In Praise of Weakness (Subway Line)

Alexandre Jollien; Matthieu Ricard (Foreword); Michael Eskin (Translator)

ISBN 10: 1935830422 / ISBN 13: 9781935830429

Published by Upper West Side Philosophers, Incorporated, 2019

About this Item

Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include "From the library of" labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys, dvds, etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.

Seller Inventory # ZBV.1935830422.VG

Bibliographic Details

• Title: In Praise of Weakness (Subway Line)
• Publisher: Upper West Side Philosophers, Incorporated
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1935830422
• ISBN 13: 9781935830429
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: very_good

About this title

Synopsis

Born with cerebral palsy, renowned thinker and spiritual teacher Alexandre Jollien tells the story of how philosophy has changed his life, how it has helped him to confront his fate, endow it with meaning, and turn his disability into a source of strength and creative energy. Imbued with human warmth and wisdom, this modern Socratic dialogue is a testament to the inestimable value of friendship, the power of imagination, and the will to overcome. A book that inspires and gives courage.

About the Author

Born in Sierre, Switzerland, in 1975 with cerebral palsy, Alexandre Jollien grew up in a home for the severely disabled, where, as he laconically notes, 'rolling cigars' was his 'professional horizon'. But then, completely by chance, he discovered philosophy, and his life was changed forever. Against all odds, he succeeded in completing secondary education and enrolled at the Université de Fribourg, thus escaping a future staked out for him by his caregivers. While studying abroad at Trinity College, Dublin, he met his future wife, with whom he has three children. He published his first book In Praise of Weakness at the age of twenty-two, and has since established himself as a profound and compelling moral thinker and spiritual teacher. Not only is he the first and only congenitally severely disabled thinker in the history of philosophy, but he is also the first original philosopher to have consistently reflected on what it means to be born and live with disability not as an insurmountable obstacle but as a source of strength and creative energy. A prolific writer and frequent public speaker, Alexandre Jollien has been awarded the Prix Mottart for Literature and the Prix Montyon for Ethics (both by the Académie Française). After spending three years in Seoul, South Korea, he and his family recently returned to Switzerland and currently reside in Lausanne.