book review – Blogs Don't Burn

January 8, 2020January 9, 2021

The Philosopher-King of Rome

A review of Donald Robertson’s How to Think Like a Roman Emperor (2019).

This intriguing new book by Donald Robertson centers around the life of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD); a man for whom philosophy was no mere academic affair. Elevated to the head of the most powerful Empire in the world, despite his own reluctance to inherit the Imperial throne, Marcus would go on to become one of the most celebrated political leaders in history. The admiration still directed towards the reign of Marcus Aurelius is an especially impressive feat given the state of chaos that Rome would lapse into soon after his ascension.

In the North, war would break out across the frontier of the Empire. The thin line separating the territories of Rome from the barbarous lands of Germania strained under pressure from the Germanic hordes now bearing down on it from above. In Egypt, a powerful former ally would rebel against Marcus with all the power of the East at his back, nearly triggering a civil war. Meanwhile, across the towns and cities of the Roman heartlands, the Antonine Plague would spread. Brought back by returning soldiers from the Near East, this vicious disease would claim the lives of thousands of Romans both rich and poor alike, eventually killing Marcus himself whilst stationed by the frosty waters of the River Danube. The Emperor’s personal life would prove just as tumultuous. In addition to the death of his cousin-wife, the Empress Faustina, Marcus would have to cope with the loss of all but five of his thirteen children. His only surviving son and unruly heir Commodus would grow to become a murderous despot, eventually being assassinated by his political rivals. Suffice to say, Marcus’ was not a peaceful reign.

October 30, 2019January 9, 2021

A Modern Day Hero?

A review of John Williams’ Stoner (1965).

This classic novel from 1965 by American author (and professor of English) John Williams tells the story of William Stoner, a stoic farm boy from rural Missouri, who emerges from a sparse and colourless existence into the world of the University campus. The “campus novel” subgenre, a literary tradition dating back to the 1950s, is a niche yet rich source of storytelling, and John Williams manages to take this rarefied area and spin it into a story which at once feels both human and relatable.

The story’s protagonist, whose name ‘William’ is derived from the author’s surname, starts off as an outsider to the rarefied world of academia. With the aim of aiding the family farm, Stoner attends the University of Missouri to study agriculture. However, after taking a mandatory literature survey course in his second year, he soon discovers an obsession for literature and learning which leads to a lifelong career with the Department of English. It is indicative of the unique type of story with which we are dealing that the most distance actually travelled by our protagonist is from farm to campus. Ultimately it is the internal journey of Stoner, in all its emotional and psychological subtlety, that makes each page more compelling than the last.

October 20, 2019January 9, 2021

The Science of Morality

A review of The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris (2010).

This provocative book written by neuroscientist, philosopher and public intellectual Sam Harris makes the ambitious argument that Science can (and should) be used as a tool to determine human values. It’s a controversial thesis, one that has unsurprisingly stepped on quite a few intellectual toes since the books publication!

Harris’ claim that scientific enquiry can discover objective moral truths is grounded in a position of ‘consequentialist morality’ (meaning the consequences of moral ideas to human well-being is viewed as the only measure for whether something is good or bad). This type of calculation-based morality is familiar to most people in the form of ‘Utilitarianism’, a narrower (and somewhat nastier) version of consequentialism.