American Philosophy: a love story by John Kaag

On Monday, March 5th, the Booked for the Day Book Group met to discuss, American Philosophy by John Kaag.  Here are a few things we discussed during the meeting:

• Most of the group enjoyed the book and were glad that they read it. As far as recommending the book, everyone thought you needed some background in philosophy to appreciate the book. They also thought it may be of interest to anyone who was looking for a general overview on the different schools of thought in philosophy.
• What we got out of the book is that the story is about a lost person, a lost library, and a lost philosophy and the recovery of all three. And that John Kaag’s recovery of the three, during this difficult period of his life, helped him to finally understand William James answer to the question “Is life worth living?”
• Some of the group thought that what he wrote, by necessity, was overly simplified due to the fact that he covered so much material. The group would have liked more details on a few philosophers, and perhaps pictures of the portraits or the philosophers he was describing included in the book.
• One member would have liked some humor in the story and thought the story was dry. Another did not see any romance in the love story with Carol. There were no particular emotional scenes, his interactions with Carol seemed dull and matter of fact.
• One member pointed out that the book is suggestively structured, into the categories of Hell, Purgatory, and Redemption, from Dante’s Divine Comedy. She thought this helped her pull the story together.
• Others were disappointed that they did not hear Carol’s voice in the story even though Kaag seemed annoyed that Agnes’s books were relegated to the attic.
• We were all impressed with the passion he displayed in rescuing the library and as one member pointed out the books with marginal and handwritten notes by the philosophers are invaluable.

These are just a few things mentioned during the discussion. Please feel free to add any of your thoughts in the comment section.