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This collection provides a panoramic view of practical philosophical insight, ranging across a spectrum of humanistic themes. These essays cast light on our perennially imperfect human condition. The collection ranges from Alfred Korzybski's general semantics; Thomas Mann's prognosis for Western civilization; Hume's moral skepticism applied to globalization; Jungian synchronicity and encounters with Irvin Yalom; J.S. Mill's harm principle applied to cyberspace; Ayn Rand's prophetic apocalypse; philosophical practice as Dadaist activism; humanities-based therapies as remedies for culturally induced illnesses; biological roots of human conflict; deconstruction and critique of "sustainable development"; dangers and detriments of over-digitalized and hyper-virtualized lifestyles and learning methods; and calls for the re-emergence of philosophy from inactive academic entombment to pro-active modes of personal guidance, social influence, consumer advocacy, and political engagement.
A unifying claim of this anthology is the cautionary tale that humanity's recurrent and conflict-ridden predicaments are only exacerbated by myopic analyses, toxic ideologies, and expedient prescriptions. While philosophy is scarcely a panacea for human afflictions, its proper exercise illuminates our understanding of them, thereby suggesting better as opposed to worse ways forward.
“Lou Marinoff is indeed one of a very few true Renaissance men and prophets of our age. His wit, societal
criticism, and sense of humor are on a par with the likes of Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Dave Chappelle,
while simultaneously channeling the spirits of the Buddha, Socrates, and Nietzsche.” —Professor Rick Repetti,
Kingsborough College CUNY, USA.
Acknowledgements; Preface; Introduction; Case Studies, 1995-2000; Essay #1. On the Emergence of Ethical Counseling; Essay #2. What Philosophical Counseling Can't Do; Essay #3. On Virtual Liberty: Offense, Harm and Censorship in Cyberspace; Essay #4. Employment Equity versus Equal Opportunity; Global Essays, 2001-2008; Essay #5. General Semantics and Philosophical Practice: Korzybski’s Contributions to the Global Village; Essay #6. Thus Spake Settembrini: a Meta-Dialogue on Philosophy and Psychiatry; Essay #7. The Matrix and Plato's Cave: Why the Sequels Failed; Essay #8. Ethics, Globalization and Hunger: An Ethicist’s Perspective; Maieutic Essays, 2009-2015; Essay #9. Synchronicity, Serpents, and 'Something-Elseness'; Essay #10. Humanities Therapy: Restoring Well-Being in an Age of Culturally Induced Illness; Essay #11. Biological Roots of Human Conflict, and its Resolution via Cultural Evolution; Essay #12. A Skeptical View of Sustainability; Humanistic Essays, 2016-2019; Essay #13. Atlas Shrugged, Akston Counseled: How Ayn Rand Reinvented Philosophical Practice; Essay #14. Dada as Philosophical Practice, and Vice Versa: Reflections on the Centenary of the Cabaret Voltaire; Essay #15. Doing Good and Living Well: Awakening the Inner Philosopher; Essay #16. Humanities Therapy as a Remedy for the Detriments of Technosociety; Bibliography; List of Tables and Figures; Index