Why is this book so praised? The philosophical content is so simple it hurts. Very tacky book. It reminds me of the cheesy motivational quotes displayed on a photo of the Eiffel Tower with an instagram filter.
it's for gay people who haven't come out to their parents yet.
2deep4u
I think Paulo Coehlo or Marcus Aurelius is more your level.
>>7737574
how far did you get?
>>7737633
Finished it yesterday
>>7737574
The point is that it's supposed to be that simple. So simple anyone could grasp it
>>7737574
>The philosophical content is so simple it hurts
That was like the whole point
>>7737574
written by hippies for hippies.
white buddhism is a cancer
>OP is striving for complexity in his life when he should really be seeking to simplify his worldview!
>>7737574
>I'm such a pseudo-intellectual elitist that I need overly complex and dense philosophies and actually go out of my way to criticize people who find comfort and meaning in simplicity
>>7737668
I'm not trying to brag (I don't know shit about philosophy), but to understand. Is that really why people like it? For its simplicity?
>>7737576
first post best post
>>7737688
They dont like it because the text or philosophy is simple, they like it because it espouses happiness in a simple life. In the end Siddhartha doesnt achieve nirvana/paradise through a complex religious/philosophical school, but by realizing that he is a little man, living a little life.
When I read it as a youngster it was the first book to make me think about the futility of teaching wisdom
>>7737578
Lateral move.
part of it too was Hesse's works got really popular from the 1960s psychedelic scene: Steppenwolf the band, for example. Finding simplicity and happiness was a cultural godsend during the 60s and that's really why it resonates so well.
Do you really think that the book wants or intends to be a dense philosophical text? No, The appeal is in simplicity. That IS the meaning of it. Besides that, it wouldn't be praised if the themes were any more elusive.
>>7737668
This
Not every book has to be Being and Time
>>7737574
i enjoyed it op. consider me pleb i suppose. Not everything must be maximalist to be enjoyable - sometimes less is more.
Agreed, I thought it was shit. Why waste your time reading a western reinterpretation of eastern concepts rather than the original source material?
>>7738093
Because misinterpretation of cultural works by other civilizations leads to fascinating conclusions.
>all these plebs who still think hesse was just reinterpreting eastern mysticism
>none of them have even read narcissus and goldmund and glass bead game
wew lad
>>7738093
because it's isn't meant to be a source material, your majesty
>>7737688
Simplicity is the end goal for everything especially art.
Is criticizing Siddhartha a /lit/ meme? I swear there's at least 3 or 4 threads every month.
>>7738126
/lit/ is filled with pseuds and entry level readers who nonetheless want to feel smart and superior. they get validation from attacking what they perceive as "simple" literature. and even more broadly, most people here falsely equate criticizing everything with being "patrician." it's less a meme and more just a reflection of the demographic here.
>>7738093
>Why waste your time reading a western reinterpretation of eastern concepts rather than the original source material?
You know this pretty much applies to anything to do with religion right? And why stop at that, pretty much all philosophers are completely removed from the original Greeks by centuries.
