A Guide for the Perplexed
A Guide for the Perplexed is a short book by E. F. Schumacher, published in 1977. The title is a reference to Maimonides's The Guide for the Perplexed. Schumacher himself considered A Guide for the Perplexed to be his most important achievement, although he was better known for his 1973 environmental economics bestseller Small Is Beautiful, which made him a leading figure within the ecology movement. His daughter wrote that her father handed her the book on his deathbed, five days before he died and he told her "this is what my life has been leading to".[1] As the Chicago Tribune wrote, "A Guide for the Perplexed is really a statement of the philosophical underpinnings that inform Small Is Beautiful".
This article is about the book by E. F. Schumacher. For the 12th-century book by Maimonides, see The Guide for the Perplexed. For the novel by Gilad Atzmon, see A Guide to the Perplexed.Author
Schumacher describes his book as being concerned with how humans live in the world. It is also a treatise on the nature and organisation of knowledge and is something of an attack on what Schumacher calls "materialistic scientism". Schumacher argues that the current philosophical "maps" that dominate western thought and science are both overly narrow and based on some false premises. However, this book is only in small part a critique.
Schumacher put forward what he considers to be the four great truths of philosophy:
Schumacher identifies four fields of knowledge for the individual:
These four fields arise from combining two pairs: Myself and the World; and Outer Appearance and Inner Experience. He notes that humans only have direct access to fields one and four.
Field one is being aware of your feelings and thoughts and most closely correlates to self awareness. He argues this is fundamentally the study of attention. He differentiates between when one's attention is captured by the item it focusses upon, which is when a human being functions much like a machine; and when a person consciously directs their attention according to their choosing. This for him is the difference between "being lived" and living.
Field two is being aware of what other people are thinking and feeling.
Despite these problems, we do experience a "meeting of minds" with other individuals at certain times. People are even able to ignore the words actually said, and say something like "I don't agree with what you are saying; but I do agree with what you mean." Schumacher argues that one of the reasons we can understand other people is through bodily experience, because so many bodily expressions, gestures and postures are part of our common human heritage.
Schumacher observes that the traditional answer to the study of field two has been "You can understand others to the extent you understand yourself."[7] Schumacher points out that this is a logical development of the principle of "adequateness": how can you understand someone's pain unless you too have experienced pain?
Field three is understanding oneself as an objective phenomenon. Knowledge in field three requires a person to be aware of what other people think of them. Schumacher suggests that the most fruitful advice in this field can be gained by studying the Fourth Way concept of "external considering".
Schumacher observes that relying on just field one knowledge makes one feel that they are the centre of the universe; while focusing on field three knowledge makes one feel that they are far more insignificant. Seeking self-knowledge via both fields provides more balanced and accurate self-knowledge.
Field four is the behaviourist study of the outside world. Science is highly active in this area of knowledge, and many people believe it is the only field in which true knowledge can be gained. For Schumacher, applying the scientific approach is highly appropriate in this field.
Schumacher summarises his views about the four fields of knowledge as follows:
Art[edit]
Schumacher, in a digression from his main argument, discusses the nature and importance of art. He notes that there is considerable confusion about the nature and meaning of art; but argues that this confusion dissipates when one considers art with relation to its effect on human beings. Most art fits into two categories. If art is designed to primarily affect our feelings then it is entertainment; while if art is primarily designed to affect our will then it is propaganda.
Great art is a multi-faceted phenomenon, which is not content to be merely propaganda or entertainment; but by appealing to people's higher intellectual and emotional faculties, it is designed to communicate truth. When entertainment and propaganda are transcended by, and subordinated to, the communication of truth, art helps develop our higher faculties and that makes it "great".