Howphilosophycanteachustobelessanxiousaboutbeinganxiousbyunderstandingthatit’sanessentialpartofbeinghumanToday,anxietyisusuallythoughtofasapathology,themostdiagnosedandmedicatedofallpsychologicaldisorders.Butanxietyisn’talwaysoronlyamedicalcondition.Indeed,manyphilosophersarguethatanxietyisanormal,evenessential,partofbeinghuman,andthatcomingtotermswiththisfactispotentiallytransformative,allowingustolivemoremeaningfullivesbygivingusaricherunderstandingofourselves.InAnxiety,SamirChopraexploresvaluableinsightsaboutanxietyofferedbyancientandmodernphilosophies--Buddhism,existentialism,psychoanalysis,andcriticaltheory.Blendingmemoirandphilosophy,healsotellshowseriousanxietyhasaffectedhisownlife--andhowphilosophyhashelpedhimcopewithit.Choprashowsthatmanyphilosophers--includingtheBuddha,Kierkegaard,Nietzsche,Freud,andHeidegger--haveviewedanxietyasaninevitablehumanresponsetoexistence:tobeistobeanxious.DrawingonKarlMarxandHerbertMarcuse,Chopraexamineshowpovertyandothermaterialconditionscanmakeanxietyworse,butheemphasizesthatnoteventherichcanescapeit.Norcanthemedicated.Inseparablefromthehumancondition,anxietyisindispensableforgraspingit.Philosophymaynotbeabletocureanxietybut,byleadingustogreaterself-knowledgeandself-acceptance,itmaybeabletomakeuslessanxiousaboutbeinganxious.Personal,poignant,andhopeful,Anxietyisabookforanyonewhoiscuriousaboutrethinkinganxietyandlearningwhyitmightbeasourcenotonlyofsufferingbutofinsight.
