Sophisticated, lucid, and full of wit, this modestly titled yet immensely important work provides an indispensable guide to finding what is right and good in everyday life.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fresh outlook on western values and civilization,
By asfeir@lau.edu.lb (Lebanon) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues: The Uses of Philosophy in Everyday Life (Hardcover)
I have read the book in French and attended various meetings/panel discussions where the book was discussed. Look forward to the English edition.The author's motivation and approach are quite interesting. Motivation: He once made a statement to the effect that "now that places of prayer are empty and supermarkets are full, I wanted to find out whether western society has still something worth living for" (I am quoting from memory). Approach: A book of practical philosophy. The book addresses both points brilliantly. It brushes up all "Virtues" that made mankind more human. It builds up crescendo from small virtues like politeness to love "Agape". All his arguments are written clearly and are well referenced. He uses a charming sometimes quite humoristic style, which makes this book quite pleasant to read. Each chapter covers one virtue and they are all well constructed and linked together. I find the chapter on what makes humor a virtue quite interesting and rather surprising particularly as it comes towards the end, just before love. Definitely a good book to have in every home if we agree with the author's motivations.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thinking man's self-help book,
By
This review is from: A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues: The Uses of Philosophy in Everyday Life (Hardcover)
This book is apparently very popular in France and continental Europe. It deserves equal success in North America. It is a collection of essays that explore 18 virtues. Love, Politeness, Fidelity, Tolerance, Humor among them and drws his, very readable and humorous, analysis from his own experience and from the great philosophers of all time ranging from Aristotle to Aquinas, Kant, Nietzche and Rielke to mention a few from memory. The virtues are also arranged according to an order. He starst with politeness, which he considers to be almost a virtue, to Love, the ultimate virtue. In many ways I was reminded of Alain de Botton's excellent Consolations of Philosophy. Indeed, it is equally good but interestingly different. Read them both. Also a warning to those who seek absolute truths: There aren't any to be found here, and that's part of the charm and its appeal to free-thinkers.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A philosopher for everyone,
This review is from: A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues: The Uses of Philosophy in Everyday Life (Hardcover)
It's hard to believe people once discussed philosophy. The stuff today seems so dense and esoteric -- who would bother?Readers of Comte-Spone Sponville will want to bother. "A Small Treatise" brings philosophy to where it belongs: back to the question of how should one live? This is not "Chicken Soup for the Intellectual's Soul" nor it is a dull, moralizing tract lamenting the good old days. Comte-Sponville examines the qualities we call virtue -- from Politeness to Love -- and brings fascinating insight to each. For instance, he discusses how parents first teach their children to "act" virtuous rather than "be" virtuous. His thoughts about mercy, justice, and courage, are almost invigorating to read. Comte-Sponville's style and candor are engaging. It's clear he's not a traditional moralist, but he's certainly not a moral relativist either. He has a good sense of his own foibles and writes quite interestingly about his experience trying to teach virtue within his family. Who should read this? Everyone.
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