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    In Praise of Weakness (with a Foreword by Matthieu Ricard)
    In Praise of Weakness (with a Foreword by Matthieu Ricard)
    In Praise of Weakness (with a Foreword by Matthieu Ricard)
    Ebook95 pages1 hour

    In Praise of Weakness (with a Foreword by Matthieu Ricard)

    By Alexandre Jollien

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    About this ebook

    ALEXANDRE JOLLIEN, who is the first and only major thinker and spiritual teacher in the history of philosophy to have been born with cerebral palsy, tells the story of how he grew up in a home for the severely disabled and was destined to roll cigars; how he discovered philosophy, which changed his life forever, helping him to confront his fate, endow it with meaning, and turn his disability into a source of strength and creative energy; how, against all odds, he fought his way out of the home and into high school and university, where as an undergraduate he wrote IN PRAISE OF WEAKNESS ... Imbued with human warmth and wisdom, this modern Socratic dialogue is a poignant testament to the inestimable value of friendship, the power of imagination, and the will to overcome. A book that inspires and gives courage.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUpper West Side Philosophers, Inc.
    Release dateMay 30, 2017
    ISBN9781935830436
    In Praise of Weakness (with a Foreword by Matthieu Ricard)
    Author

    Alexandre Jollien

    Born 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. 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.

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      Book preview

      In Praise of Weakness (with a Foreword by Matthieu Ricard) - Alexandre Jollien

      ~ Philosophical thinking is Yoga for the Mind® ~

      Upper West Side Philosophers, Inc. provides a publication venue for original philosophical thinking steeped in lived life, in line with our motto: philosophical living & lived philosophy.

      Published by Upper West Side Philosophers, Inc.

      P. O. Box 250645, New York, NY 10025, USA

      www.westside-philosophers.com / www.yogaforthemind.us

      English Translation Copyright © 2017 by Upper West Side Philosophers, Inc.

      Originally published as Éloge de la faiblessse

      Copyright © Éditions du Cerf 1999

      Smashwords Edition

      ISBN 978-1-935830-43-6

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. For all inquiries concerning permission to reuse material from any of our titles, please contact the publisher in writing, or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA (www.copyright.com).

      Yoga for the Mind©

      The colophon is a registered trademark of Upper West Side Philosophers, Inc.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Jollien, Alexandre, 1975- author.

      Title: In praise of weakness / Alexandre Jollien ; with a foreword by

         Matthieu Ricard ; translated from the French by Michael Eskin.

      Other titles: Eloge de la faiblesse. English

      Description: New York : Upper West Side Philosophers, Inc., 2017. | Series:

         Subway line ; No. 12 | Description based on print version record and CIP

         data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2017000450 (print) | LCCN 2017010058 (ebook) | ISBN

         9781935830436 () | ISBN 9781935830429 (alk. paper)

      Subjects: LCSH: Jollien, Alexandre, 1975- |

         Philosophy--Switzerland--Biography. | Cerebral palsy--Patients--Biography.

         | Developmental disabilities--Patients--Biography. | People with

         disabilities--Biography.

      Classification: LCC B4651.J654 (ebook) | LCC B4651.J654 A3 2017 (print) | DDC

         199/.494--dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017000450

      contents

      about this book

      dedication

      foreword

      on the characters in this book

      author’s note

      prologue

      one too many somersaults

      the strange creature that I am

      giving meaning to reality

      the sincerity of true kindness

      embracing our condition

      drawing strength from our weakness

      pity anesthetizes

      the other’s gaze

      the joy of being alive

      they talked and analyzed

      culture shock

      conditional happiness

      a man of god

      a craving for learning

      genuine friends

      marginal?

      about the authors

      also by alexandre jollien

      available & forthcoming from uwsp

      about this book

      A weak person isn’t necessarily a burden on others. Each of us freely disposes of his or her own weakness, and it’s up to us to employ it judiciously.

      —Alexandre Jollien

      Alexandre Jollien, who is the first and only philosopher and spiritual teacher in history to have been born with cerebral palsy, tells the story of how he grew up in an institution for the severely disabled and was destined to roll cigars; how he discovered philosophy, which changed his life forever, helping him to confront his fate, endow it with meaning, and turn his disability into a source of strength and creative energy; how, against all odds, he fought his way out of the institution and into high school and university, where as an undergraduate he wrote In Praise of Weakness …

      Imbued with human warmth and wisdom, this modern Socratic dialogue is a poignant testament to the inestimable value of friendship, the power of imagination, and the will to overcome.

      For my parents

      and for Étienne Parrat for the spirit of her faithful friendship.

      This book also owes a great debt to Pierre Carruzzo, André Gilloz, Antoine Maillard and Georges Savoy, whose support allowed me to embark on the liberating path of higher education. And for Laure, Marie-Madelaine, Nicole, Henri and Willy, who, together with them and many others, have accompanied me on my life’s joyous, if at times chaotic, journey.

      All my gratitude, finally, to my childhood companions, who have given me so much.

      foreword

      I have all the time in the world! Socrates says to Alexandre Jollien in this wonderful book.

      Who wouldn’t love to open their heart to Socrates and be guided by him through an intimate introspective dialogue? Alexandre used this approach during the most trying times of his life, as he badly needed a benevolent mentor. A mentor who would be available anywhere, anytime; a trustworthy guide whom he could rely upon on his arduous journey. Someone who would extend a loving hand in times of sadness and give him an energetic push in times of discouragement.

      Alexandre is the first great philosopher in history who has suffered from a serious congenital disorder. To me, he is a dear friend and a most remarkable human being.

      Disabled since birth, he spent seventeen years with little contact with the outside world in a center for children with cerebral palsy. There, he and his companions huddled close together to find some solace in the midst of their caregivers’ lack of understanding. As he recounts in this book:

      The present was … the sole focus of all our preoccupations, all our thoughts … Mutual gestures of friendship helped us through difficult moments and prevented us from becoming discouraged. Friendship united us, made us stronger. We loved each other. That’s how it was. We didn’t have a choice. The tenderness of our mutual affection alleviated our loneliness. Collaboration was absolutely vital if we wanted to attain our main goal: making progress … life lay before us—open-ended and rife with possibility—and we had everything to gain.

      He was able to move on from this dire situation to become a compelling thinker who has inspired thousands of people through his raw authenticity and depth of thought. Soothed by the gentle presence of his comrades and by the kindness occasionally shown by others, Alexandre’s disability—or weakness, as

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