edmundwong
the book
Growing up in Singapore has been challenging for me. I didn't know much about life or economy. I didn't know what I want to do apart from playing. I know I had to study and get a job. In school we had to write compositions about our professions when we grow up. I had never thougtht I would be a philosopher, let alone writing about social philosophy. It is just that growing up with a single parent is tough. It is tougher when she is uneducated and I had to learn most things by myself. It was after my National Service that I decided to further studies in UK and was exposed to western philosophy and psychology. The life in UK exposed me to something that I did not notice when growing up in Singapore. I find the local social scene unsatisfactory. They are mainly Confucians, Muslims, Christians, freethinkers and humanists. Most of the time, they are preoccupied with wealth accumulation.
Religion does not give me the inner fulfilment that I hope to find either. In addition, most were based on Singaporeans' interpretation. Often, I feel that everything that Singaporeans do has got to do with wealth creation or at least with the expenditure of it. It ends up as a social trap and what Pope Francis refers to as "the cult of money." Organised religion involves more fear-mongering than cultivating an inner grace and peace.
This book is about how I relate Aristotle ethics to the present day. I find Aristotle ethics to most suit my needs as a man and lover. It does not pretend to be more than what it seeks, which involves the golden mean. It does require us to think and explore the values to find balance and achieve wisdom with intellectual and moral virtues. I also find other philosophers particularly insightful and thought-provoking. They offer me explanation and exploration on subjects like love, sex, and death. Freudian psychoanalysis are also very penetrating in their findings and insights. I needed some contemporary psychological theory, not in-depth psychoanalysis, to support Aristotle ethics (intellectual and moral virtues). Hence the psychological background of my social philosophy.
A social science and a social philosophy based on Aristotle ethics with psychological theories to complement Aristotle’s model of intellectual and moral virtues. There are also some of my original ideas to make it more contemporary and acceptable for the present time. The overall theme is virtuous living (or ethical living) that leads us to a flourishing form of life (Aristotle calls it eudaimonia).
A social science and a social philosophy based on Aristotle ethics with psychological theories to complement Aristotle’s model of intellectual and moral virtues. There are also some of my original ideas to make it more contemporary and acceptable for the present time. The overall theme is virtuous living (or ethical living) that leads us to a flourishing form of life (Aristotle calls it eudaimonia).
My wish is simply to share what I enjoy doing, apart from creating useful ideas to improve the world, through my book on Aristotle ethics. I hope to make others understand religion, science and (social) philosophy and how they play an increasingly integral part in the Asian century. The least I hope to achieve is that the readers ask the right kind of questions in life in order to learn more about themselves and the social milieu they are living in. Because everyone of us are affected by the social sciences (politics, economics and sociology), this book will, I hope, allow us to understand why we are irrational and how we can make rational changes through reasonings in their life and achieving eudaimonia.
This is the story of an accidental philosopher.