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Like all good commencement speeches, Justin Tosi and Brandon Warmke’s approachable new book… Why it’s okay to think only about yourself, it starts with a bang. But there’s a twist. Because on the first page of the latest book in Routledge’s “Why It’s OK” series, it’s not the memorable passage from a notable commencement speech that grabs attention, but rather the authors’ rejection of the so-called commencement speech morality. This is because it is a persuasive argument that was started in order to do so (CSM).
According to Toshi and Walmke, CSM believes that a morally good life is characterized by caring about others, by moralizing, by being busy, by living with a pure heart. I’m teaching you that you can. In other words, by believing that good intentions can save the world. In contrast to CSM, Toshi and Walmke celebrate the life of ordinary morality (OM), which teaches that it is possible to care for oneself. and live a morally good life.
In the first half of the book, Tosi and Warmke deconstruct CSM and describe the three types of people it produces. First, CSM generates: preacher. Although the authors acknowledge that different people use the term “moralizing” differently, they liken preachers to “salesmen who won’t stop making sales.”Same as above.15), or those who don’t mind “crossing material boundaries” to enforce moral norms (Same as above., 16). It may seem that the more effort we put into promoting morality, the better our moral outcomes will be. That’s not true, it’s just another version of the same mistake many people make by overwatering their cacti.
Second, CSM Meddling. Busy people are in the habit of saying “sticks” rather than making loud moral criticisms (like preachers).[ing] Stick your nose into other people’s affairs.”Same as above., 39). They are meddlers who act inappropriately and are always looking for ways to make other people’s problems their own. Toshi and Walmke acknowledge that helping others isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, we cannot focus all our energy on helping others without “extending ourselves too much” because “compassion is a scarce resource” (Same as above.56).
Finally, CSM creates a culture of purity of heart. In it, people begin to believe that the solution to big problems, especially when moralization and intervention fail, is that better intentions and more care are the secret to achieving good results. Think again and discuss Toshi and Walmke. First, well-intentioned people often make things worse. Consider laws regarding seat belt requirements. Some researchers have concluded that this is ineffective and perhaps even harmful for driver safety (Same as above., 70-71). Secondly, many people do a lot of good without caring at all. Simply put, “meaning well is not as powerful a force as many people expect” (Same as above.80).
But that’s only half the story. The second half of the book is constructive. So Toshi and Walmke elaborate on OM, arguing that it requires more than just not caring about other people. It also means caring about one’s work, which consists of (at least) (1) putting down roots, (2) dedicating time and resources to family life, and (3) carving out time for solitude. It has become.
To put down roots in a place means to be attached to it. profit from it. and to manage its habitats and facilities responsibly (look Same as above. chapter. Five). Devoting time and resources to family life means enjoying your home as a refuge from the world. As an “intermediate space for interaction” (Same as above.109); As a place to welcome guests and relax (See above., Chapter 6). In Chapter 7, Toshi and Valmke celebrate solitude, defining it as “the experience of social withdrawal” (Same as above., 124). In a world full of problems to solve, solitude plays an important role in reminding us that life is about more than finding and correcting mistakes. Time spent resting and recharging also has moral value.
There are other things to do, but Why it’s okay to think only about yourself Beyond this, Tosi and Walmke ultimately have one major point to make. That means you have a choice. You can either live according to CSM or be drawn into a life of “simple activism” where you work hard to “act”.[] Express your good intentions to make a big difference in the world. ”Same as above. 5) Or, like OM, you can accept that life is not that simple. “The best thing we can do is consider what is important in our circumstances and try to make wise choices.”Same as above.9).
But as good as this book is, and there’s so much to love about this little book, the project itself proves to be its biggest enemy.
Toshi and Walmke, who consider themselves value pluralists, ultimately defeat their cause. a priori It is a commitment that concludes much more than that, although it is morally important to care about one’s work, it is only one morally important thing among many (Same as above., 11). I mean, no matter what they say, whether you care about yourself or go out and care about others, that’s your job.
There are many things I would like to say in closing, but this is what I would like to emphasize. An irony that cannot be ignored runs through every corner. In short, the authors, who are value pluralists, argue that their defense of rooted living is weakened by the fact that they can only say that one lifestyle choice is better than the other. As another thing. That’s strange. Because at first it seemed like Toshi and Walmke were preparing the reader for a full-throated defense of living a rooted life rather than an activist one. But what they provided was not.
I admit that there is an insinuation in this, but–“[t]His book is an advocate of taking care of yourself. ”Same as above., 10), the book’s epilogue suggests that this project was not actually born of belief but of duty. It’s as if the authors signed their names with a confession that they didn’t write this little book out of spite. had Not to mention the professional philosophy and its “core expectations.” . . “Philosophers should champion the unexpected and the unconventional, not the mundane and commonplace.”Same as above.141).
And can’t get over it. Perhaps I misunderstood the point of the discussion, but I don’t think so. Well, I wanted to like this book. Because as someone who has written about our ties to the places we live and work, the importance of the ordinary, and how quickly moral criticism can turn from virtue to vice, I agree with Toshi. Because I value Valmke’s critique very highly (CSM) and praise (OM).
But in the end, my reading was haunted by a scene from the 2018 adaptation. A star is bornIn it, Jackson Maine tells Arie Campana there’s a big difference between being talented and having something to say. She doesn’t remember the conversation verbatim. But essentially, Jack tells Allie, a struggling singer-songwriter, that everyone has some kind of talent, but only a few have what they want to say and how they say it in a way that makes people listen. That’s what I’m saying.
This book makes you feel like the authors are undoubtedly extremely talented, but are too afraid to speak confidently, leaving the reader with no need to listen. Even though they could have, and in my humble opinion, should have come out and said that the rooted life is better than the activist life. , Toshi and Walmke rejected it. Instead, it spends 150 pages of hedging and qualification, leaving the reader with little more than “Mind your own business is more important than you might think.”Same as above., 11). You just need to know what you want to say and how to say it in a way that people will listen.
Image credit: Claude Monet, “Poppy Field near Argenteuil” (1875) via Flikr
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