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authorMarcin Chrzanowski <m@m-chrzan.xyz>2022-01-17 14:34:24 +0100
committerMarcin Chrzanowski <m@m-chrzan.xyz>2022-01-17 14:34:24 +0100
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+title: Books Read in 2021
+date: January 17, 2022
+---
+<p>
+Here's a list of books I read this past year. As mentioned at the end of
+<a href='<%= path_to 'blog_books-read-in-2020' %>'>last year's post</a>, I
+started out the year with quite a few positions finished cover-to-cover, but as
+the amount of time I needed to spend on work and my thesis increased during the
+year, there were a few months where I had no time at all for leisure reading. By
+the end of the year I once again started finding more time for reading and
+decided to jump into Plato's works.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Anyways, here's the list:
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<ol>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ <b>The Shallows</b>, Nicholas G. Carr. Words of warning about how the
+ internet and computer technologies negatively affect our lives. In my
+ opinion, Carr's takes aren't quite spicy enough, and the Ellul book
+ mentioned below gives a much fuller picture of how cautious we should be of
+ technology. That said, this might work as a decent wake up call for anyone
+ not quite yet ready to jump into 300 pages of dense sociology that Ellul
+ presents.
+ </p>
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ <b>The Great Gatsby</b>, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Finally got around to reading
+ this classic.
+ </p>
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ <b>The Enchiridion</b>, Epictetus. A very quick read, works as a nice
+ summary of the stoic position.
+ </p>
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ <b>Foundation</b>, Isaac Asimov. Finally got around to reading this sci-fi
+ classic.
+ </p>
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <p> <b>The Technological Society</b>, Jacques Ellul. I actually started
+ reading this in 2020 but didn't get far, picked it up and finished the rest
+ of the way in 2021. A very good read, highly recommended reading if at any
+ point you've run across Ted Kaczynski's manifesto and any part of it
+ intrigued you.
+ </p>
+
+ <p>
+ Ellul takes a deep dive into how technology (or more generally,
+ <i>technique</i>, which by his definition is any process that is the best
+ currently known for achieving a particular goal) has interacted with and
+ changed our humanity.
+ </p>
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ <b>First Philosophers</b> (second half, on the sophists), Robin
+ Waterfield. As mentioned in last year's post, I read half of this in 2020.
+ Honestly the first half on the presocratics was much more interesting. Now,
+ at the end of 2021, I don't remember much from the sophists at all.
+ </p>
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ <b>Can Life Prevail</b>, Pentti Linkola. A much more radical take on
+ what it means to "save the envrionment" than what you'll hear on TV. Linkola
+ spent his life studying the declining health of European forests and bird
+ life, and fishing using traditional methods. He speaks about nature from the
+ point of view of a brother, not a virtue signaling committee.
+ </p>
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ <b>Crisis of the Modern World</b>, René Guénon. Though written in the
+ 1920s, the symptoms of crisis Guénon described have only grown stronger by
+ the 2020s. He ends up dealing with some of the same subjects as the Ellul
+ book mentioned previously, but from the point of view of esoterics and
+ tradition rather than technology.
+ </p>
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ Plato's dialogues. I'm reading from the version of his complete works edited
+ by John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson. I haven't officially committed to
+ going through the whole thing, I'll just keep going until I'm bored and
+ decide to switch to something else. Here's the dialogues I got through this
+ year:
+ <ol>
+ <li>
+ <p> <b>Euthyphro</b>. Happens days before Socrates' trial. Socrates
+ and Euthyphro discuss the meaning of piety and justice.
+ </p>
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ <b>Socrates' apology</b>. Plato's rendition of Socrates defending
+ himself in court against the charges of impiety and corruption of the
+ youth.
+ </p>
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ <b>Crito</b>. Socrates' friend visits him in prison, trying to convince
+ him to attempt an escape before his execution. Socrates explains, much
+ to Crito's disappointment, why it would be improper for him to do so.
+ </p></li>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ <b>Phaedo</b>. Several of Socrates' friends visit him the day of his
+ execution. Socrates attempts to lift their spirits with a discussion
+ about death and the afterlife, before (spoiler alert) drinking the
+ kool-aid.
+ </p></li>
+ <li>
+ <p>
+ <b>Theaetetus</b>. Socrates speaks with a young student of philosophy
+ about the nature of knowledge. They try out a few different potential
+ definitions, unhappy with each, arriving at absurdities and
+ contradictions with each attempt. This dialogue has an overall very
+ conversational and even light-hearted style, while getting into some
+ really complex and dense case analysis at times.
+ </p>
+ </li>
+ </ol>
+ </li>
+</ol>
+</p>