On Not Being A Philosopher Summary
The essay, “On Not Being a Philosopher", written by Robert Lynd begins on an amusing note when Lynd overhears a piece of conversation where one person asks another if the latter had "read Epictetus lately". Lynd, who has been looking for a book that will make him wise instantly, realises that he has some of the works of the great stoic philosopher on his bookshelves. He also notes that browsing material as diverse as those of Emerson and Marcus Aurelius had not achieved the desired result of making him wise overnight; hence he now thinks of turning to Epictetus for wisdom. Epictetus gives codes to follow in one's daily life and Lynd finds himself agreeing to every point that the philosopher makes. The problem that arises is that he is able to agree in theory but finds himself completely unequipped when it comes to real-life situations.
Lynd argues that while Epictetus clearly suggests that one should not get angry at not getting desired services at a restaurant, Lynd finds it difficult to refrain from annoyance. Epictetus probably could because he never dined outside, notes Lynd in his typical humorous style.
The same applies to material possessions. He says that the 'imperturbability' that the philosopher asks for in the case of the loss of material possessions is the result of a spiritual attitude of which he is incapable. He realises that would be possible only in a world where nothing happened.
Hereafter, Lynd draws the conclusion that philosophy is not possible in real-life situations-even though we believe that philosophers, however diverse their philosophies might be, were right.
Also, we do not possess the sort of contempt towards material possessions which philosophers do. In other words, philosophy is impractical given the sort of lives we lead. Lynd concludes by tying up the end to the beginning when he states that gaining wisdom by merely listening to or reading is one of the most exciting of dreams- the kind of dream in which he read Epictetus, only to realise that his dream remained a dream.
On Not Being A Philosopher Questions Answers
Answer the following questions in one or two words.
Ans: Robert Lynd was born in Belfast.
Q.2: What is the name of the American poet philosopher whose work the author has read?
Ans: The name of the American poet philosopher whose work the author has read was Waldo Emerson.
Ans: The name of the American poet philosopher whose work the author has read was Waldo Emerson.
Q.3: According to the author, most philosophers write as though life were an argument conducted in ………… , what?
Ans: According to the author, most philosophers write as though life were an argument conducted in Jargon. (Jargon are special or technical words that are used by particular group of people)
Q.4: Who does the author want to conduct the laborious quest for wisdom?
Ans: The author wants the philosophers to conduct the laborious quest for wisdom.
Ans: According to the author, most philosophers write as though life were an argument conducted in Jargon. (Jargon are special or technical words that are used by particular group of people)
Q.4: Who does the author want to conduct the laborious quest for wisdom?
Ans: The author wants the philosophers to conduct the laborious quest for wisdom.
Q.5: Whose son is the slave who does not boing the hot water supposed to be?
Ans: Son of Zeus was the slave who does not boing the hot water supposed to be.
Answer the following questions in a few words.
Q.1: Who was Marcus Aurelius and what is the name of the book in which we find his philosophy?
Ans: Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor and also a stoic philosopher, born in 121 A. D. and died in 180 AD. He developed a unique epigrammatic style and expression which he immortalized in his book 'Meditation'. It is a document of his philosophy which is must read and followed by latter philosopher.
Q.2: In what context does Lynd mention Solomon?
Ans: Robert Lynd desired wisdom and in quest of being wise he had read many philosophical books written by the greatest philosopher ever born in this world.
His thirst for wisdom as wise as Solmon who were the wisest of the kings and his thirst for wisdom was never quenched.
Q.3: Who was Socrates and what did he promote?
Ans: Socrates was a Greek Philosopher who lived between 469 B.C. and 399 B.C. He prompted, the love enquiry which would lead to knowledge and justice.
Q.4: Why is Pliny the Elder famous ?
Ans: Pliny was famous as the first naturalist in the world and written "Natural History" cover three books.
Ans: Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor and also a stoic philosopher, born in 121 A. D. and died in 180 AD. He developed a unique epigrammatic style and expression which he immortalized in his book 'Meditation'. It is a document of his philosophy which is must read and followed by latter philosopher.
Q.2: In what context does Lynd mention Solomon?
Ans: Robert Lynd desired wisdom and in quest of being wise he had read many philosophical books written by the greatest philosopher ever born in this world.
His thirst for wisdom as wise as Solmon who were the wisest of the kings and his thirst for wisdom was never quenched.
Q.3: Who was Socrates and what did he promote?
Ans: Socrates was a Greek Philosopher who lived between 469 B.C. and 399 B.C. He prompted, the love enquiry which would lead to knowledge and justice.
Q.4: Why is Pliny the Elder famous ?
Ans: Pliny was famous as the first naturalist in the world and written "Natural History" cover three books.
Q.5 Who is Zeus?
Ans: Zeus is the king of the Greek pantheon of Gods and goddesses. He symbolises power and order.
Answer the following questions briefly in your own words.
Q.1: Discuss the circumstances that lead to Lynd's reading Epictetus.
Ans: In the essay "On Not Being a Philosopher" Robert Lynd expresses his keenness to attain wisdom. He believed that wisdom could be found in a book written by eminent Philosophers of the world such as Emerson and Marcus Aurelius. He had gone through the works of all these wise Philosophers but he was still dissatisfied and felt that his thirst for wisdom remained unsatisfied. One day, in a hotel lounge he overheard the conversation between two friends and they were discussing Epictetus and one of them also said that one felt fearfully excited about reading Epictetus. Then, it occurred to Lynd that he should also read Epictetus and may be it was the only book that would quench his thirst for wisdom and thus Lynd decided to read Epictetus and was considerably excited while going through the book.
Q.2: On what points does he (Lynd) find himself agreeing with Epictetus ?
Ans: Robert Lynd read Epictetus with considerable excitement and he was quite happy because he was the kind of philosopher that Lynd always wanted to read. He was much impressed by the philosopher's simple approach to life and the way he expresses his teachings with reference to common, everyday things. Lynd almost agreed with everything Epictetus taught or preached. Lynd was of the same view with the philosopher when the latter preached about indifference to pain, death and poverty. Lynd also agreed that we should not bother about things over which we don't have any control such as oppression of tyrants and perils of earthquakes. But at the same time, Lynd confessed that it was agreeable to agree with Epictetus only in theory but quite impossible to emulate them in real and practical life. Quite contrary to what the philosopher said, in his practical life, Lynd considered death, pain and poverty to be real evils and if an earthquake strikes, he would definitely run to save his skin. Again, when Epictetus preached that man should be indifferent to material possessions and not to object, he agreed with him in theory but would never follow him in real life.
Q.3: Why does the author end with the phrase "it was only a dream" ?
Ans: In the essay "On Not Being a Philosopher '', the author Robert Lynd has expressed his keenness to achieve wisdom and he wanted that he became wise overnight simply by reading the books written by the great philosophers of the world. For this purpose Lynd since his school days had been going through books written by eminent philosophers of the world, but despite it, he did not consider himself to be wise enough. The most interesting thing about Lynd is that he wanted to become wise but he could not exert his mind in quest of wisdom. He wished the philosopher to do all the labour and he would simply reap the fruits of their labour by reading their books while sitting in an armchair, smoking. He even declared himself an armchair philosopher to gain wisdom which is readymade wisdom only by paying a few shillings just like he got a few eggs from the farmer, apples from the fruit grower and medicine from the chemist.
But finally, he realised that by simply reading a book or listening to a voice, one cannot become wise, and it happens only in dreams. But in practice they were all meaningless. Therefore, Lynd's desire to obtain wisdom merely remains a dream.
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Give suitable answers to the following.
Q.1: Critically examine Robert Lynd's quest for instant wisdom.
Ans: The author Robert Lynd wants to achieve wisdom by adopting the shortcut way. He thinks that the will become wise overnight simply by reading the books of eminent philosophers. Lynd desires wisdom desperately, he wants to be like Solmon. But at the same time he is not ready to work for it. He wants the philosophers to do all the hard work and he will reap the fruits of their labour by sitting relaxed in his armchair and going through their books. Lynd has read work of great philosophers like Emerson and Markus Aurelius. But he is not satisfied as he feels something lacking in his wisdom, then at last he reads Epictetus who seemed to be the ultimate authority of wisdom. Lynd very excitedly reads Epictetus finds himself agreeing with him on many points. But problem arises when he failed to implement Epictetus teachings in real life situations.
Ultimately, Lynd realises that it is not easy or quite impossible to translate the philosophical theories in real life incidents and situations. The outlook of the philosophers may be ideal and correct but it is quite impractical for people to adopt their outlook in their life situations. Hence, Robert Lynd's quest for instant wisdom only remained a dream.
Q.2: Trace Lynd's reading experience with Epictetus.
Ans: One day, Robert Lynd overheard a conversation in a hotel Lounge where one of the person's asked the other if he had read Epictetus lately. Lynd who had always been trying to gain wisdom instantly, thought that reading Epictetus could surely fulfill heis quest for wisdom and so he decided to read the book. He was over excited and felt that at last his dreams to become wise instantly would turn into a reality. Lynd agreed with Epictetus whether it was indifference to pain, poverty, and death or not bothering about things which were beyond our control like oppression of tyrants, and peris of earthquake. Lynd even agreed in theory when Epictetus said that material possessions was not the only key to happiness and indifference towards them is blissful. But in spite of being to an ardent fan of Epictetus's teachings, Lynd realised that it is quite impossible to follow and emulate his ideas and views in real life situations. He concluded that philosophy is appealing as long as it is in the pages of a book but utterly impossible and impractical in real life situations in this material world.
Ans: One day, Robert Lynd overheard a conversation in a hotel Lounge where one of the person's asked the other if he had read Epictetus lately. Lynd who had always been trying to gain wisdom instantly, thought that reading Epictetus could surely fulfill heis quest for wisdom and so he decided to read the book. He was over excited and felt that at last his dreams to become wise instantly would turn into a reality. Lynd agreed with Epictetus whether it was indifference to pain, poverty, and death or not bothering about things which were beyond our control like oppression of tyrants, and peris of earthquake. Lynd even agreed in theory when Epictetus said that material possessions was not the only key to happiness and indifference towards them is blissful. But in spite of being to an ardent fan of Epictetus's teachings, Lynd realised that it is quite impossible to follow and emulate his ideas and views in real life situations. He concluded that philosophy is appealing as long as it is in the pages of a book but utterly impossible and impractical in real life situations in this material world.
Conclusion
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