books on human condition
 

im looking for some profound psychology writings that analyze the human condition and mind and all of that, as i am trying to figure out what will make me more happy/content in life. im looking for scholarly work from respected doctors - not your clcihe hippies or doctor phill's, but not too boring, wordy, complicated that it makes your eyes bleed and has you referencing a dictionary every five minutes.

that guy posted that psychologoists beliefs about self actualization. i thought it was pretty lame.

im looking for work that focuses on our lust for power and the way we manipluate the world around us and judge everything from our human perspective. im already fairly well versed in buddhist beleifs and would perfer something western - probally the right book by jung or something, im boring nietzsche.

Re: books on human condition
 

I mentioned this in your other thread, but I can't recommend Man's Search for Meaning highly enough. In my opinion, you've got nothing to lose by reading it because even if you end up absolutely hating it, it's a short read [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img].

The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell

Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman

The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck

also, a good bit off-topic but still related to psychology and the pursuit of happiness, another one I can't recommend strongly enough is Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Great great book.

Re: books on human condition
 

Journey to Ixtlan

Carlos Castaneda (UCLA anthropologist)


EDIT: And stop masturbating or I'll be forced to cut it off.

Re: books on human condition
 

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Journey to Ixtlan

Carlos Castaneda (UCLA anthropologist)

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If you're going to read his books, approach them as fiction, because that's pretty much what they are - Castaneda claimed to have been mentored by this Yaqui shaman who taught him incredible things about the nature of the universe, blah blah blah, but when pressed he provided no evidence of any of it ever occurring (and still hasn't). So if Castaneda is your speed, fine, but don't be fooled into believing that it's non-fiction.

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EDIT: And stop masturbating or I'll be forced to cut it off.

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Huh?

Re: books on human condition
 

No one knows for sure. No one has any evidence that there was no Yaqui. But that doesn't even really matter. What is improtant is that it is a remarkable work explaining the human condition better than any other work fiction or non-fiction that I have ever seen. Do you not agree?

Castaneda may have created the Don Juan charachter simply as a vessel to get his message across, but the meassage is still valid even if Don Juan isn't real, which is really impossible to specualte about anyway.

Re: books on human condition
 

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No one knows for sure. No one has any evidence that there was no Yaqui. But that doesn't even really matter. What is improtant is that it is a remarkable work explaining the human condition better than any other work fiction or non-fiction that I have ever seen. Do you not agree?

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Can't agree or disagree here; I never read it. I read about a chapter of "Don Juan" but then I found out that Castaneda apparently made up all of his Yaqui tutelage, so I stopped reading it and sold it on amazon.

But that certainly doesn't mean they can't be enjoyed - like a fellow on the Everything2 page put it, "I love the books (at least the early ones) but prefer to view them as major literary works rather than straightforward anthropology"

Re: books on human condition
 

Go check out 'Games People Play' and books on Transactional Analysis.

Material from the 60's. Terms are easy to understand. These works are in a field called 'social psychiatry' (different from social psychology) that went by the wayside when medicaitons came into the picture to treat mental conditions.

This area gives a framework for all communictation between individuals and small groups.

If studied and reflected upon it will give you a great understanding on why you and others do the things they do.

Re: books on human condition
 

I highly recommend "The Importance of Living" by Lin Yutang.

Re: books on human condition
 

[ QUOTE ]
Journey to Ixtlan

Carlos Castaneda (UCLA anthropologist)

should i read that one first or the previous ones?


EDIT: And stop masturbating or I'll be forced to cut it off.

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Re: books on human condition
 

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im looking for some profound psychology writings that analyze the human condition and mind and all of that, as i am trying to figure out what will make me more happy/content in life....
im looking for work that focuses on our lust for power and the way we manipluate the world around us and judge everything from our human perspective.

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While I'm not sure there is a work that can fit both of these critieria, I'd recommend Das Ich und Das Es (literally translating to "The I and the It" but you'll find it under The Ego and the Id on Amazon most likely)

Freud seemed to have a pretty good handle on our lust for power and manipulation and things of that nature. That book is a classic. I wouldn't call it an easy read but it has a lot of great ideas.

Re: books on human condition
 

A reading of "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis would be worthwhile. This is a concise book made from a compilation of three or so booklets he wrote in an ongoing debate with post-enlightenment/early relativist thinkers in the Western World.

For a non-Christian, this thin and inexpensive book will be one of the best (meaning concise and highly "readable") summaries of what I'll call the "Christian Worldview" -- which certainly includes a discussion of the "human condition" and/or "state of man."

IMHO, people in the Western World who like to think about sociology and the nature of man should read this book to understand the Christian Worldview at its most basic level.

For example, I would venture to say a reading of this would be helpful before anyone dives into something like Max Weber's "The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism."

This will almost assuredly not overlap any works you read coming from Psychologists or University research departments. These books will likely start with a materialist worldview and will almost univerally assume a rejection of dualism as a starting point.

I doubt that my suggestion was in the ballpark of what you were looking for, but it'll be worth the $3.99 and couple of days to become exposed to the basic Christian worldview at its core without all the distraction of many of the modern caricatures who are well-known.

Re: books on human condition
 

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im looking for work that focuses on our lust for power and the way we manipluate the world around us and judge everything from our human perspective. im already fairly well versed in buddhist beleifs and would perfer something western - probally the right book by jung or something, im boring nietzsche.

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If your looking for something dark that disects human perspective on human importance, you might want to try Straw Dogs by John Gray. It is a bit dry though, I must admit.

Re: books on human condition
 

I really like "How the Mind Works" by Steven Pinker.
It explains some very mysterious behaviors, like love and war. The framework of evolutionary psychology works as an approach to many other puzzles. Unlike other authors, Pinker doesn't claim that it explains more than it actually does.

Sabre170

Re: books on human condition
 

I know of a book... a very old book, 1000 years old. But it's so great it's still modern. I don't know the excact translation to english, but i think it should be something like "the art of war" , it's wroten by Sun Zi, an old chinese warrior, and tactic... I don't know really what you were looking for, but read it out!

Re: books on human condition
 

Sorry, forgott some things, first the books name IS "the art of war( looked it up)... The book is about winning in a war, but it is really a book by winning conflicts, or more precisly... get what you want's to get to minimumprice, it says that the winner of the war, not neccesary needs to be the winner when it all comes around// Rio bravo

Re: books on human condition
 

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im already fairly well versed in buddhist beleifs

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You just contradicted your entire post by writing this one line. Maybe your versed, but you sure as hell don't preach it. Pathetic.

Lawrence

Re: books on human condition
 

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i am trying to figure out what will make me more happy/content in life.

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The "what" is you.

"A man is about as happy as he makes up his mind to be." Abraham Lincoln

Try "Walden Pond" by Henry David Thoreau

Re: books on human condition
 

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im looking for some profound psychology writings that analyze the human condition and mind and all of that, as i am trying to figure out what will make me more happy/content in life.

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What about the Bible or the Koran? These books have been telling human truths for longer than most others to more than any others. There must be something in them?

'This world does not possess the power to make a man truly happy'. Pope John Paul II.

Bingo

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Master of the Senate by Robert Caro.

Possibly the best political biography of the last 20 years.

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hmmm...this is somewhat along the self actualization path, but I hate Dr phil bullshit too and this book is amazing and written but one of the most scientifically respected psychologists ever.

Abraham Maslow..toward a psychology of being.

If you like that he explores the concepts more fully in "higher reaches of human nature"

Best book ive ever read.

Re: books on human condition
 

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i am trying to figure out what will make me more happy/content in life.

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The "what" is you.

"A man is about as happy as he makes up his mind to be." Abraham Lincoln

Try "Walden Pond" by Henry David Thoreau

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i read walden as much as one can read walden.

i realize the what is me. i think most people realize that.
getting there and staying there is the hard part.

Re: books on human condition
 

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I know of a book... a very old book, 1000 years old. But it's so great it's still modern. I don't know the excact translation to english, but i think it should be something like "the art of war" , it's wroten by Sun Zi, an old chinese warrior, and tactic... I don't know really what you were looking for, but read it out!

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ive read the art of war as much as one can read the art of war.

Re: books on human condition
 

The last of the ultimate freedoms- the freedom to chose your attitude no matter what the cirumstances are.
Victor Frankel-Man's Search for Meaning
most influential book I've ever read after the Bible.

What you need Kane. . . .
 

Is some high octane FICTION on the human condition. Try Crime and Punishment, The Death of Ivan Illych (you can read it in an afternoon), Moby Dick (if you have a few days), and there are tons more. You will find that works of fiction by great authors sometimes give much greater insight on the human condition (if you want to call it that) than writings by great psychologists and philosophers.

Re: books on human condition
 

Read Gustav Flaubert, he wrote something like, to be happy, you need good health, selfishness and stupidity. How true; just look at our president.