Rowlands πραγματοποιεί μια καθηλωτική εξέταση των ηθικών διλημμάτων που αντιμετωπίζουμε και των αποφάσεων που καλούμαστε να πάρουμε σε κρίσιμες καμπές της ζωής μας, αλλά και στην καθημερινότητά μας. Με αφορμή διάφορα περιστατικά της ζωής του, ο ήρωας αναμετράται με τις έννοιες της ευτυχίας και της απόλαυσης, της αυτονομίας και της ευημερίας, της δικαιοσύνης και της ισότητας, της αγάπης και της συμπόνιας, της απώλειας και των αναμνήσεων, αξιοποιώντας πάνω απ' όλα τη δύναμη των λέξεων και του κειμένου. Με αναφορές στις αντικρουόμενες απόψεις των μεγάλων στοχαστών από την αρχαιότητα έως σήμερα, διαπιστώνει ότι κανένα σύστημα ηθικών κανόνων από μόνο του δεν επαρκεί. Τελικά, δεν είναι οι πράξεις ή οι αρχές που μπορούν να χαρακτηριστούν ως καλές ή κακές, αλλά η ίδια η ζωή στο σύνολό της.

Με καυστικό χιούμορ που εναλλάσσεται με απίστευτη σοβαρότητα, το "Μια καλή ζωή" διαβάζεται με άνεση, όπως ένα μυθιστόρημα, και συγχρόνως προκαλεί, όπως τα βαθύτερα φιλοσοφικά έργα.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2017

About the author

Mark Rowlands was born in Newport, Wales and began his undergraduate degree at Manchester University in engineering before changing to philosophy. He took his doctorate in philosophy from Oxford University and has held various academic positions in philosophy in universities in Britain, Ireland and the US.

His best known work is the book The Philosopher and the Wolf about a decade of his life he spent living and travelling with a wolf. As The Guardian described it in its review, "it is perhaps best described as the autobiography of an idea, or rather a set of related ideas, about the relationship between human and non-human animals." Reviews were very positive, the Financial Times said it was "a remarkable portrait of the bond that can exist between a human being and a beast,". Mark Vernon writing in The Times Literary Supplement "found the lessons on consciousness, animals and knowledge as engaging as the main current of the memoir," and added that it "could become a philosophical cult classic", while John Gray in the Literary Review thought it "a powerfully subversive critique of the unexamined assumptions that shape the way most philosophers - along with most people - think about animals and themselves." However, Alexander Fiske-Harrison for Prospect warned that "if you combine misanthropy and lycophilia, the resulting hybrid, lycanthropy, is indeed interesting, but philosophically quite sterile" and that, although Rowlands "acknowledges at the beginning of the book that he cannot think like a wolf... for such a capable philosopher and readable author not to have made the attempt is indeed an opportunity missed."

As a professional philosopher, Rowlands is known as one of the principal architects of the view known as vehicle externalism or the extended mind, and also for his work on the moral status of animals.

Reviews

[Άννα Μακρή · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πολύ ωραίο βιβλίο. Θα μπορούσα να το ονομάσω και "Ο φιλόσοφος που είχα φίλο".
Ο Rowlands γράφει απλά, ζεστά κι ανθρώπινα, γράφει για να τον καταλάβουμε και να σκεφτούμε (και όχι για να κάνει μόστρα τις γνώσεις του). Θα μπορούσα να τον διαβάζω συνέχεια, μου είναι πολύ ευχάριστος.

[Irene Lioli · Rating 4 out of 5]

[...]Ένα φανταστικό χειρόγραφο ενός άντρα, του Μίσκιν, που πέφτει στα χέρια του γιου του, του Νικολάι, ο οποίος το επιμελείται και το σχολιάζει. Ηθικά διλήμματα, φιλοσοφικά αδιέξοδα, τι είναι καλό και τι είναι κακό, ποιος ο ρόλος της θρησκείας, τι θέση έχουν το ψέμα ή οι κανόνες στην καθημερινή ζωή, και άλλα πολλά θέματα,  όπως για παράδειγμα η έκτρωση ή τα ναρκωτικά. Αν και το βιβλίο δεν είναι εύπεπτο, υπάρχουν σημεία που καλό είναι να κρατάς ένα μολύβι και να σημειώνεις ή να είσαι σίγουρα απερίσπαστος, όπως δεν απαιτεί ένα αμιγώς λογοτεχνικό βιβλίο, καταφέρνει να μην γίνεται βαρετό ή να μη σε εγκλωβίζει σε μια ακατανόητη φλυαρία. Μπορεί να μην εξετάζει ενδελεχώς το κάθε ζήτημα, αλλά δεν είναι αυτός ο σκοπός του βιβλίου.

https://inthebooklight.gr/2024/04/30/...

[Oakleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first page to the last, I was hooked. As a nascent thinker taking first steps into philosophy, Rowlands' 'A Good Life' was my ideal introduction; prying the cold ideas from dense tomes and giving them immediate context. Long and complex analogies have their place, but the thoughts of a person not entirely unlike myself, is a far more accessible format. Literature is a gateway to another's limitlessness, a window to empathy and understanding, as Myshkin himself wrote.

The key thread of Myshkin's life was the vesicle in which we travelled through the depths of ethics. While no doubt much of it was lost on me this first reading, some of the ideas reached out and grabbed me with a certainty. The stars of the book for me were chapters 1 through 7 in which he explored existence, suffering, birth and abortion, god and the value in morality. As I read these I kept notes but rather than anything definitive, it quickly devolved into a list of questions I burn to explore deeper.

'A Good Life' is humorous, expertly written, fast paced, suitably explained and leaves me more curious than ever. My hunger for philosophy has been whet. I am impatient with anticipation to read more.

[Mudit Aggarwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that primarily deals with morals, highlighting various moral issues / dilemmas / questions one would face in their lifespan.

Moral issues related to aspects of life, such as pregnancy & abortions, autonomy & welfare, performance drugs & recreational drugs, actions & omissions, individual & society, rich & poor, love & compassion, murder & suicide (& euthanasia)...life & death!

This book succeeds on being at-least two things:

1. Deeply philosophical, which was partially expected from the title.

2. Deeply thought-provoking. Most of the book is about a fictional person’s life (from cradle to grave), making its readers realise a lot of what is happening in the book has happened around them.

The moral issues / dilemmas / questions raised in this book are true to life, thus they need time to settle down in the reader’s mind. Not a quick read :)

Philosophy books, as I see it, are interesting in a manner that the readers are shown multiple ways of looking at the same issue to broaden their perspective and give them some tools / methods to explore their own answers...instead of feeding them with answers.

This book does exactly that!

[David Rohwer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a tough read for me as a non native speaker. I would have loved to give this book four stars and I was swaying back and forth, between 3 and 4 stars, while reading. Some chapters were really interesting and thought-provoking, but others were nearly impossible to understand, unless I'd be super concentrated - which, for me, takes away lots of the joy of reading. That's what eventually lead to me giving only 3 stars. Plus points for the chapter about animal ethics, though!

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that the synopsis of this book, outlines, explains and reviews the book perfectly itself... Nicolai, Myshkin's son, finds his father manuscript in his home after he passes away. Wanting to connect with his father one more time, he writes out the manuscript into a sort of handbook to guide people through the moral battlefield that is modern life. Organised into 20 chapters, each one tackles a certain moral issue present in everyone's life in some way or another. I was impressed by the format of each argument that Myshkin put forward, thoroughly examining each problem from a moral standpoint and also a practical standpoint as well. Having his son weigh in on each section through footnotes and adding pieces of his mother's writing into the mix to clarify or defend certain views, really added to both the flow and feel of this book.

I will be honest, I found this book overwhelming to begin with as Myshkin begins with the idea of reality, what is real and what is not. This section is rather heavy but stay with it because when this book gets into its rhythm it is truly worth a read. Part autobiography, part novel, mostly real life, this book compromises unpredictable philosophical musings and the nature of morality. Drawing inspiration from some of the most influential thinkers of history such as Descartes, Kant, Aristotle, Plato and Neizche, Myshkin works his way through his life from moral and philosophical perspective. Taking on subjects such as lying, killing animals for food, drugs, the rich, the poor and racism/sexism to name a few.

The intensity of the language in this book fluctuates from cool and informal to overly intelligent and towards the end of the book a more warped and rambling style so be aware of some of the large/strange words that are present here. I think Mark Rowlands is an incredible writer, he fused many different writing styles/formats with one of the largest subject matters in the world and managed to produce an interesting, coherent and morally challenging reading experience.

Thank you for visiting Always Trust In Books and reading my review of A Good Life. I appreciate all my readers and I will have many more reviews to come.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I think I only gave this 3 stars because parts of it were too difficult for me to understand. The parts I understood were really insightful.

[Karina Szczurek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning, as always. Beautiful for the living, and writing, self made of words.

[Juro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good Book: from Beginning to End ;-)