By Brendan Myers
Published by O Books, £12.42
Review by Bryn Colvin
According to Brendan Myers, “Virtue
is the ancient idea that excellence in human affairs is the foundation of
ethics, spirituality, self-knowledge, and especially the worthwhile life.” In ‘The
Other Side of Virtue” Myers explores the philosophy of virtue – what it means
to live well and to be satisfied with life. He considers how virtue has been
portrayed by various western cultures through time and offers some very
interesting material for thought. As philosophy books go, this is really quite
accessible without being patronising. Myers clearly knows his subject and has
some interesting and provocative points to make. He writes with a personable
voice, never overbearing or authoritarian, posing questions rather than
imposing solutions. The result is a very enjoyable text laden with material
that obliges you to think about your own approach to life.
This is such a rich book, that I
think I’m going to need to read it again before I come close to getting all the
points and ideas raised in it. I found it absolutely inspiring, and I will be
taking out some time to rethink my own philosophy in response to some of the
points this book raises. I may well be going to change how I relate to myself, and
the rest of the world, as a consequence of what I’ve read, and I had thought my
world view was fairly coherent, so that’s no small thing.
If the philosophical aspect of
Druidry speaks to you, then this book is a must have. While it’s not overtly
Druidic, it’s laden with relevant concepts and ideals. For anyone who hasn’t
dabbled in philosophy and would like a place to start, ‘The Other Side of
Virtue’ is definitely recommended as a way in.
On the downside, there are some
spoilers for the Harry Potter series, which Myers uses to illustrate some of
his points.
The official release day for the book is 25th July, but it's available for
pre-order now.
Available from Amazon.co.uk
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