Self-help Vs Literature Books

[Socrates]

Does literature provide value? Compared to self-help books, are literature ones inferior or not?

[eskwire]

@Socrates It depends. Are you taking some time to appreciate beauty (art) or are you working on something (tool)?

The Count of Monte Cristo is pretty long to learn that revenge isn't satisfying. In the end, that's just a moral rather than a truth anyway. You may end up needing to learn it yourself first-hand, making that book worthless for your growth, though interesting to read.

If you were obsessed with revenge, you probably wouldn't even see that moral in the story. You'd be drooling over all that sweet, sweet revenge. 

Art grows us and expands our minds, certainly. Some people are averse to self-help material and will only grow in their lives through art (my best friends are this way). To me, the self-help material is more to the point and provides tools. 

[Socrates]

@eskwire How does literature grow you then? In my mind literature is entertainment and entertainment is usually toxic.

[eskwire]

@Socrates Yes, for the most part, non-fiction is just a distraction. Mental candy.

Some works may have artistic value that grows you. Personally, cinema is more my art form of choice, though I watch movies very rarely now. There are some movies that help me sit with paradox or give a glimpse into human and existential nature that is very beautiful and touching. Same for lit.

Those works are few and far between, however, and the amount of time you can waste looking for those gems is massive. 

[Socrates]

@eskwire Well said, totally agree. 

[PetarKa]

I'm also very curious about this topic.

Does anyone know any experiments / research done in this field? It would really be interesting to see scientific results on how literature books affect people.

[eskwire]

3 hours ago, PetarKa said:

I'm also very curious about this topic.

Does anyone know any experiments / research done in this field? It would really be interesting to see scientific results on how literature books affect people.

Sometimes I wonder about their effect on building visualization skills - which in turn could be used for growth.