Life, Death, and Other Inconvenient Truths: A Realist's View of the Human Condition

by Shimon Edelman

A reference book for making sense of life—from action (good except when it's not) to thinking (depressing) to youth (a treasure). This book offers a guide to human nature and human experience—a reference book for making sense of life. In thirty-eight short, interconnected essays, Shimon Edelman considers the parameters of the human condition, addressing them in alphabetical order, from action (good except when it's not) to love (only makes sense to the lovers) to thinking (should not be so depressing) to youth (a treasure). In a style that is by turns personal and philosophical, at once informative and entertaining, Edelman offers a series of illuminating takes on the most important aspects of living in the world. Edelman avoids reductive synthesis, staying clear of both exuberance and negativity. Drawing on an eclectic range of sources—quoting from a pre-Islamic Bedouin poem on one page, from Gogol on the next, citing both Borges and Marx—Edelman offers insights into the bright and dark sides of our nature. About anxiety, he observes, “All sentient beings are capable of physiological stress response, but it takes special skills to also do anxiety.” Happiness is “a commodity that Americans pursue with almost as much verve as oil.” Human language, on the other hand, is “an essential window into the sublime.” All in all, human nature has much room for improvement. Working out ways to improve it, accompanied by this guide, is an exercise for the reader.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

Published October 13, 2020

About the author

If one takes the death of Stalin to mark the end of the first, darker half of
the 20th century, I was born just as its second half was getting under way, in the
evil empire that he built and that managed to survive for thirty-odd years after the
emperor kicked the bucket. In 1973, just ahead of the Yom Kippur War, my family
emigrated to Israel, where I graduated from high school. I was drafted into the
army and underwent basic training, then got a B.S. in electrical engineering and
returned to the army for five more years (not counting reserve duty). After
discharge (highest rank attained: major, reserve), I went back to school and
earned an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in computer science. Since then, I taught and
worked in research at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, at MIT, at the
University of Sussex at Brighton in the UK, and at Cornell University, where I
have been a tenured full professor of psychology since 1999. I have also held
visiting positions at Brown University, at MIT, at Tel Aviv University, and at Korea
University in Seoul.

My long-standing research and teaching interests focus on understanding
the brain/mind – a problem that, in my view, encompasses the entirety of the
human condition. It is because of my desire to understand, both scientifically and
intuitively, what makes us human that my research projects are so diverse: I
have worked on specific problems in visual perception, in robotics and AI, in
motor control, in language acquisition, in memory, and in consciousness, striving
at all times to integrate “extracurricular” interests such as my love of nature and
of literature with the science that I am engaged in. My work has led to over a
hundred refereed publications, three edited volumes, and two monographs,
including Computing the Mind: How the Mind Really Works (Oxford University
Press, 2008). Of these, the last one, The Happiness of Pursuit (Basic Books,
2012) is a trade book, which became a Kirkus Reviews starred selection and
“Must-Read in new nonfiction” when it came out.

Reviews

[Samantha Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the title suggests the contents will be pessimistic, I found Edelman’s writing more honest than negative. I found the epigraphs to be valuable resource suggestions, although they did feel a bit repetitive. I will read Ursula Le Guin, Shimon… I promise. And I am grateful for some fresh (and almost meditative) similes on the human condition.

[Andres · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved that every section came with a task list at the end to help digest the chapter.

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read. A deep understanding of life.

[Nicolas Berryman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love the writing style of this book. Picked this up last year and literally read it in 2 days. I love how he suggests things to read, watch, listen, and visit. I love books that tell me to read other books haha. Tbh I wish it was the chapters were a little longer like all of the subjects he talks about are all interesting but I just think he could of expanded on some of his ideas more.