Review of Personal Wisdom
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[i][Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Personal Wisdom" by Dan Siegel.][/i] [rwc=id453555-125]3 out of 4 stars.[/rwc]Personal Wisdom: Meaning in a Pragmatic World is a study of human nature. Author Dan Siegel draws upon decades of experience as a psychiatric social worker in his attempt to improve our understanding of ourselves as individuals and as members of society. In doing so, he aims to ease the growing sense of isolation and fragmentation that people often experience in modern life.
The book consists of eight chapters, including the introduction, and a bibliography. The first chapter defines the problem as the author sees it. In essence, this is the constant struggle we all experience to reconcile our perception of the world, our subjective reality, with the pragmatic reality of the world as it exists. In the second chapter, the author lays out a model of human nature that consists of six elements: the childhood or infantile core that survives in a dormant state in all adults; the individual’s temperament, which interacts with that person’s emotions and childhood core; the individual’s emotions; the interpersonal orientation of the individual, which determines how we relate to others; the values, or collection of values, that a person adheres to; and finally, the individual’s judgment, described as something which holds the balance between the other elements.
While most of us do not routinely act like children, the author contends that the neural pathways formed in our brain during childhood remain. Inactive for most of the time, they can be reactivated in times of acute stress, causing us to experience symptoms of anger, suspiciousness, depression, and anxiety. Subsequent chapters look at how these dynamics play out in a practical sense in different areas of human activity.
This is, essentially, an academic textbook. The author uses diagrams, tables, facts and figures, and references to other sources. While he writes clearly and precisely, it requires a lot of concentration to follow his reasoning and his laying out of complex patterns of human behavior. Given this, I would have found it helpful had each chapter ended with a summary of its main points. Readers may find that they relate better to the chapters that illustrate how the author’s model plays out in real-life situations. Having spent nearly forty years working in an office environment, for example, I found many of the scenarios presented in the chapter which covered the workplace particularly interesting. The chapter on marital conflict may also strike a chord with readers in long-term relationships.
There are quite a few minor errors in the book. Most of these weren’t distracting, but a couple of recurring mistakes (‘marital’ spelled as ‘martial’, for example) and inconsistencies snagged my attention. I am awarding the book three out of four stars, deducting one star on account of the errors. The book is free from any kind of profanity or sexually-explicit material. I recommend it to anyone with a professional or academic interest in understanding more about human nature and human relationships in general. ****** [i]Personal Wisdom [/i] View: [url=http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=453555]on Bookshelves[/url]
The book consists of eight chapters, including the introduction, and a bibliography. The first chapter defines the problem as the author sees it. In essence, this is the constant struggle we all experience to reconcile our perception of the world, our subjective reality, with the pragmatic reality of the world as it exists. In the second chapter, the author lays out a model of human nature that consists of six elements: the childhood or infantile core that survives in a dormant state in all adults; the individual’s temperament, which interacts with that person’s emotions and childhood core; the individual’s emotions; the interpersonal orientation of the individual, which determines how we relate to others; the values, or collection of values, that a person adheres to; and finally, the individual’s judgment, described as something which holds the balance between the other elements.
While most of us do not routinely act like children, the author contends that the neural pathways formed in our brain during childhood remain. Inactive for most of the time, they can be reactivated in times of acute stress, causing us to experience symptoms of anger, suspiciousness, depression, and anxiety. Subsequent chapters look at how these dynamics play out in a practical sense in different areas of human activity.
This is, essentially, an academic textbook. The author uses diagrams, tables, facts and figures, and references to other sources. While he writes clearly and precisely, it requires a lot of concentration to follow his reasoning and his laying out of complex patterns of human behavior. Given this, I would have found it helpful had each chapter ended with a summary of its main points. Readers may find that they relate better to the chapters that illustrate how the author’s model plays out in real-life situations. Having spent nearly forty years working in an office environment, for example, I found many of the scenarios presented in the chapter which covered the workplace particularly interesting. The chapter on marital conflict may also strike a chord with readers in long-term relationships.
There are quite a few minor errors in the book. Most of these weren’t distracting, but a couple of recurring mistakes (‘marital’ spelled as ‘martial’, for example) and inconsistencies snagged my attention. I am awarding the book three out of four stars, deducting one star on account of the errors. The book is free from any kind of profanity or sexually-explicit material. I recommend it to anyone with a professional or academic interest in understanding more about human nature and human relationships in general. ****** [i]Personal Wisdom [/i] View: [url=http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=453555]on Bookshelves[/url]
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