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Tranquility and Ruin
Danyl McLauchlan wanted to get closer to the hidden truth of things. But it was starting to look like the hidden truth of things was that nothing was real, everything was suffering, and he didn’t really exist.
In these essays Danyl explores ideas and paths that he hopes will make him freer and happier – or, at least, less trapped, less medicated and less depressed. He stays at a monastery and meditates for eight hours a day. He spends time with members of a new global movement who try to figure out how to do the most possible good in the world. He reads forbiddingly complex papers on neuroscience and continental philosophy and shovels clay with a Buddhist monk until his hands bleed. He tries to catch a bus.
Tranquillity and Ruin is a light-hearted contemplation of madness, uncertainty and doom. It’s about how, despite everything we think we know about who we are, we can still be surprised by ourselves.
‘McLauchlan is likely the most intelligent essayist in New Zealand . . . and this is likely to be the most thought-provoking book of non-fiction published in New Zealand in 2021.’ —Steve Braunias, ReadingRoom
In these essays Danyl explores ideas and paths that he hopes will make him freer and happier – or, at least, less trapped, less medicated and less depressed. He stays at a monastery and meditates for eight hours a day. He spends time with members of a new global movement who try to figure out how to do the most possible good in the world. He reads forbiddingly complex papers on neuroscience and continental philosophy and shovels clay with a Buddhist monk until his hands bleed. He tries to catch a bus.
Tranquillity and Ruin is a light-hearted contemplation of madness, uncertainty and doom. It’s about how, despite everything we think we know about who we are, we can still be surprised by ourselves.
‘McLauchlan is likely the most intelligent essayist in New Zealand . . . and this is likely to be the most thought-provoking book of non-fiction published in New Zealand in 2021.’ —Steve Braunias, ReadingRoom
- GenresEssaysNonfiction
200 pages, Paperback
Published February 16, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 24, 2021
One of the short stories is about Danyl attending an effective altruism retreat to see what those fellows are up to. I was at the retreat and am featured in the book! I spend a lot of time observing books from the outside, so it's neat to finally see how things look from inside the page.
It's only a partial victory though: apparently my characteristics weren't substantial or distinctive enough to make up a fully-fledged character, so my speech, actions, and biography are distributed between several different people.
There's something existentially evocative about this. It's like being sublimated into a Hegelian Geist.
As is mentioned in the book, the philosopher Derek Parfit liked to devise zany thought experiments like "what if a person's cerebral hemispheres were put into two different bodies. What happened to the original person? Are there two of them now? Or none of them?" These Gedanken were supposed to challenge our sense of personal identity.
Here's another Gedanken: suppose God (or an author) had a nifty idea for a new person He could put into the world. But due to budgetary constraints, God cannot afford the raw materials needed to create this person. So instead, He catalogues every action, utterance, and thought that the person would have over the course of their life, and redistributed these components across every person who already exists in the world. What is the existential status of the possible person?
Along similar lines, what am I to make of the fact that in reality, most of my individual thoughts, utterances, and actions - the stuff that makes up my personal experience of the world - have already been undertaken by my coevals and predecessors? If my life is mostly or entirely a remix of other peoples' lives, then what is my existential status?
It's only a partial victory though: apparently my characteristics weren't substantial or distinctive enough to make up a fully-fledged character, so my speech, actions, and biography are distributed between several different people.
There's something existentially evocative about this. It's like being sublimated into a Hegelian Geist.
As is mentioned in the book, the philosopher Derek Parfit liked to devise zany thought experiments like "what if a person's cerebral hemispheres were put into two different bodies. What happened to the original person? Are there two of them now? Or none of them?" These Gedanken were supposed to challenge our sense of personal identity.
Here's another Gedanken: suppose God (or an author) had a nifty idea for a new person He could put into the world. But due to budgetary constraints, God cannot afford the raw materials needed to create this person. So instead, He catalogues every action, utterance, and thought that the person would have over the course of their life, and redistributed these components across every person who already exists in the world. What is the existential status of the possible person?
Along similar lines, what am I to make of the fact that in reality, most of my individual thoughts, utterances, and actions - the stuff that makes up my personal experience of the world - have already been undertaken by my coevals and predecessors? If my life is mostly or entirely a remix of other peoples' lives, then what is my existential status?
November 27, 2021
Funny, insightful, provocative and opening new areas of exploration for the reader.
This is how I experienced this fantastic series of (five) essays by Aro Valley's very own Danyl McLauchlan, who promises not to lecture, or state claimed truths about the subjects he covered. But instead, he posits his own experiences and observations across meditation, depression and anxiety, religion 'political hobbyism' and philosophy.
He describes his own experiences of the Feb 2020 Covid bloom as a blend of "hyper-informed hysteria and trance-like inertia" which he suggests is "the default emotional tone of the 21st century".
So much to rave about this book and the author's style of writing. It's engaging, wryly humourous, self-deprecating, enlightening and curiosity-fuelling.
This is how I experienced this fantastic series of (five) essays by Aro Valley's very own Danyl McLauchlan, who promises not to lecture, or state claimed truths about the subjects he covered. But instead, he posits his own experiences and observations across meditation, depression and anxiety, religion 'political hobbyism' and philosophy.
He describes his own experiences of the Feb 2020 Covid bloom as a blend of "hyper-informed hysteria and trance-like inertia" which he suggests is "the default emotional tone of the 21st century".
So much to rave about this book and the author's style of writing. It's engaging, wryly humourous, self-deprecating, enlightening and curiosity-fuelling.
November 28, 2022
“Anxiety happens when the brain predicts bad outcomes with low confidence, and this accounts for the disorder’s classic symptom: obsessional looping. Subminds repeatedly project the same thoughts into consciousness, hoping to reduce error. In the lost-in-the-forest analogy, we think the path ahead simply leads back to where we’re standing right now but we’re not sure, so we take it, but when we come to this spot again we still aren’t sure, so we take it again. And again. And again.”
I was put onto this guy by an acquaintance, and after reading an article he did on “The Spinoff” I was won over, and so I grabbed the first book of his I could get a hold of. Now if I had known what this was about before-hand, I would almost certainly have avoided it, or at least put it further down my reading list, but as I am in the habit of picking up books without reading the blurb...
This took a while to warm up, and I was a little sceptical at first, especially when I encountered yet another white, middle aged, middle class professional whingeing about their mental health etc, but I got over myself and stuck with this and was duly rewarded, by some really enlightening and provocative insights.
Unfortunately this reminded me how suspicious and unconvinced I remain by anyone who calls themselves a Buddhist monk or lives in a monastery. I personally believe that it’s often the case that many of these people have stopped looking for the answer rather than having found it, but there we go. McLauchlan relates his experiences with a refreshing and warming balance, which makes his journey all the more identifiable and realistic.
By far the most enjoyable essay is the one when he goes on a retreat with a group of young, highly intelligent and unbelievably enthusiastic bunch of EAs (Effective Altruists). Here he encounters all sorts of weird and wonderful people and ideas from decision trees, Utilitarianism, the Prisoner’s dilemma, superforecasters and supertasters to probabilistic priors, QALY (Quality-Adjusted Life Year) scores and the problem of the Harmless Torturer?...
I was put onto this guy by an acquaintance, and after reading an article he did on “The Spinoff” I was won over, and so I grabbed the first book of his I could get a hold of. Now if I had known what this was about before-hand, I would almost certainly have avoided it, or at least put it further down my reading list, but as I am in the habit of picking up books without reading the blurb...
This took a while to warm up, and I was a little sceptical at first, especially when I encountered yet another white, middle aged, middle class professional whingeing about their mental health etc, but I got over myself and stuck with this and was duly rewarded, by some really enlightening and provocative insights.
Unfortunately this reminded me how suspicious and unconvinced I remain by anyone who calls themselves a Buddhist monk or lives in a monastery. I personally believe that it’s often the case that many of these people have stopped looking for the answer rather than having found it, but there we go. McLauchlan relates his experiences with a refreshing and warming balance, which makes his journey all the more identifiable and realistic.
By far the most enjoyable essay is the one when he goes on a retreat with a group of young, highly intelligent and unbelievably enthusiastic bunch of EAs (Effective Altruists). Here he encounters all sorts of weird and wonderful people and ideas from decision trees, Utilitarianism, the Prisoner’s dilemma, superforecasters and supertasters to probabilistic priors, QALY (Quality-Adjusted Life Year) scores and the problem of the Harmless Torturer?...
March 22, 2024
A series of essays by Danyl McLauchlan covering episodes in his life as he explores his life's meaning and searches for ways to manage his thoughts and moods. I was drawn to it as I'm in a similar space. McLauchlan's book introduced me to some new (to me) ideas; some of it I found too complex to process; and in other parts I recognised some of my own thoughts. The value of meditation, political hobbyism, effective altruism... how to live a life with some meaning and what does it really mean to "make a difference"? Does anything really make a difference? The pointlessness of our political systems. Is it inevitable that human society and civilisation is heading for extinction? Is that the best outcome for the planet and other species anyway?
Sighhhhh I don't think I came away from Tranquillity and Ruin with any answers, but it did give me more to ponder.
Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me....
Sighhhhh I don't think I came away from Tranquillity and Ruin with any answers, but it did give me more to ponder.
Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me....
October 29, 2023
An easy and enjoyable read, with insightful musings into existential openness.
June 8, 2024
4.5 ⭐️ I liked the first and last essay the most. The 3rd dragged on for a while which is why I knocked the rating down. Overall, an interesting and eye opening read.
July 19, 2025
A fantastic read. Danyl McLauchlan must be one of the best NZ essayists around today.
October 15, 2021
I was sad to finish this beautifully written collection of essays. Entertaining, often very funny, well considered. I'd like to hang out with this chap, & imagine many others of his readers feel the same.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews