Jonathan van Belle

Aug 26, 2024 | fivebooks.com | John Kaag |Jonathan van Belle |William James

William James was a 19th-century American intellectual who made contributions to a range of disciplines including psychology and philosophy. Despite being written more than a century ago, his books continue to be recommended by experts on Five Books for a variety of reasons. A popular book introducing William James and why he’s still relevant today is Sick Souls, Healthy Minds: How William James Can Save Your Life by American philosopher John Kaag. William was the brother of novelist Henry James.

Jan 29, 2024 | perennial.substack.com | J.W. Bertolotti |John Kaag |Jonathan van Belle

Dear Readers,Here is the latest Monday Muse with a meditation from our Dying Every Day series, a perennial reminder, and a perennial insight to consider. Be wise and be well this week!The Dying Every Day series is now part of the Monday Muse! This series focuses on delivering Stoic meditations on the art of living. Each meditation provides a quote, a selected passage (from an original Stoic text), and a daily exercise.

Jun 26, 2023 | lithub.com | John Kaag |Jonathan van Belle

Let us consider the brighter and sillier side of Henry David Thoreau on the subject of work. Sometimes, when work is at its worst—its most exacting, alienating, rushed—we need grim humor to be honest with those around us, to break through all of the toxic positivity, prim professionalism, and the artificiality of a human animal in the strange and difficult circumstance of being on the clock. Thoreau was an absolute master of humor.

Jun 14, 2023 | mrt.com | John Kaag |Jonathan van Belle |Nathan Wolff

Princeton University Press. 232 pp. $27.95 - - - Henry David Thoreau's mother, it is often said, did his laundry. The continued attraction of this old chestnut - debunked by Rebecca Solnit and Laura Dassow Walls, among others - is that it undermines Thoreau's supposed claim to manly self-reliance on Walden Pond.

Jun 12, 2023 | powells.com | John Kaag |Jonathan van Belle

by John Kaag and Jonathan Van Belle Release Date: 6/15/2023  Upcoming EventHenry at Work: Thoreau on Making a Living (Princeton) invites readers to rethink how we work today by exploring an aspect of Henry David Thoreau that has often been overlooked: Thoreau the worker. John Kaag and Jonathan van Belle overturn the popular misconception of Thoreau as a navel-gazing recluse who was scornful of work and other mundanities.