El filósofo DamonYoung investiga
el acto de leer con ensayos sobre seis virtudes que él ve ejemplificadas, a
saber, la curiosidad, la paciencia, el coraje, el orgullo, la templanza y la
justicia, en esta colección enérgica y deliciosa. Young, trata todos los tipos
de lectura, desde la meditación académica hasta la lectura frívola, con
seriedad y respeto. Sus
ejemplos literarios incluyen trabajos de gran importancia, como "La
Biblioteca de Babel" de Jorge Luis Borges y Pensées de Blaise
Pascal, y lecturas en la playa, como novelas de Star Trek y El Código Da Vinci.
Philosopher Young (Philosophy in the Garden) investigates the act
of reading with essays on six virtues he sees exemplified by it—namely
curiosity, patience, courage, pride, temperance, and justice—in this brisk and
delightful collection. Its short length belies a book heavy with insight,
creativity, and wit. To Young’s credit, he treats all types of reading, from
scholarly meditation to frivolous binge reading, with seriousness and respect.
His literary examples include both highbrow works, such as Jorge Luis Borges’s
“The Library of Babel” and Blaise Pascal’s Pensées, and beach
reads, such as Star Trek novelizations and The Da Vinci Code. The
essays vary in their tightness and persuasiveness—some hew quite closely to
their featured virtue and give analyses that feel acute and surprising, while
others have less well-defined theses—but all uniformly entertain. Young
sometimes uses scholarly language (“If curiosity like Borges’s resists the
inertia of being, Heidegger’s was a characteristic rejection of stubborn facts
altogether”) that requires close attention and even rereading, but his thoughts
are lucid and accessible, repaying the reader’s work. Moreover, the closing
bibliographic essay will inspire reading lists for months to come. This
literary study is serious but also witty and fun—a tough balance to strike, but
Young nails it. (Apr.)
Fuente Publisher Weekly
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