Mere Mortals Book Reviews

Either philosophy makes little sense ...... or I'm just a little stupid.'Either/Or' by Søren Kierkegaard is a two volume work designed to investigate the life views of the aesthetic (art, beauty, pleasure) & the ethical (commitment, marriage morals). It is written in the unique form of two unknown authors and compiled by a pseudonymous editor. I summarised the book as follows. "My overall feeling coming out of this was an exasperated 'why'. There was a lot of words but it didn't feel like much got said. There were some hints of interesting topics but I became bored by the lack of clarity and wasn't even able to finish the book."I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:45) - Synopsis(4:12) - The Either/Or: A seemingly unavoidable choice between two alternatives(8:00) - Observations/Takeaways(13:21) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

We had a lot of people sending in messages (because I did a thing) and I also realised that I'm done with philosophy for a while.In August 2022 we covered 3 books on this channel (but I also threw in a cheeky small one just for this recap). My favourite of the bunch was easily Camus's book. I drew a lot of parallels between this and my fav book of all time (George Orwell's '1984').I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:36) - The Plague: Albert Camus(3:19) - Either/Or: Søren Kierkegaard(5:05) - The Shirts I Love: Haruki Murakami(6:01) - The Obstacle Is The Way: Ryan Holiday(8:24) - Boostagram Lounge(19:52) - September 2022Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

'The Obstacle is the Way' by Ryan Holiday begins a journey of discovery personally into Stoic teachings and Ryan's workStructured phenomenally, the book uses three key sections to impart its wisdom. Perspective, Action and Will.I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Juan out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:48) - Synopsis(4:28) -  Themes(8:57) -  Takeaways(12:10) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

You know things are serious when you can't spit on cats anymore ppppptttt ptttp ptt.'The Plague' by Albert Camus is a novel describing life in a city in Oran locked down to due to the outbreak of the Bubonic Plague. A narrator describes the travels of Dr Rieux over the course of about a year as he attempts to help his patients. There are differing responses of his friends and acquaintances as they all adapt to the persistent indifference of the pestilence. I summarised the book as follows. "I found it a slow start to the tale but I think this ended up making the overall work more impactful as that's how life during a plague would really become, slow & tiresome. There are no valiant heroes nor chaotic villains but the payoff in what one can take from this book is huge." I hope you have a fantastic pestilence free day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:41) - Synopsis(3:59) - Pestiferous: Is life inherently tiresome?(10:54) - The Remedy: Fighting against persistent indifference(18:03) - Observations/Takeaways(21:17) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

A solid attempt to get to the truth of all things!'Meditations On First Philosophy' by René Descartes is a philosophical treatise designed to prove the existence of God. Descartes creates 6 meditations which run through step by step how he goes about finding out what is irrevocably true. This starts with his famous 'cogito, ergo sum' (I think, therefore I am) position and fleshes out why the senses are misleading and how ideas can be split into separate categories.I summarised the book as follows. "For a short old book it packs a lot of punch. Not only were the ideas clear but it was easy to read with simple examples/analogies. It hasn't convinced me of God's existence but it has shown a very intriguing mode of thinking. A recommendation I have is to use wikipedia or other resources for additional clarity of the final chapters which started to get harder to fully comprehend."I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:30) - Synopsis(2:53) - The 6 Meditations: The philosophical demonstration of God(12:51) - Observations/Takeaways(20:07) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

It finally happened, but I warned you dammit I warned you (runs away crying).In July 2022 we covered 3 books on this channel. I enjoyed learning more about Bitcoin and in particular about the history and property of money. Descartes had a real interesting process for finding truth and he conveys this beautifully in the first 3 of his 6 meditations. Juan seemed to enjoy his physics book although it is always gross when politics enter into science, even if it is only a little bit.I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(1:09) - The Bitcoin Standard: Saifedean Ammous(6:58) - Meditations On First Philosophy: René Descartes(16:53) - Brief Answers To The Big Questions: Stephen Hawking(18:28) - Shoutout For Nastia(20:11) - Boostagram Lounge(30:06) - August 2022Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

Will this phrase of 'the gold standard' become obsolete due to technology?'The Bitcoin Standard' by Saifedean Ammous describes the history of money and examines the varying properties of currencies. This sets a backdrop for the explanation of a purely digital money called Bitcoin and why it excels in comparison to barter, shells, gold and even fiat.I summarised the book as follows. "If you are expecting a BTC book don't be surprised that 2/3 of it focuses on money with little mention of Bitcoin. It cleared up some misconceptions I had and was a nice summary of a lot of research I had already done. Due to his arguments I have come to appreciate that there is only one real cryptocurrency that has the properties of 'money', although I still have more to learn about economics as a whole."I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:31) - Synopsis(3:15) - Money: What is it actually?(12:54) - Bitcoin: A new technological innovation!(21:15) - Observations/Takeaways(28:00) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

'Brief Answers to the Big Questions' by Stephen Hawking seeks to answer 10 commonly asked questions from his own perspective. The book examines some of the universe's greatest mysteries, and promotes the view that science is very important in helping to solve problems on planet EarthI hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Juan out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:40) - Who is Stephen Hawkins(2:23) - Synopsis(5:12) - Themes & Observations(10:45) - TakeawayConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

Who are you truly and what do you believe deeply?'Reasons And Persons' by Derek Parfit is an examination into our beliefs of what we should do with our lives and our personal identity. Parfit appeals to rationality and argues why theories such as self-interest and consequentialism are self-defeating in their own terms. He does this through a series of hypothetical cases (both realistic and improbable) to demonstrate their paradoxes before providing what he believes is the truly logical way to think.I summarised the book as follows. "This is probably a book for philosophers. I'd say you need to have a grasp on many fundamentals to fully understand the minutiae of Parfit's arguments. His general conclusions still seem quite vague and the use of so many hypotheticals & double/triple negatives became too much for me. Overall it wasn't worth reading as I couldn't take out any practical actions, but hey maybe that's just me." I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:34) - Synopsis(4:04) - Reasons: What do we have the most reason to do?(10:13) - Persons: Your beliefs about your identity over time are false!(16:44) - Observations/Takeaways(25:01) - SummaryConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show

Next month will be the first where we won't have a book review every week. And philosophy is to blame!In June 2022 we covered 5 books on this channel. Juan did some heavy lifting and bested me for the first time since we began. I've recently been noticing a decline in my desire to read and this could be because I have been slogging through Parfit's book (intermittently) for a couple of months now. And this is how I've generally felt reading the 'classic' philosophy works. Hopefully this will pick up once I start reading for fun again but no guarantees.I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:23) - Madame Bovary: Gustave Flaubert(5:52) - Reasons And Persons: Derek Parfit(12:25) - Homo Deus: Yuval Noah Harari(13:12) - Before I Go To Sleep: S.J. Watson(14:11) - The Little Book Of Alpaca Philosophy: Jennifer McCartney(15:09) - Boostagram Lounge(21:03) - July 2022Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/Support the show