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A review by woolfen
Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
4.0
4 Stars.
This is another hard to rate book, as it's basically theory. Erasmus casts around his early 16th century contemporaries and makes ready criticism of them and himself. Fundamentally, he critiques the basic structures of going through the motions of life, and the issues of living genuinely, arguing that most live in a state of blind foolishness, far removed from genuine spiritual purity and attempts at living well. In chasing eudaimonia, the structural progression of life in ordered society has to be examined and understood where it lies along these lines of 'good' and 'virtue' and how these are slowly evolved away from.
He has a lot of sharp insight and commentary that is actually quite wise and lucid, particularly in a time where rebukes from the Church (a main source of criticism in this book), can have lethal consequences. He also carries this through with humour (at least contemporarily) which often comes through self-critique and self-awareness. It's an interesting read to look at nowadays - but can be taken as an attempt and guide to living genuinely, discerning from established norms, and against 'bad faith'.
This is another hard to rate book, as it's basically theory. Erasmus casts around his early 16th century contemporaries and makes ready criticism of them and himself. Fundamentally, he critiques the basic structures of going through the motions of life, and the issues of living genuinely, arguing that most live in a state of blind foolishness, far removed from genuine spiritual purity and attempts at living well. In chasing eudaimonia, the structural progression of life in ordered society has to be examined and understood where it lies along these lines of 'good' and 'virtue' and how these are slowly evolved away from.
He has a lot of sharp insight and commentary that is actually quite wise and lucid, particularly in a time where rebukes from the Church (a main source of criticism in this book), can have lethal consequences. He also carries this through with humour (at least contemporarily) which often comes through self-critique and self-awareness. It's an interesting read to look at nowadays - but can be taken as an attempt and guide to living genuinely, discerning from established norms, and against 'bad faith'.