The Book Shelf Question

'What is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations?' (Alice)

I heard the 'bookshelf' question the other day during a totally random encounter. 'What do you have on your bookshelf?'. I was thrilled - it's been a while. That used to be my question and the last time I asked was at least two years ago. The only reason I asked at the time was because with all my goodwill and mental capacity I couldn't have guessed what that colorful person could possibly keep on his bookshelf.

I vividly remember that particular conversation - he was swearing by 'Plato not Prozac' by Lou Marinoff. A smooth read, easily digested - a cheerleading version of entire human philosophy for a medicated nation as a possible alternative to common life problems, quite the off-the-shelf category quite typical for this environment. I swallowed it without chewing at the time, most was familiar, it was pleasing, with a 'let's all be holistic' touch, and I was somewhat dismissive. Went for it the other day with a less critical eye and thought: how can any anthology of human thought do justice to contemporary heritage when there is such a fusion of categories and disciplines? It is almost as if there is a glitch somewhere around the mid 20th century and each anthology gets tired as a hotchpotch of interdisciplinary thoughts starts blending and we see disappearance of categories which makes the filing rather difficult ( or a creation of a new, mega category?) I thought of it in the context of an intellectual exchange I had over the past few days on borders and boundaries, in a philosophical context - are they lines of separation, or lines of contact? Are they enduring or redundant? it is one of the most complex and dynamic academic debates of today and truly exciting. And I wanted to do some justice to living brains that are often neglected, and don't make into anthologies from various reasons.

Giorgio Agamben , Italian philosopher, introduced just recently the concept of 'homo sacer' - a sacred / accursed man, an inspiration driven from the ancient Roman law. A somewhat paradoxical idea of an individual who 'exists in the law as an exile'. 'it is only because of the law that society can recognize the individual as homo sacer, and so the law that mandates the exclusion is also what gives the individual an identity.' I found that truly inspiring if taken out of his political context ( he is a Zeitgeist/matrix kinda guy, post Sept 11 /Patriot Act / Guantanamo critic), a very fresh approach to old philosophical discussions on nature / levels of reality, 'bare' vs 'political life - levels of identity and acceptance... necessity of acknowledging and juggling the parallel dimensions we all live.

Visualizing my own bookshelf has always been a challenge! I am not orderly, and there has been so many different book shelfs. Most books are in boxes...and I have zero visual skills!

With eyes closed I currently see multiple books from the following authors in a front row which are pretty constant over the years:
Wilber ( and more Wilber), Jung, HHDL, Rumi, Gladwell, Zukav, Bach, Aristotle, Kolakowski and Chomsky. I need to draw a line!

A close friend said: you are not making any sense and can't possibly be for real with all these contrasts...perhaps a choice of literature that remains a fixture in the front row of any shelf best reflects just that.