Nguyet Tran
First half: ππ₯πππ€βοΈπ΅
Second half: π±βοΈβ¨πβ€οΈβπ©Ήπ§π
My overall impressions:
1. Leo Tolstoy was incredibly rational and articulate. Whether or not I agree with all of his conclusions, I can clearly see how deeply he thought through everything. He explained his inner thoughts with vivid metaphors that make abstract existential dread feel understandable. Iβve had similar existential crises since I was a teenager, but I never had the ability to describe those feelings so clearly.
2. His turn toward faith felt irrationally rational, which is what makes the book so fascinating. Tolstoy concluded that if life was rationally meaningless, then reason alone cannot save a person from despair. Faith, although irrational, becomes then capable of giving life meaning. This still feels relevant today, since many people ultimately fall back on faith, spirituality, or belief during difficult times in order to keep going.
3. I admire that Tolstoy approached faith critically rather than blindly. He fully acknowledged that organized religion contained both truth and falsehood, and could sometimes even justify atrocities, such as the Russian Orthodox Church supporting war and killing back then. This awareness separated him from blind believers who may act against the very teachings they claimed to follow. What Tolstoy truly valued seemed to be the compassionate and moral teachings at the core of religion, while still preserving his own conscience and sense of righteousness.
4. One thing that annoyed me was his claim that people who do not recognize lifeβs meaninglessness are either young, unintelligent, or women. I know it's way back then in the past, but I'm still annoyed.
Favorite quotes:
- βI united myself with my forefathers: the father, mother, and grandparents I loved. They and all my predecessors believed and lived, and they produced me.β
- βIn order for the truth to be attained there must be no separation; and for there to be no separation we must love and make peace with those who are not in agreement with us.β
- "I realized that there was no meaning to be found here. It was the activities of the labouring people, those who produce life, that presented itself to me as the only true way. I realized that the meaning provided by this life was truth and I accepted it."
First half: ππ₯πππ€βοΈπ΅
Second half: π±βοΈβ¨πβ€οΈβπ©Ήπ§π
My overall impressions:
1. Leo Tolstoy was incredibly rational and articulate. Whether or not I agree with all of his conclusions, I can clearly see how deeply he thought through everything. He explained his inner thoughts with vivid metaphors that make abstract existential dread feel understandable. Iβve had similar existential crises since I was a teenager, but I never had the ability to describe those feelings so clearly.
2. His turn toward faith felt irrationally rational, which is what makes the book so fascinating. Tolstoy concluded that if life was rationally meaningless, then reason alone cannot save a person from despair. Faith, although irrational, becomes then capable of giving life meaning. This still feels relevant today, since many people ultimately fall back on faith, spirituality, or belief during difficult times in order to keep going.
3. I admire that Tolstoy approached faith critically rather than blindly. He fully acknowledged that organized religion contained both truth and falsehood, and could sometimes even justify atrocities, such as the Russian Orthodox Church supporting war and killing back then. This awareness separated him from blind believers who may act against the very teachings they claimed to follow. What Tolstoy truly valued seemed to be the compassionate and moral teachings at the core of religion, while still preserving his own conscience and sense of righteousness.
4. One thing that annoyed me was his claim that people who do not recognize lifeβs meaninglessness are either young, unintelligent, or women. I know it's way back then in the past, but I'm still annoyed.
Favorite quotes:
- βI united myself with my forefathers: the father, mother, and grandparents I loved. They and all my predecessors believed and lived, and they produced me.β
- βIn order for the truth to be attained there must be no separation; and for there to be no separation we must love and make peace with those who are not in agreement with us.β
- "I realized that there was no meaning to be found here. It was the activities of the labouring people, those who produce life, that presented itself to me as the only true way. I realized that the meaning provided by this life was truth and I accepted it."