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Sick Souls, Healthy Minds
- How William James Can Save Your Life
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
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Publisher's summary
From the celebrated author of American Philosophy: A Love Story and Hiking with Nietzsche, a compelling introduction to the life-affirming philosophy of William James
In 1895, William James, the father of American philosophy, delivered a lecture entitled "Is Life Worth Living?" It was no theoretical question for James, who had contemplated suicide during an existential crisis as a young man a quarter century earlier.
Indeed, as John Kaag writes, "James's entire philosophy, from beginning to end, was geared to save a life, his life"- and that's why it just might be able to save yours, too.
Sick Souls, Healthy Minds is a compelling introduction to James's life and thought that shows why the founder of pragmatism and empirical psychology -and an inspiration for Alcoholics Anonymous - can still speak so directly and profoundly to anyone struggling to make a life worth living.
Kaag tells how James's experiences as one of what he called the "sick-souled," those who think that life might be meaningless, drove him to articulate an ideal of "healthy-mindedness" - an attitude toward life that is open, active, and hopeful, but also realistic about its risks. In fact, all of James's pragmatism, resting on the idea that truth should be judged by its practical consequences for our lives, is a response to, and possible antidote for, crises of meaning that threaten to undo many of us at one time or another. Along the way, Kaag also movingly describes how his own life has been endlessly enriched by James.
Eloquent, inspiring, and filled with insight, Sick Souls, Healthy Minds may be the smartest and most important self-help book you'll ever read.
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Widely recognized as the finest definition of existentialist philosophy ever written, this book introduced existentialism to America in 1958. Irrational Man begins by discussing the roots of existentialism in the art and thinking of Augustine, Aquinas, Pascal, Baudelaire, Blake, Dostoevski, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Picasso, Joyce, and Beckett. The heart of the book explains the views of the foremost existentialists - Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre. The result is a marvelously lucid definition of existentialism and a brilliant interpretation of its impact.
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heady
- By A. Antine on 07-28-22
By: William Barrett
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Stories We Tell Ourselves
- Making Meaning in a Meaningless Universe
- By: Richard Holloway
- Narrated by: Richard Holloway
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Throughout history we have told ourselves stories to try and make sense of what it all means: our place in a small corner of one of billions of galaxies, at the end of billions of years of existence. In this new book Richard Holloway takes us on a personal, scientific and philosophical journey to explore what he believes the answers to the biggest of questions are.
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Effortlessly profound
- By Consi on 09-28-21
By: Richard Holloway
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How to Save the West
- Ancient Wisdom for 5 Modern Crises
- By: Spencer Klavan
- Narrated by: Spencer Klavan
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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It has been proclaimed many times, but perhaps never more convincingly than now, when every news cycle seems to deliver further confirmation of a world gone mad. Is this the endgame? Author Spencer Klavan is a classicist, with a Ph.D. from Oxford, and a deep understanding of the West. His analysis: The situation is dire. But every crisis we face today, we have faced before. And we can surmount each one. Klavan brings to the West’s defense the insights of Plato, Aristotle, the Bible, and the Founding Fathers to show that in the wisdom of the past lies hope for the future.
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Spectacular! A must read!
- By M.A. on 02-15-23
By: Spencer Klavan
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Angels and Ages
- A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life
- By: Adam Gopnik
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Written 200 years after Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln shared a birthday on February 12, 1809, this insightful account sheds new light on two men who changed the way we think about the meaning of life and death. Award-winning journalist Adam Gopnik's unique perspective, combined with previously unexplored stories and figures, reveals two men planted firmly at the roots of modern views and liberal values.
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Connecting Darwin and Lincoln
- By Joshua Kim on 06-10-12
By: Adam Gopnik
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Why Smart People Hurt
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The challenges smart and creative people encounter - from scientific researchers and genius award winners to best-selling novelists, Broadway actors, high-powered attorneys, and academics - often include anxiety, overthinking, mania, sadness, and despair. In Why Smart People Hurt, natural psychology specialist and creativity coach Dr. Eric Maisel draws on his many years of work with the best and the brightest to pinpoint these often devastating challenges and offer solutions based on the groundbreaking principles and practices of natural psychology.
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Stunningly Unintelligent
- By john burke on 05-22-21
By: Eric Maisel
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50 Self-Help Classics
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Discover the books that have already changed the lives of millions. This award-winning, unabridged guide to the "literature of possibility" surveys 50 of the all-time classics, giving you their key ideas, insights, and applications, everything you need to know to start benefiting from these legendary works.
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Surprisingly Interesting
- By Cathy Dopp on 10-15-06
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The Monk and the Philosopher
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- By: Jean-Francois Revel
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Twenty-seven years ago, Matthieu Ricard gave up a promising career as a scientist to study Tibetan Buddhism - not as a detached observer but by immersing himself in its practice under the guidance of its greatest living masters. Years later, this project was born, and Richard met with his father, Jean-Francois Revel - a French philosopher who became world famous for his challenges to both Communism and Christianity. At an inn, these two profoundly thoughtful men explored questions that have occupied humankind throughout its history.
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The dialogues themselves proved tranquility is attainable.
- By Mingster on 05-16-19
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Good Without God
- What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe
- By: Greg Epstein
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- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
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A provocative and positive response to Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and other New Atheists, Good Without God makes a bold claim for what nonbelievers do share and believe. Epstein's Good Without God provides a constructive, challenging response to these manifestos by getting to the heart of Humanism and its positive belief in tolerance, community, morality, and good without having to rely on the guidance of a higher being.
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Speaker sounds too robotic
- By Lisa S. on 08-27-21
By: Greg Epstein
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The Story of Philosophy
- The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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Durant lucidly describes the philosophical systems of such world-famous “monarchs of the mind” as Plato, Aristotle, Francis Bacon, Spinoza, Kant, Voltaire, and Nietzsche. Along with their ideas, he offers their flesh-and-blood biographies, placing their thoughts within their own time and place and elucidating their influence on our modern intellectual heritage. This book is packed with wisdom and wit.
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Fantastic and insightful book
- By ESK on 01-25-13
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Secular Buddhism
- Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World
- By: Stephen Batchelor
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
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As the practice of mindfulness permeates mainstream western culture, more and more people are engaging in a traditional form of Buddhist meditation. However, many of these people have little interest in the religious aspects of Buddhism, and the practice occurs within secular contexts such as hospitals, schools, and the workplace. Is it possible to recover from the Buddhist teachings a vision of human flourishing that is secular rather than religious without compromising the integrity of the tradition?
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Good, but repetition of old material
- By Ludwig on 02-25-18
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The Mind That Is Catholic
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- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
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James V. Schall is a treasure of the Catholic intellectual tradition. A prolific author and essayist, Schall readily connects with his readers on sundry topics from war to friendship, philosophy, politics, and to ordinary everyday living. In his newest work, The Mind That Is Catholic, he presents a retrospective collection of his academic and literary essays written in the past 50 years.
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Profound Insights
- By Considerable on 10-17-14
By: James V. Schall
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What listeners say about Sick Souls, Healthy Minds
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Michael grover
- 06-07-22
A chance introduction
I thoroughly enjoyed Kaags writing of William James, and couldn’t have been more happy at the chance I took on it after listening to Kaag speak on The psychology podcast!
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-03-20
...
Overall, book was nice, quite sincere, but sadly, a bit less than I expected — lovable, but a bit too breezy and didactic. As to the reading, the voice was smooth and amiable, but: it’s not permissible for an audio artist not to look up the names of those he’s pronouncing. Peirce is pronounced ‘purse,’ and Leibniz is ‘lie-bnitz,’ not ‘lee-bnitz.’ Overall, not a bad purchase, but best to read some James yourself, first. I’d go with the Varieties.
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2 people found this helpful
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- A. Hurst
- 04-25-23
I'll Take What I Can Get
I like John Kaag. I love William James. But I got so frustrated with this narrator that I nearly gave up on this one. I can get past the mispronunciations (Pierce should be 'purse", etc.), but the affect that he assumed when reading quotes by James I just couldn't stomach. Maybe I don't know enough about William James and he really did sound like a pretentious, sniveling prude, but that certainly isn't the voice I hear when reading him. Why on Earth would you land on that voice for William James? I don't want to come down too hard on the fellow - he otherwise did a fine job of narrating - but, man, it's William James and I just hated that particular choice.
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1 person found this helpful
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- 3737
- 02-04-22
Great premise, but the narrator detracts from the story.
I love this unique angle of embedding an author’s personal spiritual journey in the life and writings of a well known thinker.
Unfortunately, the narrator flipping back and forth to an almost mocking British accent detracted so much from the story that I wish I’d have read the non-audio version instead.
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- C. Gross
- 04-05-20
Narrator belittles Janes
The book itself is interesting. The narrator is awful, awful. Every time he quotes William James, he speaks in an affected, priggish voice. It's as if he thoroughly dislikes William James and wants to make him seem like a snotty pretend-aristocrat. Why in the world does he do this? Unbelievable. Does Audible actually review these things?
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12 people found this helpful
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- Eric Dias
- 12-17-21
Narrative is terrible - I had to quit
The book is great, but the narrator puts on a horrible fake accent for James. It ruins the book
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- Anonymous User
- 08-02-24
Great subject - Rough delivery
The reader tries far too hard and over dramatizes his reading so much that it gets in the way of the content. There were many times I had to take a break from the voice due to its irritating nature. I did enjoy the content and really appreciated the layout of James' life and ideas.
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- Syd Allan
- 05-12-20
I cannot bear listening to that affected accent
The material is great, but I cannot bear listening to the affected accent the narrator uses for reading quotations.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Antigone2
- 06-13-20
Great narration! Great writing!
The author leads you into the life and ideas of William James in an interesting and accessible way.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-23-24
Great overview of William James
I love William James. This was a great introduction to his thought and his life. It’s short but good. If you are interested in James and want a little background info before you jump in, this is a perfect start.
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