The Guardian: Russell Brand on monkeys and inequality
“Edward Slingerland, a professor of ancient Chinese philosophy at Stanford University, demonstrated this instinct to me with the use of hazelnuts. As we spoke, there was a bowl of them on the table. “Russell,” he said, scooping up a handful, “we humans have an inbuilt tendency towards fairness. If offered an unfair deal, we will want to reject it. If I have a huge bowl of nuts and offer you just one or two, how do you feel?”
The answer was actually quite complex.”
Russell Brand, “What Monkeys and the Queen Taught Me about Inequality,” The Guardian, October 13th 2014.
Los Angeles Review of Books: art and unselfconscious spontaneity
“Almost all the arts of life are enhanced when performed with unselfconscious spontaneity — think shooting hoops, playing a complicated musical passage, dining with friends. The moment we try not to try is often the moment performance collapses in a counterproductive muddle. This “paradox of wu-wei,” as Edward Slingerland calls it, can be explained as the goal of trying not to try. This ambitious book reprises much of the author’s previous work on classical Chinese philosophical cultivation of wu-wei (see his 2003 book, Effortless action) and broadens the scope of his previous engagement with cognitive science, particularly notions of embodied mind.”
Andrew B. Irvine, “The Paradox of wu-wei,” Los Angeles Review of Books, September 2nd 2014.
Psychologies: take a break from striving
“We live in a fast paced world where often our only relief comes from a two-week holiday which, of course, speeds by and before you know it you’re back, striving to get ahead again. What if you could take a break and not feel guilty, but instead bask in the unhurried glow and still achieve your milestones? Better yet, what if you could forget about trying to be the best and surrender to a happier, less stressful, but equally successful life? Sounds too good to be true? Keep reading...”
“Life in the Slow Lane,” Psychologies, August 1st 2014.
New Statesman: True and false spontaneity
“Live for the moment. Be spontaneous. Be free and happy. Don’t worry about the future. Act as though it’s your last day on earth. Such is one modern conception of the good life. Adverts encourage us to drop everything and jet off for a city break at the last moment, or to walk at random into a bar where we are sure to meet a new gang of stock-photo besties, all ostentatiously sipping the same brand of transparent liquor. People are reluctant to make concrete social arrangements, so just say, “Text me.” Serendipity is our friend; planning is for losers. “Spontaneity” is rhetorically offered as the reason to celebrate both online social media and last-minute travel bucket shops.”
Steven Poole, “Think before you act: against the modern cult of spontaneity,” New Statesman, July 16th 2014.
The Huffington Post: never was there such an important book that takes itself so lightly
“In his new book Trying Not to Try, the University of British Columbia Asian Studies and Embodied Cognition professor Edward Slingerland treats us to a work of seminal importance. Yet never was there such an important book that takes itself so lightly. Slingerland explains the correspondence between ancient Chinese philosophical ideas about wu-wei, or doing by not doing, and modern neuroscience. In doing so in erudite fashion, he also manages to discuss Woody Allen, magic mushrooms, his daughter’s storybooks, Luke Skywalker and how hard it is to get a date when you’re desperate.”
David Vognar, “Book Review: Trying Not to Try,” The Huffington Post, April 15th 2014.
The Optimist: De Chinese begrippen wu-wei 無為 en de 德
“In Boek op woensdag besteedt The Optimist aandacht aan een mooi, inspirerend, interessant of indrukwekkend boek. Deze week een interview met Edward Slingerland, hoogleraar Aziatische Wetenschappen en auteur van het boek Proberen niet te proberen. Proberen niet te proberen De Chinese begrippen wu-wei 無為 en de 德 kunnen ons helpen spontaner en ongedwongen in het leven te staan. Kun je je best doen om ergens niet je best op te doen?”
“Boek op woensdag: de paradox van wu-wei,” The Optimist, July 9th 2014.
Der Standard: die praktische Umsetzung chinesischer Weisheit
““Verflixt und verdammt” - so entsteht keine Höchstleistung. Edward Slingerland, Professor für Asienstudien, zeigt die praktische Umsetzung chinesischer Weisheit”
“Bleib geschmeidig! Wie sich Ziele leichter erreichen lassen,” Der Standard, June 1st 2014.
De Kennis Van Nu: handelen door niet te handelen
“Wat hebben een 11.500 jaar oude tempel en het uitschakelen van je bewuste brein met elkaar te maken? Over de paradox van wu wei.
Gecultiveerde gedachteloosheid. Onbewuste spontaniteit. Being in the zone. In zijn nieuwste boek Proberen niet te proberen belicht de Canadese filosoof, psycholoog en taalkundige Edward Slingerland het Chinese begrip wu wei, of wel ‘handelen door niet te handelen’. Een paradox die hij in zijn boek onder meer verheldert door gebruik te maken van de nieuwste inzichten uit de cognitiewetenschappen.”
“Spontaniteit als bron van beschaving,” De Kennis Van Nu, April 29th 2014.
The Vancouver Sun: modern china and ancient chinese philosophy
“Choking pollution. Grim competition. Education by rote. Authoritarian rule. Untrustworthy bureaucracy. Business cronyism. Rampant consumerism.
Mainland China — largely in light of waves of negative articles in the Western media — does not have the greatest international image.
But many people in the East and West believe ancient Chinese philosophy has the potential to lift not only the world’s most populous country, but the planet, out of a downward spiral.”
Douglas Todd, “China Searches for its Ecological Soul,” The Vancouver Sun, April 12th 2014.
Brain Pickings: at once disconcerting and comforting
““The best way to get approval is not to need it,” Hugh MacLeod memorably counseled. We now know that perfectionism kills creativity and excessive goal-setting limits our success rather than begetting it — all different manifestations of the same deeper paradox of the human condition, at once disconcerting and comforting, which Edward Slingerland, professor of Asian Studies and Embodied Cognition at the University of British Columbia and a renowned scholar of Chinese thought, explores in Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity.”
Maria Popova, “Trying Not to Try: How to Cultivate the Paradoxical Art of Spontaneity Through the Chinese Concept of Wu-Wei,” Brain Pickings, April 1st 2014.