Description
Book SynopsisJust as a garden needs worms, we need bad feelings....We tend to think about bad feelings--feelings like anger, envy, spite, and contempt--as the weeds in life''s garden. You may not be able to get rid of them completely, but you''re supposed to battle them as best you can. The best garden is one with no weeds. The best life is one with no bad feelings. But this isn''t quite right, according to philosopher Krista K. Thomason. Bad feelings are the worms, not the weeds. They''re just below the surface, and we like to pretend they aren''t there, but they serve an important purpose. Worms are just as much a part of the garden as the flowers, and their presence means your garden is thriving. Gardens aren''t better off without their worms, and neither are we. The trick is learning how to enjoy our gardens, worms and all. Thomason draws on insights from the history of philosophy to show what we''ve gotten wrong about bad feelings and to show readers how we can live better with them. There is
Table of ContentsPart I: The Garden Introduction: Weeds, Worms and Communing with the Dead Chapter One: Emotional Saints Chapter Two: Taming the Beasts Chapter Three: Make Room for the Devil Part II: The Worms Chapter Four: Anger Chapter Five: Envy and Jealousy Chapter Six: Spite and Schadenfreude Chapter Seven: Contempt Conclusion: An Elegy for Zilu Acknowledgments Notes
