89 of 94 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful, life-changing book, August 11, 1999
This review is from: A Guide for the Perplexed (Paperback)
I read this book about 10 years ago and I still read it again and again. The author widens our perspective on science and point to the fact that 3/4 of reality can not be investigated by conventional scientific methods. I am a scientist and I read thousands of scientific reports and also report some myself. When I read this book I instantly felt that the author was absolutely right about the limitations of conventional science. Thus, his book changed my whole perspective of science and I started to investigate the "other areas". I have never regretted that. This book is beautifully written. It is one of my 3-4 favourite books which I very often take out from the bookshelf to read in silent mornings when the family is asleep. I recommend this as a first read of my favourite books. It is particularly important reading for scientists.
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70 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
We all need to create our own map for living, February 27, 2004
This review is from: A Guide for the Perplexed (Paperback)
Do you wonder whether humanity has the correct view of itself? Do you think that we need a radically different worldview? Do you think we need to awaken from our spiritual sloth? Are you interested to read the last words from a brilliant mind and unorthodox thinker to a muddled world - a world perplexed by the problems of its own making? This book by the author of "Small is Beautiful" received good reviews, such as "The most exciting philosophical book for ages" and in fact the author starts off with philosophical maps. At school he had been given a map of life and knowledge - how to get into the job market and make money basically - but without any of the markings which he considered to be of the utmost importance for the conduct of his life; he was perplexed until he realized that his perceptions were probably sound and it was the map that was not only incomplete but also basically unsound. He felt like he had been given a map of New York and told to find his way in Chicago. In due course, he came to the conclusion that the traditional map makers - those in authority, our teachers, our leaders - know nothing about what really matters in life and that they were quite unqualified for the task. From that moment he started to think for himself and piece together his own map of what is important that he should know and of how he should live his life. He found that with the ever more rigorous application of the scientific method the last remnants of ancient wisdom had been discarded in the name of objectivity. He decided to construct his own map based on four universal truths - the world; man and his equipment to meet the world; man's way of learning about the world; and what it means to live in the world.
Schumacher found that traditional wisdom handed down to us through the centuries distinguished between "higher" and "lower" things and levels of being but that this had been rejected because they were not subject to quantitative measurement. Thus the traditional map did not address the question "What am I to do with my life?" Without the qualitative concepts of higher and lower it was impossible to even think of guidelines for living that lead beyond individual or collective utilitarianism and selfishness. Without these qualitative concepts it is not possible to find out where everything has its proper legitimate place because nothing can be understood unless its level of being is fully taken into account. Many things are true at a low level of being but become absurd at a higher level and vice versa.
The author then moved on to reflect on levels of being and that his task was to look at the world and see it whole - what our ancestors referred to the great "Chain of Being", beginning with the Divine. The great majority of mankind, throughout its known history, until very recently, has been convinced that the Chain of Being extends upwards beyond man. What is more, they considered this belief to be the most profound of all truths. A person fixed in the philosophy of materialistic scientism, denying the reality of the "invisibles" and confining his attention solely to what can be counted, measured and weighed lives in a very poor world - so poor in fact that he will experience it as a meaningless wasteland unfit for human habitation. It is self-awareness, constituting the difference between animal and man, that is a power of unlimited potential, a power that not only makes man human but gives him the possibility, even the need, to become superhuman. To be properly human you must go beyond the merely human. It is as though a book of great wisdom is given to a dog and to different people. To the dog, the book is nothing more than a colored object. To an illiterate it may be no more than pretty pictures; to a young and undeveloped mind it may be no more than words and sentences; to the superficial reader the book may be just a good story; but to the wise the book may unlock the secrets of the universe. This is what Schumacher meant by self-awareness, of higher and lower. Man is capable of bringing the whole of the universe into his experience but what he will actually grasp depends on each persons Level of Being. The "higher" the person, the greater and richer is his or her world. Life is a magnificent symphony that only the higher can appreciate.
The author goes on to imagine a perfect being who is always and invariably exercising his power of self-awareness - his power of freedom - to the fullest degree, unmoved by any necessity. This would be a Divine Being, an almighty sovereign power, a perfect unity, where "higher" also means and implies "more inner", "more interior", "deeper", "more intimate" and where "lower" means and implies "more outer", "more external", "shallower", "less intimate".
If you have concluded that the philosophical map given to you when young did not equip you well for living in this world; if you have a gut feeling that moving beyond the "lower" and seeking the "higher" is what we are here in this world to do; if you feel that you have been concerned only with the measurable and have been missing out on the invisibles; if you feel that you have settled for an impoverished view of reality; if you have been struggling to make your own philosophical map because you were given a map that was inadequate or misleading; then this book by one of the wise men of the last century is a very good place to start.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Refutation of Science Without Soul, April 7, 1999
This review is from: A Guide for the Perplexed (Paperback)
This is a profound piece of writing, well worth a mere ten dollars. Schumacher, even though he was a high ranking economist in the British government for over 30 years, understood that numbers and other forms of quantifiable (observable) knowledge were phantoms of true knowledge. This book, in a very dense and deep, yet perfectly rational and understantable way, describes the failure of modern societies (and people) to reconcile themselves with their past and their place in creation. Your life has a meaning and a purpose beyond your physiological composition and the consumption of material goods. Read this book to find out why.
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