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Trying Not To Try: The Art And Science Of Spontaneity (2014)

by Edward Slingerland(Favorite Author)

3.63 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0770437613 (ISBN13: 9780770437619)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Crown

review 1: This is a primer on "Warring States Period" Chinese ontology and phenomenology, written by an Asian Studies professor. (The title is very misleading!) Slingerland does use a framework of contemporary psychology, and a bit of the conversational tone and "dad" humor of pop psychology books, but I would gladly trade that for orientalism/inaccuracy and quasi-evangelism that this kind of book usually has.
review 2: Slingerland brings ancient chinese wisdome to life and in the process illustrates revolutionary new ideas in psychology. Perhaps it is an example of pouring old wine into new bottles, but amazingly he does this while improving the wine in the process!!Slingerland discusses the concept of "wu wei", or "effortless action", the experience modern day psycholo... moregists have sometimes (with underwhelming results) referred to as "flow". This is an incredibly desirable state that is impossible to achieve through effort alone, and as Slingerland expertly explains, is often interfered with by the very act of "efforting". This sets up the foundational paradox of the book and the paradox which has bedevelled sages across the millenia: Can we, or should we try not to try? Slingerland compares the schools of Confuciounism and Daoism with their leading scholars and skillfully peels back the coneptual differences on how we wei is meant to be achieved. He points out the two basic strategies of effortful ritual and discipline which is meant to become automatic and effortless in the long run (Confucian) and sudden breakthrough or "doing nothing" which is often paired with a retreat from civilization and ritual (Daoism). In both cases Slingerland points out the possible pitfalls and contradictions of these approaches. Slingerland also describes the philosophy of Mencius, which points out that nurturing our innate cooperative and virtuous tendencies is the common goal in many of these approaches. He also reveals the modern day psychology studies that confirm many of these ancient intuitions.In a brilliant late chapter Slingerland discusses a theory of the evolution of non-verbal signals of reliability that underly successful human cooperation, which may explain the power and desirablity of wu wei. This is perhaps his most powerful contribution. All in all, this book is extremely readable and often very funny. Most importatly it is a treasure trove of both ancient wisdom and modern science and is a particularly rare and precious intersection of these two sources of knowledge for the modern world! less

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