Though I would not go as far to say that I consider myself a student of philosophy, I do have some interest in it. Taking some inspiration from an online course, last year I wrote an article, Thinking and Writing like a Philosopher, about how it helps with writing. That was not focused on particular philosophers but when I received When You Kant Figure It Out… Ask a Philosopher: Timeless Wisdom for Modern Dilemmas by Marie Robert, I was thrilled to dive into it.
Let’s take a quick look at the synopsis before I share some of the knowledge and wisdom that I really appreciated.
Advice for modern dilemmas from the greatest Western philosophers.
How can Kant comfort you when you get ditched via text message? How can Aristotle cure your hangover? How can Heidegger make you feel better when your dog dies?
When You Kant Figure It Out, Ask a Philosopher explains how pearls of wisdom from the greatest Western philosophers can help us face and make light of some of the daily challenges of modern life. In twelve clever, accessible chapters, you’ll get advice from Epicurus about how to disconnect from constant news alerts and social media updates, Nietzsche’s take on getting in shape, John Stuart Mill’s tips for handling bad birthday presents, and many other classic insights to help you navigate life today.
Hilarious, practical, and edifying, When You Kant Figure It Out, Ask a Philosopher brings the best thinkers of the past into the 21st Century to help us all make sense of a chaotic new world.
The Short Take
Philosophy is one of the most fascinating subjects to study because it is applicable to everyday life. Marie Robert’s book is proof of the many areas where we can turn to philosophers for wisdom and advice.
One doesn’t need to pick up each and every individual great work of the philosophers – all we need to do is to read her book!
Witty, humorous, serious in the places where it needs to be, When you Kant figure it out… ask a philosopher indeed contains timeless wisdom for modern dilemmas, whether it is shopping at IKEA, working hard to reach a goal, becoming an entrepreneur, going on a blind date, meeting your significant other’s family, making the best of an ugly sweater, or dealing with the death of a loved one (I mentioned it is serious in some places, right?).
Marie Robert explains in the beginning of the book that she set out to write it to reshape philosophy’s image and help people see it as a useful tool to navigate life. There are thousands of amazing thinkers out there, who spent most of their life thinking about desire, passion, love, truth, time, language and much more. Through the situations that she describes, some of which I have faced at some point of time, I was able to see philosophy in a more practical light and learn more about the ideas of these great philosophers. I look forward to turning to them in the future when I am stuck.
Themes for Thought
Hangovers, breakups, entrepreneurship, IKEA, the death of a loved one,.. there is a philosopher whose wisdom can set you on the right path in every situation! And When You Kant Figure It Out… Ask a Philosopher covers most of the situations. We have all heard of Kant, Plato, Aristotle, Pascal (yes, he was a philosopher too), but how much of their teachings do we really know about? How much should we really care? That’s the other question. In Marie Robert’s book I found many answers, and here is what I learned from her writing.
On Being Concise & Relatable
In the preface, Marie mentions that she wrote the book to help people see that philosophy is not just for scholars and thinkers. It is for each and every one of us. For such a field of study that so many people shy away from, her strategy to present a dilemma from everyday life (with a catchy title), link it to a philosopher who could offer some advice, and then take into a quick 2-3 page crash course about the philosopher’s ideas, is the perfect setup, the key takeaways in point form being the bow on top of the present.
The structure in which we write and present ideas is important to catch anyone’s attention. Without putting thought into how we present our thoughts, we should not be surprised when they don’t reach people, or we are misunderstood. There is no one way to write a book, and honestly, if every textbook was written in this relatable format, I bet I would have enjoyed school even more.
On Learning
In Aristotle’s world everything was a source of wisdom. Everything that happens in life, from having a tough conversation with someone, to staying out late even though there is an important meeting the next day, or trying to find the way back home when the phone battery is dead and no GPS to guide us,… every situation gives us the opportunity to learn something from it. These lessons are important reminders.
This also reminded me of Beth Kortiz‘s book, Resilience Road (book thoughts here), and her belief that the universe puts us in similar situations until our learning from them is complete. I think Aristotle will totally agree with that.
Continuing with this lesson, the philosopher Epicurus offers us some insights on living and fear.
In order to stay sane, first we need to reflect on our fears, observe them and understand where they are coming from. Then we need to sort them into fears caused by things we can do something about and fears caused by things we have no control over and need to accept.
Pg 56 of the book
Marie places Epicurus’ teachings in the context of notifications on our phones and our need (or is it fear?) to not miss out on anything. This sensory overload to always to be in the know-how and yet, with so many sources of information (often misinformation), how do we decide which things matter?
It’s all part of learning to be who we are and how we handle situations.
Overall, this was a fantastic read, looking at how we can incorporate philosophical ideas and teachings into everyday lives. The chapters are concise and broken down into sections that provide the dilemma, what the philosopher-in-focus would say about it, and key takeaways. The best thing about a book like this is you don’t have to read it cover to cover – just the find the problem you need some philosophical inspiration for and you will find it in the book! Nice, right?
** When You Kant Figure It Out… Ask a Philosopher is now out in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! Let’s have a book-discussion! **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
A special thanks to Hachette Book Group Canada for providing me with an advanced review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved it!
Cover image: Photo by Zach Lucero on Unsplash
This is a great post, Kriti, and it makes me very interested in this book. I know some philosophers through working at a university, and I would intrigued to discover their thoughts on something like this!
I would be curious to know what they think about it as well, Stephen! Do share when they share their thought with you.