Rating: 
Summary: I am still on Prozac
Review: As a long time Prozac user hoping to find another way, I read this book. There were many insightful quotations from famous philosophers. However, most of the book is spent in attacking all current forms of psychology and psychiatry that do not use the author's method. And the rest of the book is spent in selling the philosophic method, both for individuals and for corporations. The book is a long advertisement for philosophic counseling. There is even a list at the end of ones you can call to make your appointment. However, the author does himself and his entire side profession a disservice by the hard sell of his side profession and putdown of other competing professions.Also, many of the case studies have very poor follow through. One patient trying to decide what to do about his ailing mother was sent away with "selected" philosophies, and the author admits he chose the philosophies much as a trained psychiatrist would chose a drug or method of treatment. Yet the author has very little training and experience in this new field and no rigorous peer review journals and testing to examine. And in the book, the author admits not following up or caring about what the patient's subsequent decision and results were. For all we know, he killed his mother because she didn't understand his reading of Hegel to her.
Rating: 
Summary: Helpful and plain philosophy for everyone!
Review: Lou Marinoff's excellent book offers the readers some ways and means of applying philosophical knowledge to everyday life. Promoting philosophical counseling as an alternative to phychiatry and medication, Marinoff gives a concise and informative insight of some of the world's greatest philosophies. Reflections of the thinking of Aristoteles, Socrates and Plato, Seneca, Rousseau, Kant and Nietzche among other great western philosophers come intermingled with revealing glimpses of the teachings of Buda, Confucio, Laozi and the Dalai Lama, among other oriental philosophers, in an interesting collage designed to help the reader to confront some of life problems. It is practical and plain philosophy for everyday life, but also a singular approach, by a modern philosopher, to some of the most trascendental issues of our time.
Rating: 
Summary: An Interesting Read
Review: Paraphrasing the fly leaf... This book describes a way of dealing with the challenges we all face in life from time to time: relationships, being a good parent, career changes, coping with loss, etc.. My comment is that it describes a way of dealing with the challenges of life that is neither "wishy-washy," like so much of the pop-psychology-self-help press, nor as dramatic as thinking that one must be "in need of help" just because one has a tough problem. Acknowledging the appropriateness of seeking psychological therapy when needed, the author suggests there is also a source (i.e., the collected wisdom of thinkers from antiquity to present) from which we can find philosophy-based insights to help us deal with the more typical crises in our lives.
Rating: 
Summary: This is exceptionally ridiculous.
Review: Plato was forever the opponent of what he called the "fantasy" of the application of his philosophy to the "mundane" metaphysical world. As much as I think Plato is the father of Nazism, Christianity, Racism, Facism, and basically all other evil forms of Totalitarianism, I will not advocate the inept author's skewing of true Platonism for the purposes of furthering his own political views - which are not even the typical semi-intelligent left wing whining - they are far below that in terms of rational thought. As for the book itself, if I were able to seperate the monstrous title and robbery/reforming of Plato's raw philosophy from the actual context of this book (Yield to irrationality, oh ye disenchanted ravel! It is there that ye shall find solice!"), I would still think it is a terrible book. It stumbles through a discussion of the theoretical aspect of applying ancient philosophy to modern situations. Plato was somewhat unique among philosophers (his spiritual descendants notwithstanding) in his notion that his philosophy was not for the use of the common man, or the common world. It is a philosophy designed to solve no problems except perhaps by convincing man that he does not exist, his mind has no power to rationalize anything, and that the world is simply a ball of dust hurling out of control with no rhyme of reason. It advocates the opposite of what Aristotle finally set straight - A is A - it can be nothing othern than A. Existence Exists. If there has been a philosophy that has ever been anti-man, anti-knowledge, this is surely it. If you think that the following of such philosophy will throw man back into the dark ages, where man sat huddled in dirt holes clutching their meager food scraps that they spent a day working to earn in fear that a mystical demon (or some other non-A) would steal it from him, turn him it into a serpent, or change his companions into hounds - you are wrong. The following of the philosophy advocated by Plato is to bring man back to a state not recorded in history - a state even more savage than I have just described. A state before man acquired the ability to think, speak, write, reason, act rationally, plan for the future. (A very loose paraphrase from Rand.) This is the philosophy of nothingness, and the author wants you to apply it in your daily life as a solution to stress, depression, anxiety, etc. It seems fitting that a philosophy of nothingness would be used to tell people who are in some way dissatisfied with the world that their solution is not to use medicines that allow them to function and be productive - or better, change what they are unhappy about - rather to question the existence of and their ability to perceive what they are dissatisfied with. "Let go of extraneous things like reason and logic, and you shall not recognize the existence of what it was that caused you pain or displeasure," preaches this book. If you value your life, and your rational mind, stay away from this book.
Rating:
Summary: You can't judge this book by its title
Review: The author of Plato, Not Prozac!, Lou Marinoff PH.D, accomplishes three things with this book. 1) He gives the layman just enough beginner's-philosophy to be effective while holding the reader's interest. 2) He extolls the benefits of "Philosophical Practice" and explains where psychiatry and Psychology can not, or should not, be applied. 3) He gives real-life examples of how some very basic philosophy has helped people cope with everyday life. A fresh and very real approach to self-help and mental health counceling. Some may be offended by frank and direct discussion. Such as Psychiatry and Psychology's attempts to label a "misguided philosophy" as a mental disease. An alleged motive is to get insurance companies to pay for treatment. The author suggests that a person whos condition is not brought on by a physical disease, genetics, an accident, or drug abuse may be suffering from a misguided philosophy of life. Hence, there are thousands of years of brilliant philosophical works to draw from. And to assist a patient, a Philosophical Pratitioner is less concerned with childhood conditioning than with helping the patient find a comfortable philosophical view point and get on with life. A reference made by another reviewer of the book pointed to page 38 where the author is quoted "...no one needs to learn to feel emotion..." Perhaps the sentence could have been written "...most people do not need to be taught how to feel emotion..." But in context, I feel the sentence as-written is fair. The chapter in question is dealing with the author's description of a simple process that can be used as a self-help tool. Earlier in the book the author suggests this process is helpful to those with philosophical issues and not deaper mental illnesses -- as the inability to feel emotion may be. According to the author, religion and science are rediscovering philosophy whereby even the Pope has more than symbolically endorsed some previously banned philosophical and scientific works, including assisting in his doctoral thesis. The book is written to appeal to anyone who has tried other means of finding their "way" and have returned feeling something is still missing. This book may even re-affirm your feelings for life in general.
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Summary: "Philosophical Counseling"
Review: The book Plato, Not Prozac deals with explaining his idea of "philosophical counseling." By using his "PEACE" program you can handle matters of the heart, mind, and life on a rational level. His "PEACE" process stands for problem, emotion, analysis, contemplation, and equilibrium. Marinoff emphasizes this process as a dealing mechanism instead of resorting to medication. He criticizes the amount of people who will run to the doctors for medical prescriptions to answer problems that don't necessarily need drugs as a solution. His best example of this scenario involves people going to a psychologist when issues arise in their lives. The psychologist will examine the patient already believing they will find something wrong with them, thus making a diagnosis. If the patient disagrees with the diagnosis, their failure to believe the diagnosis can be tacked on as another disorder. Lou Marinoff sheds these wrongs in his book and advocates the philosophical pathway as a way to gain happiness in life. He stresses that point when he states that people "need dialogue, not diagnosis." He takes all his points about philosophical counseling and makes them accessible by showing how average people could use them to solve everyday problems of life. The most important thing he teaches is that philosophy can be a remarkable spark for enhancing a person's disposition on life. Marinoff also includes and mentions the beliefs of famous philosophers, such as Lao Tzu, Machiavelli, and most importantly Plato by intertwining their ideas to his own.
Rating:
Summary: Not without value, but not really very good.
Review: The idea that philosophy is useful and underutilized in our culture is certainly true enough. The concept that some people who philosophy might be able to help may need someone experienced in philosophy to help them get started is a defensible enough idea. And the author makes occasional disclaimers mouthing the appropriate words, admitting that psychiatry and psychoanalysis are sometimes the appropriate tool, and that he's only trying to add another tool to the mix. But it's clear from the lion's share of his comments that he doesn't REALLY believe this. He constantly derides both psychiatry and psychoanalysis in ways that demonstrate his true opinion of them, and it's clear that he really thinks that they're next to worthless. The very title of his book is a good indicator. And if someone needs Prozac, all the philosophy in the world isn't going to help him a bit. Now, I suppose it's true that there are people taking antidepressants whose problems are not truly biological, but I rather suspect that the percentage of people taking antidepressants for whom this is true is SIGNIFICANTLY lower than Dr. Marinoff thinks or would have us believe; if he didn't think it was a common situation, he wouldn't have chosen the title he chose. And suggesting to people who are on antidepressants that they very likely don't need them and would do just fine if they'd only examine their life choices more carefully is not only a very cavalier attitude but downright dangerous, to say nothing of cruel. His discussions of how philosophy can be applied to "real life" are interesting, and worthwhile reading. But the attitude that permeates the book is one of self-serving arrogance, a dismissal of any tool for dealing with problems other than his preferred tool. For this reason, I do not recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: This book promotes a truly alternative way of professionally dealing with improving the human condition. Most of what a reader finds in the self-help section is psychologically-based. This book distinguishes itself entirely from the psychiatry/psychology industry. The author has the courage to observe that psychiatry and its cousin sciences (psychology, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis) ARE NOT SCIENCES. Any real scientist knows better. People who are strict disciples of psychology may object to this book simply because it observes psychology's failures to improve the human condition. The book is a refreshing alternative to the usual "man is an animal" approach to helping human beings. I honestly haven't seen anything like this in a long time. Accolades for the book and its author.
Rating:
Summary: Fresh Air...
Review: This is an excellent book. I wish I could give it 8 stars. In his criticism of today's mental health experts and their obsession with naming every thought a syndrome, Lou Marinoff says what many well read and intelligent people are already thinking. He is also very correct in pointing out that psychology offers little in the way of help in regards to getting past analyzing one's problem. I have literally hundreds of self-help books that are great at naming our problems, but few if any have any solutions. In my mind, this is what make Philosophical Counselling and this book in particular, better.
Philosophy is the one and only true path through life that actually works. It is a path that can be seen, tested and proven. Certainly, if someone has a biological problem that is affecting them psychologically, they need to see a medical doctor, however, once the chemistry problem or injury has been treated, then even these folks can benefit from Philosophical Counselling. This book is a breath of fresh air in a talk therapy world that has up till now, been dominated by stuffy psychiatrists and contradicting psychologists. I recommend it as a must read for anyone interested in real mental progress.
Rating:
Summary: The unexamined life is not worth living.
Review: What a fantastic book! I just wish that it had existed when I was much younger- it would have saved me a great deal of time on my own personal journey. I always thought that intelligent, truly educated, individuals naturally applied the great wisdom teachings to their daily lives. I mean, that is why we are here isn't it? We truly come to obtain wisdom through philosophy (the love of wisdom) by applying it in the struggle of earthly life. I didn't realize that this had come to be rare and exceptional in the modern world. There is even a name for it now- philosophical practice. What a marvelous concept- students of philosophy helping each other to apply the lessons of the perennial teachings in their daily lives. Of course you can do it alone, as I did, but the author points out that it is nice to have a knowledgeable second party to make sure that you didn't miss something- and that you are truly applying reason and not rationalization. The use of case studies for specific problem areas is quite informative: seeking a relationship, maintaining a relationship, ending a relationship, family life and strife, work, midlife crisis, the reason for morals and ethics, finding meaning and purpose, and gaining from loss. The way that individual philosophers and their ideas are introduced is quite well done (theme, refrain, greatest hits, and a thumbnail abstract of their core ideas.) The basics of their systems are outlined nicely, which helps in deciding which to pursue later. I was amazed that so many of the great thinkers that that I had painstakingly discovered over the years were included. If you would like to delve a little deeper into the various philosophers without tackling the source works I recommend _Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers_ by S.E. Frost.
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