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Sloww Sunday Newsletter 045 (Jan 17, 2021) — The Purpose of Purpose, A Psychological Revolution, & More
Hi friends,
Sloww Sunday is a free newsletter delivering the latest from Sloww along with the most interesting things I came across this week.
New News
🛒 I’m working on what I’m informally referring to as a “Wisdom Shop.” Instead of physical products, it will offer digital knowledge products. I’m envisioning a one-stop shop on the site to house all eBooks, memberships, future courses, and more.
🧘 I started reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. A book summary is coming soon. A couple years ago, I read A New Earth (book summary) and loved it. An upcoming post for Premium members will be a synthesis of both books—everything you need to know from Eckhart.
Sloww Stuff
🆕 Darwin, Munger, & More: “Seeking Wisdom” by Peter Bevelin (Book Summary)
I read Seeking Wisdom because I noticed that many people had it on their recommended reading lists—some even say it’s their top book of all-time. This book is for you if you’re interested in: how our thinking is influenced, why we make misjudgments, and guidelines for better thinking.
“If we understand what influences us, we might avoid certain traps and understand why others act like they do. And if we learn and understand what works and doesn’t work and find some framework for reasoning, we will make better judgments.” — Peter Bevelin
Modern Knowledge
🧬 The Purpose of Purpose — Richard Dawkins
(50 mins | YouTube)
“We are obsessed with the ‘Why?’ question as a species. We humans are obsessed with purpose.” — Richard Dawkins
This speech is fascinating on multiple levels (tip: it gets started at the 8:50 mark). Is the question of purpose even an appropriate question to ask when it comes to living things? Why is it that humans seek goals that have nothing to do with the survival and propagation of their genes?
- Natural Selection & Two Types of Purpose: “Everything about animals and plants that looks as if it’s been designed for a purpose has in fact been shaped by the slow sculpting of natural selection. I’m calling this kind of pseudo-purposiveness ‘Archeo-Purpose.’ It’s the ancient kind of purpose before the human kind of purpose (‘Neo-Purpose’).”
- Dawkins’ Thesis: “Neo-Purpose is itself an evolved adaptation with a survival value or Archeo-Purpose.”
- What does that actually mean? “Why aren’t all our goals related to the one central goal of propagating our genes? The answer is that it’s our capacity to set up goals and to reprogram our goal-seeking machinery rapidly and flexibly that’s been built into us by natural selection … Precisely because of its flexible reprogrammability, it’s highly prone to seek new goals.”
Timeless Wisdom
🧠 Pioneers in Perspective — The Humanistic Psychology Revolution
(30 mins | YouTube)
“Humanistic psychology seems to be a far more hopeful and encouraging way of conceding of any and every area of human knowledge.” — Maslow
This 1971 film includes short video introductions to: Abraham Maslow, Gardner Murphy, Carl Rogers, Rollo May, Paul Tillich, Fritz Perls, Viktor Frankl, and Alan Watts. It’s amazing that this kind of rare content has found its way to YouTube. If you’d like to dive deeper, check out:
- Maslow: The Farther Reaches of Human Nature (Book Summary | Self-Actualization | Transcendence)
- Frankl: Man’s Search for Meaning (Book Summary | Top Quotes)
- Watts: Top Quotes
💭 Deep Quote
“In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historians will see is not technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time—literally—substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society is totally unprepared for it.” — Peter Drucker (1909 – 2005)
📚 Sloww eBooks
😃 The Hierarchy of Happiness: 100+ Powerful Perspectives on How to be Happy
Sign up for the Sloww Sunday newsletter, and you’ll receive this free eBook in your Welcome email.
🌀 Ikigai 2.0: A Step-by-Step Guidebook to Finding Life Purpose & Making Money Meaningfully
The eBook includes a 70-page guidebook outlining the exact model I used to find my purpose—along with a 20-page workbook to help you find yours.
🔒 Join 400+ Members from 40+ Countries
Sloww Premium officially crossed the 400-member mark thanks to the 14 new members who signed up last week! If you’re thinking about joining, you can still get the lowest price ever for a limited time. It’s a no-brainer compared to those $5 per month memberships that add up to $60 per year.
“I recently became a premium member. I’d like to congratulate you on developing one of the few thoughtful and well-presented blogs and websites. I now consider Sloww one of my core thinking sites, along with Tim Ferriss, Farnam Street, and Brain Pickings … Sloww is the equivalent of being more aware and appreciating the substance of our intellectual capabilities.” — Richard S. (See 20+ additional testimonials)
Immediate lifetime access to:
🔓 The new “Ikigai 2.0” eBook (guidebook + workbook)
🔓 25+ exclusive posts (100,000+ insight-dense words)
🔓 25+ member-only infographics (not published anywhere else)
Members are saying:
🚀 “Joining Premium has changed my life”
💪 “Personal and spiritual growth on steroids”
🧠 “Truly stimulating as well as calming for the mind”
💯 “The BEST value on the internet”
🌎 “Changes the way you view & interact with the world”
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Have a deep week!
Kyle Kowalski
Founder, Sloww
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