The important books on philosophy for understanding life Essay

The important books on philosophy for understanding life - Essay Example However, in our communities, most of us tend to just blindly believe the historical, religious and cultural thoughts and ideas which have been handed down to us from generation to generation without even questioning its authenticity. But Philosophy has helped us immensely by making us understand that it is better to reason out and analyze things for ourselves instead of blindly believing everything. Reasoning helps us to be better individuals and gives us the confidence to help other members of our society. While reflecting on my own life, I feel that I too had some blind beliefs earlier but after reading The Dialogue Reader my perceptions have changed and I rely on my own reasoning for incidents that take place in my life. Finally, we can say that all our strong beliefs are based on our reasoning, so if our reasoning is correct our beliefs automatically are right. But in case our reasoning went wrong, then our beliefs would be wrong too. Therefore, now I rely on my reasoning before I form strong beliefs about something.In the pursuit of happiness, man has time and again been confronted with innumerable challenges. This quest can be the finding of oneself or the attainment of enlightenment. Achieving this state of happiness or enlightenment is an ongoing process and an individual can attain it only by traversing the course of life as it is presented every day. Our belief is that happiness is hard to find but it is also true that each of us spends our entire lifetime to search, grasp and hold it.... Achieving this state of happiness or enlightenment is an ongoing process and an individual can attain it only by traversing the course of life as it is presented every day. Our belief is that happiness is hard to find but it is also true that each of us spend our entire lifetime to search, grasp and hold it. In the book, Siddhartha, Herman Hesse tells us about the life of an imaginary character, Siddhartha, who left home to find enlightenment. The hero of this book, Siddhartha, finds enlightenment not only through his own life experiences but also through that of people around him. The story is set during the period of Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. The hero comes across Buddha, the Enlightened One, but is unable to reach his goal of happiness under him. He feels that he cannot find what he is seeking from anyone but himself. His meeting with his son and the son’s subsequent departure helps him understand the transient nature of joy. It also helps him realize the beauty of u nselfish devotion. The author makes us realize during the course of the novel that happiness could be obtained through experiences and self-discovery. Siddhartha goes through a cycle of spirituality, materialism and once again spirituality. The various avatars of Siddhartha are that of a son, a holy man, a businessman and a hedonist. In each phase of his life, Siddhartha undergoes many experiences which bring him closer to his goal of attaining fulfillment and happiness. Like Siddhartha each one of us must resolve that â€Å"I will learn from myself, be my own pupil† (Hesse, 39). The journey of our life is our journey towards happiness and fulfillment. Happiness therefore is not a goal to be achieved but a journey to be traversed and cherished for its lessons. Author Robert C.