This particular book was so good that I’m a bit of quandary as how to begin this review. In truth, I finished Robert Hellenga’s Philosophy Made Simple almost a week ago, and have been sitting on this review, uncertain of the best tactic to encourage all interested parties, or indeed to spark interest in those disinterested, to read this.
First off, this is no text-book, no dry didactic primer on the basics of philosophical thought; the most remarkable thing that Robert Hellenga has accomplished is the way that he has managed to touch on the basics on nearly every major philosopher, and still spared room to explore facets of Christian and Hindu thought; all without sacraficing plot. This is an imminently readable book.
Title: Philosophy Made Simple : A Novel
Author: Robert Hellenga
LC Rating:
Rudy Harrington, sixty years old, widower with three grown daughters, is on the verge of a major change in his life. Before the book closes he will have moved to Texas, found himself the owner of an elephant, fallen in love again, and just maybe learned something about the fundamental nature of the world in which we live. In all these endeavors he is aided by a book one of his daughters gave him called ‘Philosophy Made Simple’, which he reads with a mixture of scorn and wonder.
For me, the most charming thing about Philosophy Made Simple is the fact that as Rudy begins to contemplate the ideas of the great philosophers, he spends at least as much time wondering if any of it is actually relevant as he does expressing awe at the truths of these teachings. I mean, it’s one thing to consider there is a world of idealized forms, but what does it actually matter, since you will never see it? Or better yet:
“There was nothing about manual labor in Philosophy Made Simple, but Rudy’d been asking himself, how would the course of philosophy have been different if these philosophers had had to pick a thousand pounds of avocados a day?”
There is a delightful tension between the very real challenges that Rudy faces in the book and the grandiose philosophical concepts that he’s reading about. I myself have perhaps a somewhat better that average understanding of some of the philosophy the novel touches upon, but I sincerely believe that Robert Hellenga has managed to convey these concepts with a grace and delicacy that will make it accessible to even the average reader. He also spends a fair amount of time confronting Nietzsche’s concept of the Ubermensch, which is a perennial favorite of this writer (who dares to call himself cognoscenti), this is one of my favorite passages:
Uncle Siva had written very forcefully about these supermen in Philosophy Made Simple - these men who step outside traditional moral values, these men who dispense with ordinary notions of good and evil and create their own versions of life - and it was clear to Rudy that Siva regarded himself as a member of this select club. But how did you do it? How did you join? and how did you know when you’d been accepted as a member? And was it a good thing to do in the first place?
In Philosophy Made Simple, Robert Hellenga has accomplished an amazing feat. Not only has he provided an overview of a number of great philosophical concepts and, better still, engaged his readers in a discussion of why these concepts matter, what Hellenga has done is written a wonderful book, full of charming characters who do what all good art should do . . . hold a mirror up to life as it is actually lived. Bravo!