Can you recommend a book for a present?

Question

My son is very unusual. He is 20 years old and currently studying philosophy and religion for his degree. He is undergoing quite an intense personal journey and feels he is 'onto something big' but doesn't know what it is yet. He is as much a pacifist in daily life as he is politically, is sensitive and feels very strongly about the state of the contemporary world. I would like to give him a very meaningful book that would help him find 'this something big'. It will need to engage him on an intellectual level. Please give me some suggestions, along with your reasons. Thankyou

Answer 1

Dear friend, it is one of the best question I have seen these days. Congratulations!
For the time being I am reading two different books:
The language of the genes, by Steve Jones
and Madness and Civilisation, by French philosopher Michel Foucault.
I have just finished the well-known "A breif history of time".
I hope it helps.

Answer 2

Well Betrand Russell's "A History of Western Philiosphy" is a good one. Even though he'll be studying stuff in a lot more detail than is presented in the book he won't get the complete sweep and overview that the work provides. It starts off pre-socratic and ends up at the beginning of the twentieth century.

If you want to get him off the "something big" nonesense I suggest "The Open Society and its Enemies" by Karl Popper. Karl Popper was one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century and dedicated the war years to this expose of the abuses of philosophical reason. Philosophy helps decide scientific methodology, informs ethics and is a good foundation for political theory. Your son should be aware that when others thought philosophy showed them "something big" people ended up in gas chambers. Unless, of course, he's a complete geek like me and "something big" is identifying Popper's "falsifyability criterion" with a "significance theory of meaning": in which case go for it (and read Russell - I've just re-re-read him!)

Answer 3

I would recommend the following because of the age group. Any of these books allow a solid foundation in making the correct decisions on current premise and theory and the level three foundations needed later in life if he so chooses to continue in his current field of study.

Plous, S. (1993). The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making.
New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0070504776

Gilovich, T. (1993). How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life. New York: The Free Press. ISBN 0029117062

Kahneman, D., Slovic, P. & Tversky, A. (Eds.). (1982). Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521284147

Gilovich, T., Griffin D. & Kahneman, D. (Eds.). (2002). Heuristics and biases: The psychology of intuitive judgment. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521796792

Baron, J. (2000). Thinking and deciding (3d. edition). New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521650308

Bishop, Michael A & Trout, J.D. (2004). Epistemology and the Psychology of Human Judgment. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195162293

Good luck to you and have a great day!

Answer 4

Get him, "The Odyssey" by the ancient Greek poet 'Homer'. It tries to encapsulate every kind of experience that a young man is likely to face during his life. A must, although he may have read it already. The best advise I can give is "never completely make your mind up", always leave the door slightly open and always seperate your opinions from yourself. That way, you don't completely own them or get stuck with them, because you have personalised them. Another book possibility, is one about "Machiavellianism", although it might not match his personality as you have described it. Depends on whether he is ambitious, or at least, it will give him an incite into how other people, who are a little ruthless, operate. Then again, "dance with the devil".

Answer 5

Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder

Answer 6

THE translucent Revolution- Arjuna Ardagh

A book on how to live a more enlightened life, how to find the area's in your life where you might not be being totally honest with yourself and how to be aware of the larger picture of life.. Exercises throughout the book help to transform the way you see the world from feelings, thoughts actions, relationships, sexuality and work. All in a easily read manner.

Answer 7

Illusions by Richard Bach for being philsophically religious.
Awareness by Anthony de Mello for waking up the soul and engaging the mind. He's a Jesuit Buddhist.
2 of the best books i reaed while studying philosophy in a Jesuit College.

Answer 8

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, in fact anything by Paulo Coelho because all of his books have an underlying theme of religion in relation to life within them. Without bashing any bibles, just thought provoking.
Sophie World by Jostein Gaarder.
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. It contains ruminations with regard to life.
I HEART HUCKABEES is a great DVD to watch if he's into Philosophy. This guy who experiences coincidences in his life goes to see a couple of existential detectives. Apart from anything else, it's funny on an intellectual level.
There's loads of stuff along this strain on the market right now.
Good luck in your search.

Answer 9

Books about finding yourself: these helped me. First is Siddhartha based on the life of the Buddha. It's by Herman Hesse. Then there is The Only Dance There is by Ram Dass, former colleague of Timothy Leary who moved away from drugs into a deeper inner search. And then Be Here Now also by Ram Dass.

Answer 10

This book may go against his (and your) religious convictions, but if your son has an open mind and is in favor of the scientific study of religion, this book is one he should read.
Without having to agree with it, it will give him valuable insights in the "natural" approach to religion.
The book is "Breaking the Spell - Religion as a Natural Phenomenon" by Daniel C. Dennett (2006 Penguin Group, New York) - ISBN 0-760-03472-X.
If you decide to buy it for him, I would love to hear his opinion.