5 comments about The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work.

1. For those who once bemoaned there being no autobiography by (or biography of) Joseph Campbell this book fills a void. For those who have watched The Power of Myth videos, and read several Joseph Campbell books, this collection of high-power dialogues with Campbell is no disappointment. No intimate details are given of Campbell's life, however, When asked for autobiographical details during one session, Campbell responds (more or less): "That's biography, and I don't do biography". Campbell relays several anecdotes of his friends Robinson and Zimmer, and gives honorable mention to the Bollingen Press and Sarah Lawrence College for crucial assistance in his career development. Particularly of interest are the frequent remarks concerning, and discussions with, his wife (and former student) Jean Erdman. While many of Campbell's remarks are near-verbatim replies heard in The Power of Myth videos, some are unreleased gems: There are two kinds of people in this world - those who know their myth is a fact (the orthodox religious) and those who know their myth is a lie (the atheists)- both KNOW that their myth is most certainly NOT a metaphor.
   
   Good book.



2. Those are the only words I can think of to describe this fabulous book! Not only do you get a picture of Campbell the man in a way you can't elsewhere, except maybe in the diaries of his Asian trips, but you also get a wonderful insight into the mythology that was his life's work. It's like being able to look through both sides of a lens at once!

   There are lovely pictures of Campbell, his friends and family that are literally breathtaking--they are part of that lens.

   The book itself is made up of a series of conversations and panel discussions involving Campbell and a number of his friends and colleagues--including his wife, choreographer Jean Erdman and artists like George Lucas, Robert Bly and Richard Adams. It is structured so that it follows Campbell's life story in the shape of his Hero Journey, as laid out in Hero with a Thousand Faces.

   The cover announces this as the Centennial Edition, which alerted me to the fact that Campbell would have been 100 this upcoming March. What a wonderful way to celebrate the life of a man whose joy (bliss) has inspired so many, and to take more inspiration from his ideas.




3. This book was well designed. The introduction by Phil Counsineau alone is worth the price. Instead of hidden away in some appendix, the Chronology of Joseph Campbell is up front before reading the details. The book is written mostly in a question and answer format.
   
   Next striking thing is the pictures that accompany the text makes you feel that some one knew that Joseph was going to be some one of interest and sent a professional photographer to follow his life. He has pictures with and/or (Buffalo Bill Cody, Black Elk, James Joyce, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Thomas Mann, Karlfried Graf Dürkheim, Carl Jung, Linda Ronstadt...) of all kinds of people that you would think came from different eras, most impressive is his portrait University of Paris.
   
   One thing you will notice of Joseph Campbell is that he has a way of looking at life that most people do not until it pointed out. Some times he will seem to be just telling you the most mundane information and all of a sudden ties it to a point that was overlooked.
   Reading this book on his life will give you a better insight as to his works.



4. I read this as one who was unfamiliar with Joseph Campbell and his remarkable insights into myths and their role in our lives.
   
   The claim is made in the book that at some time in the 1980s, seven or eight of the top ten grossing films of all time were in some way based on material originating in Campbell's books. That makes Campbell a man whose thoughts are worth learning about.
   
   The book is in general fairly easy reading, since much of it is transcribed from conversations involving Campbell. Quotable quotes abound: "myths have to do with how you live your life", "the young male is a compulsively violent piece of biology", "when people say they're looking for the meaning of life, what they're really looking for is a deep experience of it", "the best thing I can say is follow your bliss".
   
   If you want to be inspired by a life lived thoughtfully and well, you should find this book rewarding.



5. This was required reading for a graduate course in the Humanities. This is a great book written about a very engaging storyteller. Joseph Campbell describes the monomyth in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces as embodying all the necessary elements of the hero's journey in the many myths in human history. Campbell discovered through extensive research that humankind shares a universal monomyth in its various religions and legends especially pertaining to the creation of the world and humankind. Campbell borrowed the term monomyth from James Joyce's book Finnegan's Wake. Campbell's intuitive insight in human myth proves that for thousands of years these myths display a certain standard structure, which he summarizes beautifully in his book.
   
   A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a
   region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there
   encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back
   from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons
   on his fellow man (Campbell 30).
   
   There are at least four major stages that a monomyth has however, in his book, Campbell goes on to describe seventeen stages that some monomyth's posses. The four stages making up the cycle of a monomyth are "passage: separation-initiation-return:" In the passage stage the hero is summoned to journey or embark on an adventure by some kind of event that takes place or from a message, he receives. The hero may embark on this passage willingly or reluctantly. During the separation stage, the hero meets with a mentor or wise man who gives the hero either an amulet or some words of wisdom to be of help to the hero on the adventure. It is during this stage that the hero will go through his first transformation, also known as "crossing the first threshold," as he crosses over to another world or dimension leaving behind the old world. In the initiation stage, the hero goes through several trials or tests. The hero often receives help in these ordeals along the way by allies or from a supernatural force. As the hero completes these ordeals successfully, he proves himself more worthy to continue the adventure. Most importantly, during this stage the hero must pass through a major ordeal that will expand his consciousness, and thereby change his character forever. Often, this ordeal entails the death of an ally or enemy. Once the hero successful accomplishes his ordeal he is rewarded with a gift, it could be intrinsic like the "holy grail, or it can be new found knowledge to better the world with. The last stage the hero travels is that of the return whence he came. Often the hero will undergo further trials on his return before he is permitted to cross the threshold back to the world he left. During his return journey, the hero will use his newfound wisdom or gift to make a safe return home. Once home the gift is used to cure some ill in the hero's home or to impart new wisdom to his neighbors.
   
   Campbell points to the significance of the monomyth in the fact that it describes the cycle that Moses, Jesus, and Buddha had gone through according to their religious adherents. This is not to mention the hundreds of other monomyths told throughout human history. The monomyth proves that humankind shares a common creation DNA in a sense. The monomyth is the perfect vehicle for one to study the Humanities by.
   
   Recommended reading for anyone interested in history, psychology, philosophy.

No comments about The Essential Writings (Oxford World's Classics).

No comments about Quine (Arguments of the Philosophers).

3 comments about Adieux: A Farewell to Sartre.

1. Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre were *the* couple of the 20th century. For all the immense history they created, it may be beyond our ability to imagine just how and why they were first drawn together, or more why they *stayed* together right up until Sartre's death in 1980. This two-part memoir is remarkable for its poignant intimacy, first as an historical record from 1970-1980, and then as a transcription of de Beauvoir's own interviews with Sartre during that same period of time. These two were a rough mix, as though that was a revelation. And, ironically, it's perhaps de Beauvior's own deep emotional commitment that comes through most clearly in these pages. On the other hand, we're also offered a fascinating view of their long public life together. From the times of divided German-occupied France, to the political activism of the 60s and beyond...and, above all, the writings they produced! If anything, this book reveals how moot is the point of Sartre's caustic personality, and to what extent he may have "used" her. (As if a woman of this caliber *could* be used!) Their focus was always on the change they hoped to produce in the world. Well, and for de Beauvoir, at least, there was also the issue of their own personal relationship. Therein lies the charm of this book. You won't be disappointed.



2. Then you need to read this book. It is Simone de Beauvoir's first-person account of the last ten years of Sartre's life, and it is heartbreaking to read in several places. Her descriptions in particular of his final few days are wrenching, and I did actually cry as she described Sartre's death. The prose is characteristic of de Beauvoir: deeply and intimately detailed, meticulous, and dense in some places. But the reading is ultimately rewarding as it gives the reader an even more thorough understanding of the devoted side of de Beauvoir--and the very human and mortal side of the great philosopher Sartre.



3. I could not quite make out how to perceive this book. On the one hand it is a testament of a lifelong friendship and love. On the other hand it seems to me it is an indictment of the beloved when they are no longer around to answer. And here the indictment comes not necessarily out of a desire to injure, but simply through stating the facts about certain aspects of Sartre's life. His capacity for multiple loyalty was very great especially when this had to do with young women. And according to other sources de Beauvoir's role in these relationships was not necessarily a very good one.
   Still we are talking about two very significant 'minds' who fertilized each other- two great friends who helped and inspired each other- and if one , Sartre, was the senior partner, and the other deBeauvoir the survivor who has the last say still their dialogue and their life, and this work of farewell have real meaning.

2 comments about Reverence for Life: The Ethics of Albert Schweitzer for the Twenty-First Century.

1. Collaboratively and expertly edited by Marvin Meyer (Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies, Chapman University, Orange, California) and Kurt Bergel (Professor Emeritus, Chapman University and founder/co-director of the Chapman University Albert Schweitzer Institute), Reverence for Life: The Ethics Of Albert Schweitzer For The Twenty-First Century is an inherently impressive selection of profound essays by humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, enhanced with an eclectic variety of soul-searching commentaries on his thoughts and recommendations. Among Schweitzer's presented and scrutinized works are sermons, letters, as well as tidbits of his personal autobiography and deep philosophy. Reverence For Life is highly recommended as life-affirming, fundamental and thoughtfully constructed reading.



2. If you've read Dr. Schweitzer's "Reverence for Life", you should enjoy this compilation of letters and papers regarding and reinforcding Schweitzer's ethic. The included writings are authored by everyone from Graduate students to correspondents and Albert Schweitzer himself. Very enjoyable reading.

5 comments about The Only Woman in the Room.

1. A concise, elegant autobiography by Beate Sirota Gordon, an Austrian who grew up in pre-war Japan as a child and later returned to what she very much considered her home to find her parents (music teachers who refused to abandon their Japanese students as pre war tensions mounted and were held prisoner). It chronicles not only her battle with the entrenched Japanese male authority but battles with the entrenched American male authority, who weren't necessarily any less sexist than the Japanese. She took a job with the American army as a translator and ended up helping draft Japan's post war constitution. And she did all this at the age of 22!

   Gordon escaped the war by going to an all girls school in California. There she encountered the feminist movement and learned a lot about women's rights issues. Upon returning to Japan, she was asked by the American government to help with the constitution. The Americans wanted the constitution written and adopted quickly, fearing the Soviets last minute entry into the war would give them influence. She went to town, drafting about a dozen articles for the Japanese constitution guaranteeing women rights in the work place, politics, health care, child custody, etc. Many were stripped out but two key articles she drafted remained. What's more amazing is Gordon takes so little credit for her accomplishments and instead agonizes more about what was left on the cutting room floor.

   For several decades after, the creation of the Japanese constitution was not well publicized. The Americans feared the haste with which it was written and the fact that the job was basically given to a group of found amateurs would cause the Japanese people to reject it. It's only now that her story has been able to come out.

   All in all a fascinating account and hard to put down. If there's a downside it's that Gordon doesn't pump up her autobiography with more fascinating and telling anecdotes.




2. I found this book to be inspiring. A book not to be missed!



3. Ms. Sirota Gordon has a facinating tale to tell but, ultimately, its telling has little depth and skims the surface of events in her life. Her story deserves another author.



4. I first learned of Beate Sirota Gordon from a Japanese woman friend who told me she was well loved by the women of Japan. They know she is responsible for insisting that they have a voice in their democracy. Unlike the previous writer, I found her straight forward prose to be very readable. She may not have a fancy literary style, but its her story and I appreciate the way she told it.



5. In Oct. 2007 I had the privilege of hearing Ms.Gordon speak at a renowned women's college in Tokyo. Now in her 80s, Ms. Gordon traveled from her home in the US to visit again the country of her youth, Japan. She spoke in Japanese for over an hour, giving a summary of her life, but most importantly, stressing the importance of the Equal Rights Clause of Japan's consititution, which by quirk of fate she had written.
   
   The Only Woman in the Room, a brief memoir, which includes her contribution to the history of post-war Japan, is refreshingly modest. For some 50 years after the Pacific War, the details of the drafting of Japan's constitution by the 'allied powers' (General MacArthur) had been kept quiet, much of it classified secret documents. To the world, appearances were kept as if the Japanese had drafted their own constitution, but in reality it was strictly managed by MacArthur.
   
   Given the prevailing gender chauvinism of Japan (and even the west) at that time, if Ms. Gordon and another woman (economist Eleanor Hadley) had not been present, articulate, and assertive, there would possibly have been no 'equal rights clause' set forth in Japan's constitution. Had Ms. Gordon not had experience growing up in Japan, fluency in the language and knowlege of the plight of women, equal rights in Japan might have taken many more years to arrive.
   
   Speaking before a group of future women leaders of Japan, Ms. Gordon was living testimony to the fact that today's Japanese women have rights of marriage, divorce, voting, owning property, etc., which was not true prior to 1946.
   
   It seems she has always been the type of person so involved in living life that to stop and record all of it in detail would have gotten in the way of living it. Certainly her biography would be a sweeping epic, from her parents' roots in Russia, her father's respected talent as a musician and teacher, through the chaos of the war in Europe, loss of family in Hitler's halocaust, her parents' surviving the war as "non-persons" in Japan, her US college education, her linguistic contributions to the war effort, and so on. Despite all this, I believe perhaps Ms. Gordon does not view herself as being that different from thousands of others who lived through those years, but she did have extraordinary talent and the luck to be in the right place at the right time.

5 comments about Divine Harmony: The Life and Teachings of Pythagoras.

1. Considered by many to be the first important Western teacher of wisdom, exalted by such luminaries as Socrates and Plato, the stories that have come down to us about Pythagoras and his teachings continue to resonate and have value in our modern world. This precious little book (159 pages) is written simply, introducing the life and teachings of one of the most mysterious of ancient philosophers.

   The book is organized brilliantly; touching on all aspects of the life of Pythagoras and his teachings, ranging from knowledge and friendship, mathematics, music, care of the self and magic and miracles. Particular attention is devoted to the Pythagorian community and the followers of his teachings during his relatively long stay on the planet, (he nearly reached the age of one hundred) until his enforced death by his enemies through starvation, while taking asylum in the temple of the Muses.

   At the end of the book is written The Golden Verses, a poetic guideline or introduction to the Pythagorean way of life. In a word, this is an ancient 'self-help' treatise that should be posted on one's shaving mirror, and attempted to be practiced everyday. If you do anything at all, read these ancient verses, as they are inspiring and valuable to living. As the authors state about them: "That they are hard to date with accuracy attests to the fact that they convey timeless truths."

   As a starting point to the study of philosophy or just mere curiousity about the source of the famous Pythagorean Theorem, Divine Harmony is a valuable book to read and own.

   This book is recommended highly.




2. I wanted a book that gave me more insight into a great thinker. A mathamatician who gave us the theorum bearing his name. What I got was a book where in the first chapter, the author says that Pythagoras may have been a direct decendent from the Gods! Went down hill from there. No information on mathematics, astronomy, geometry, physics or any of the other fields that Pythagoras studied and helped advance. Instead we get a glorified view of a cult leader and a focus on the metaphysical.



3. _It came as a pleasant surprise while reading this excellent introduction to the life and teachings of Pythagoras to find that I have apparently been a Pythagorean for most of my life and didn't realize it. Perhaps this is because Pythagoras was the original western gateway of the perennial philosophy to the West (he had studied with the first of the Ionian philosophers, the Egyptian priests, the Persian Magi, and the initiates of the Hellenic Mysteries.) One of his closest disciples was even a Celtic sage. In any case, the concepts of the immortality and transmigration of the soul, spiritual evolution, the inherent value of Truth and Justice, good stewardship of community resources for the benefit of all, a Golden Mean to all things, seeking harmony with the Divine, divination and the higher meaning of numbers, the brotherhood of all humans through the sharing of a single greater body and soul- all these concepts seem like they have always been a part of me. But, above all, there was the manner that the Philosopher (he first coined the term) found no contradiction between the rational and the mystical. He was great enough to encompass both without contradiction.
   
   _This is a well-written and designed introduction to Pythagoras and his teachings. It is divided into four main parts: The Quest for Knowledge (his early years), The Teachings, The Decline of the Pythagorean School, and The Golden Verses. There is no exegesis to the Verses so the reader may like to refer to the work of Olivet after reading them (there are at least two distinct levels of understanding to them.) There are numerous useful illustrations and diagrams, as well as a bibliography for further study. The footnotes are included in an appendix in the back. This isn't the most exhaustive scholarly study of the subject, but it is a very readable and perceptive introduction for the general student. It will remain in my permanent library.
   
   _You can't help but find the death of the Philosopher to be especially tragic. After so many years of trying to enlighten the world, he died in exile because of the corrupt connivance of oligarchs and militarists. Yet still his light shines on through the ages- for it is the true soul of the West.



4. I agree with D.J. Warme's review, I only wish I had read it before buying this book. What a disappointment! This is a vapid look at the life of Pythagoras, a stale paraphasing of Iamblichus - nothing more. The authors (it took two people to write this slim volume?) seem to think a pyramid is a Platonic solid - a major mathematical faux pas (repeated several times) in a book about possibly the greatest mathematician in history. I'm looking elsewhere to find something of substance to read about Pythagoras, and you should too.



5. Dear reader, first of all, there is not much information on these philosophers, so don't expect the kind of indepth information you can get on someone today. Have you ever tried to find information on Pythagoras? This book will help and does the job to get an adequate picture of this man of the ancient world. Easy to read and understand. It still sticks in my head that Pythagoras had practically a phobia of beans? Wow. Who would have guessed.

No comments about The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert.

No comments about The Philosophical i: Personal Reflections on Life in Philosophy.

1 comments about Aristotle: A Contemporary Appreciation (Midland Book).

1. After reading this book I would highly recommend it. Its very well written and easy for a 'lay' person to understand without having much or any formal philisophical training. Under the guidance of Professor Veatch - surely on of the most lucid and learned mentors in ancient philosophy - Aristotle stands forth again as the philosopher who, above all, speaks simply and directly to the common sense of all mankind. Today, Professor Veatch believes, the time may be ripe for a belated recognition that Aristotle is "a truly lived option in philosophy".
   
   Henry Veatch is Professor of Philosophy and Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at Georgetown University.
   
   I learned about this book by reading James Schall's "Another Sort of Learning" which is another book I would recommend looking at as well.