Minggu cinta dan falsafah

Books to get through:

• Essays in Love
  

(4/5 - for being such a good read!)

You know when I look back to the moment I picked up this book, nak tergelak rasa. I recently finished reading De Botton's 'The Consolations of Philosophy' which I found a good read, though probably too wide-ranging for its own good, but it was enough to make me want to read more from him. So there on the Philosophy shelf at Borders were three titles by the author, one on travel, one on work, and one on love. Naturally I chose the last.

"Essays" offers exactly what its name promises, a series of essays charting a romantic relationship from inception to the painful end, and what lies after. As what I would consider the nerdiest treatment of a love story - ever, the teachings of the sages of philosophy , Plato, Hobbes, Marx (!), Mills, et al, are used to draw out meanings from specific moments in the relationship, and grippingly told in first person. Which is both odd, and interesting, at the same time. Odd because love stories are usually supposed to be emotional, and all this philosophising sometimes tend to seem like overanalysing, and interesting because, hey, turns out there are practical uses for philosophy after all.

At times however, you can't help but feel that the philosophical explanations are only there to sooth the wounds and allow the 'narrator' to - yes- move on. Nothing inherently wrong in that of course. Some do it by writing rap songs and no one seems to be that bothered by the sexist violent juvenile content in them, so if the intellectual alternative works for you, then by all means!

I have a strong suspicion that 500 days of Summer fans will find this book irresistable.

Favourite quotes (so far, and there are many!):

By contrast with the history of love, the history of philosophy shows a relentless concern with the discrepancy between appearance and reality. 'I think I see a tree outside,' the philosopher mutters, 'but is it not possible that this is just an optical illusion behind my own retina?' 'I think I see my wife,' mutters the philosopher, adding hopefully, 'but is it not possible that she too is just an optical illusion?'

Only poverty, either of love or money, leads one to question the system - perhaps the reason why lovers do not make great revolutionaries

• The Sorrows of Young Werther

Yet another tragic love story, only this time from the 18th century.

I'm actually reading this on my iPod touch using stanza,which us a pretty cool app. But unlike a mobile phone, the iPod is a sensible eBook reader. Anyway about the app, besides the obvious reading you do with it, you can also put in annotations, seek definitions, and perhaps my favourite feature, the bookmarks tell you how many percent into a book you're currently at. Anyone who's ever dealt with an ebook will know how much of relief it is to know how long before the book ends, because unlike real books, you can't see the physical progress you make when reading an ebook.

• The Book of Dead Philosophers
  

• Soul Mountain

1430 Raya message

(NOTE: Post-Khutbah edits)

By the time you read this, it may already be eid in your part of the world.
You may enjoy the festivities and celebrations, or you may not. You may like the custom and traditions, or you may not. Whatever your view, the holiday's back again so might as well make the most of it.

Many will already be - or have someone else- ironing their colourful new clothes. If you, like me, are of Malay persuasion, you may also have ready by now your buttons, and songkoks, and songkets. I've only mentioned them in plurals but it's ok to have just one.

Most will now be with their families. Maybe you're reading this in the Klang Valley, the last chance for access to a working internet before balik kampung tomorrow. Maybe you won't even see this post until the meriam buluhs are silent, and your Paklong Makngah Ayah Cik all on their way back to their respective homes all over Malaysia.

Or you could just be at home watching Ria, and ignoring all the children scarfing down your mum's kuih. But you'll be there: Home.

Me? I'll be here in Melbourne working on my assignment, with raya songs playing in the background.

Don't bother with pity. It may not be home, but it's close enough.

Now for the difficult matter of forgiveness.

Let's for a minute believe that the Eid practice of seeking forgiveness is no superficial ritual, and that those are real tears rolling down her cheeks.

Cynicism makes all that difficult to swallow, but  forgiveness is as much a part of Eid as discipline and abstinence were for Ramadhan. Religion teaches us that without reconciliation - of conflicts, misunderstandings, disputes, etc., everything we put in the past month hangs in limbo.

Interesting idea isn't it? That the improvement of your relationship with god is entirely contingent on your making peace with your fellow men. It's like saying being religious is pointless if you can't get along with other human beings.

So let's give it a go.

I'm no saint, and I'm pretty sure my wrongs fill volumes.
I therefore humbly and sincerely take this opportunity to minta maaf zahir dan batin from you and everyone reading this. Let's let bygones be bygoneslah ok?

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri dear readers. May Allah accept your Ramadhan's worth of fasting worship and good deeds.