The question of truth has never been more urgent than today, when the distortion of facts and the imposition of pseudo-realities in the service of the powerful have become the order of the day. In The Paradox of Being Poul Andersen addresses the concept of truth in Chinese Daoist philosophy and ritual. His approach is unapologetically universalist, and the book may be read as a call for a new way of studying Chinese culture, one that does not shy away from approaching “the other” in terms of an engagement with “our own” philosophical heritage. The basic Chinese word for truth is zhen, which means both true and real, and it bypasses the separation of the two ideas insisted on in much of the Western philosophical tradition. Through wide-ranging research into Daoist ritual, both in history and as it survives in the present day, Andersen shows that the concept of true reality that informs this tradition posits being as a paradox anchored in the inexistent Way (Dao). The preferred way of life suggested by this insight consists in seeking to be an exception to ordinary norms and rules of behavior which nonetheless engages what is common to us all.

Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

Description: The main tenor of The Paradox of Being Human is philosophical aimed at empowering man to look upon the transcendental as the primordial essence of the human. An attempt is made here to develop the Samkhya and the Vedanta schools where the essence of Indian Philosophy is verbalized. Man is paradoxical-he is here in the world and yet not consumed by the fact of worldliness. The paradox is not arbitrary-it is woven within the very structure of human consciousness. The paradox is that man is worldly and otherworldly at the same time-it is objective and the subjective fused into one whole. The objective and the subjective or, as Sartre puts it, the en-soi and pour-soi, are two facets of the same humanness. They are to be justified visa-vis the ultimate Being in which man is anchored. The intensification of the subjective is thus an opening into the ontology of Being which is perennial to our metaphysical source.

Chris puts into words those feelings that so many of us struggle with, but also struggle to put into words. Written straight from the heart, the poems in this book serve as a great catalyst for introspection and reflection. This is poetry that connects with my heart and soul.

In this book, Eric E. Hall takes up the question of the meaning of a vigorously used concept in the liberal west: authenticity and the pursuit of personal originality. By uncovering this idea's uses within three deepening contexts - the ethical, the ontological, and the theological - the author unfolds authenticity's origins and implications. To the degree that authenticity seeks in all contexts freedom from social horizons, the conclusion renders attempts to embody this ideal secularly impossible. The goal requires a total transcendence that only the divine could fulfill. Human authenticity thus emerges in creatively imitating God's self-sacrificial expression on the cross, which both transcends and revalues the horizons of this world.

This is a book for our time. The advent of Covid-19 is turning our world upside down and highlighting the paradoxical nature of human behaviour. A minority of thoughtless people are indulging in selfish activities that threaten our safety, whilst NHS workers heroically risk their own lives to save others. In South Africa members of rival drug gangs, who would normally kill each other without a second thought, have called a truce and are now working together in order to ensure that food is distributed to needy families. Human nature is paradoxical because it is capable of perceiving both the finite (secular) and infinite (spiritual) which are juxtaposed within the context of reality. What makes this book different is that spirituality is not considered to be other-worldly. What we refer to as the secular and the spiritual are viewed as ‘two sides of a coin’ that co-exist as part of one reality, within the context of temporality. Both contribute to what we perceive to be a sense of ‘self’. They are different perceptions of consciousness that influence human behaviour through conscious and subconscious processes. The aim of this book is to consider the factors that contribute to the paradoxical nature of being human and to explore the issues that cloud our perceptions and cause confusion. It proffers a vision of how a religious faith can be made intelligible at a time when the majority of people, living in our postmodern age, consider it to be irrelevant.