New Philosopher Health

I enjoyed the issue on the Self more than this issue on Health. It was still a great read, and informative. Join me and get a glimpse into what I found noteworthy in New Philosopher: Fixing the Living to Make a Killing.

Quotes and thoughts while reading:

Showing off the shiny red rump: I get it, I really do. We have advanced to a point where we don't really need to run around, we don't need to defend ourselves against other animals. We have 21st century software running on 600 year old hardware. So should we just let the hardware decay because we don't need it anymore? I do feel, that if you spent all your time "showing off that shiny red rump" you'd be a pretty pitiful person, but I think the same is true if you spent all your time alone, physically withering away, while your mind expanded. A balance is needed, certainly, such that you get some physical exercise, and some mental. "We don't require bulging quads or rock hard abs if we spend most days plonked on our glutes", but if you want to live longer sitting on your glutes, you should probably work out other bits of your body from time to time.

"Ancient Greek physician Herophilos said, 'When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied.' " (p 55) This fits with my world view, although New Philosopher brings up the good point of, what is good health? I think each of us knows what good health is, and when we are missing that Heophilos is correct.

Medicating the masses: It was really great to see the synthesis of multiple arguments, from big pharma paying kickbacks to doctors, to a discussion on why SSRIs are prescribed "Because they work", to a comparison of the medical industry to the neoliberal market. It's definitely worth another read.

Couch Warrior: Hmm, what a good read, that I had not really thought about. The difference between the couch warrior (the fan who vehemently beats his chest for his team, yet stays on his couch) to the weekend the warrior (the fan who actually gets out on the weekend and plays the game, and therefore has a sense of what the athlete is actually doing). It was great to get this juxtaposition, and to reflect on how many sedentary football(just an example, apply to any other sport as well) there are, and how many of them just virtually live through their idols. We watch other people "cook, bake, perform music, trek solo through the mountains...". It's amazing! We can do all these things, but we've gotten to a point where we'd rather watch someone else do it. And I think something that is missed a little bit, is the discussion that what we are watching is not reality. I watch someone make an apple pie on TV, and then I try and cook that apple pie. Mine will probably not look like theirs, but how many takes did it take for theirs to look perfect? How was their apple pie doctored for photos, while mine will never be? People get caught up in their creations being imperfect, or not matching their expectations, when their expectations are lying in a fantasy land?

Being mortal: is definitely in need of another read at some point. There are a myriad of discussion in this interview detailing healthy societies, the responsibility of society to keep its members healthy, and so on. Thought provoking, with tough answers, Hilde Lindemann offers responses to chew on.