First published in 1983, it remains a life guide that provides essential and universal answers to the problems faced by humans to many readers.
It explains dialectical materialism in an easy-to-understand way, and tells the reader that philosophy is not an abstract academic discipline that chases after distant dreams, but a necessary tool for reflecting on our lives in real life.
In the revised 4th edition, Lee Woo-il, famous for his 'Donald Chicken' illustrations, help readers easily understand the content of the text.


This book is also very helpful in refining the way you express your thoughts and developing your logical thinking skills.
With the advancement of technology such as the Internet, the number of spaces where people can express their opinions and views is increasing. This will be useful for students as well as the general public to organize and express their thoughts.

When people think of philosophy, they usually think of it as something difficult, a headache, or something that has nothing to do with them, and so they stay away from it.
During adolescence, when we are thinking about life, we think deeply about what life is, what meaning it has to have, and what we should do to live a meaningful life. We stay up all night discussing these things with friends, and we buy and read books on the subject.
But as we get older and get busy with life, we stop thinking seriously about these issues.
And then we go on living as if it has nothing to do with the meaning of life or philosophy.
So, when we ponder life, are we close to philosophy, and when we are immersed in life, are we far from philosophy? … … But that’s not what philosophy is.
Philosophy is closely related to our daily lives, and our lives are constantly connected to philosophy.
Philosophy cannot be separated from the everyday life around us.

--- p.17~18

There was a rural area.
In this area, the residents mainly made a living by farming.
However, there were many mountains around this area, so there were many wild animals.
There were especially many wild boars and wolves.
Among them, wolves often appeared around the village at night, so the residents avoided going out after dark, and when they had to go out, they would do so in groups.
It was quite inconvenient because I had to lock the door and not go out as soon as the sun went down.
The men of the village, unable to bear it any longer, bought guns and went up into the mountains.
Every wolf they saw was shot and killed.
After doing this for several days, many wolves were caught and those that barely survived ran away to other places.
So now local residents can go out at night.
All the villagers were delighted.
But after a while, something strange happened.
When I woke up in the morning, the fields were dug up and the crops I had planted were gone.
At first, I thought it was someone's prank, but it wasn't something that happened for a day or two, and it wasn't just one house, it was like that in most houses.
The locals soon discovered who was doing this.
It was not someone else's prank that dug up the field and devoured the crops, but a wild boar that had come down from the mountain.
As the villagers began to catch or chase away the wolves, the wild boar population increased rapidly.
Because the wolves that used to prey on wild boars are gone.
As the number of wild boars increased rapidly, the boars had little food to eat.
It has become impossible to live off of just the things that grow in the mountains like before.
So, wild boars came down to the village and dug up the fields to eat the crops.
Although wolves caused inconvenience to people, they also played a role in protecting farmers' crops by preying on wild boars.
However, the villagers only thought about the relationship between humans and wolves, and did not think about the relationship between wolves and wild boars, or between wild boars and humans.
There was a rural area.
In this area, the residents mainly made a living by farming.
However, there were many mountains around this area, so there were many wild animals.
There were especially many wild boars and wolves.
Among them, wolves often appeared around the village at night, so the residents avoided going out after dark, and when they had to go out, they would do so in groups.
It was quite inconvenient because I had to lock the door and not go out as soon as the sun went down.
The men of the village, unable to bear it any longer, bought guns and went up into the mountains.
Every wolf they saw was shot and killed.
After doing this for several days, many wolves were caught and those that barely survived ran away to other places.
So now local residents can go out at night.
All the villagers were delighted.
But after a while, something strange happened.
When I woke up in the morning, the fields were dug up and the crops I had planted were gone.
At first, I thought it was someone's prank, but it wasn't something that happened for a day or two, and it wasn't just one house, it was like that in most houses.
The locals soon discovered who was doing this.
It was not someone else's prank that dug up the field and devoured the crops, but a wild boar that had come down from the mountain.
As the villagers began to catch or chase away the wolves, the wild boar population increased rapidly.
Because the wolves that used to prey on wild boars are gone.
As the number of wild boars increased rapidly, the boars had little food to eat.
It has become impossible to live off of just the things that grow in the mountains like before.
So, wild boars came down to the village and dug up the fields to eat the crops.
Although wolves caused inconvenience to people, they also played a role in protecting farmers' crops by preying on wild boars.
However, the villagers only thought about the relationship between humans and wolves, and did not think about the relationship between wolves and wild boars, or between wild boars and humans.

--- p.37~40

There is a Japanese proverb that goes like this:
“When the wind blows, the barrel seller makes money.” This is a saying that may seem difficult to understand at first glance.
So let's see how this came about.
The wind blows → Sand blows → Sand gets into people's eyes → The number of blind people increases → The blind people make money by playing the shamisen (a Japanese instrument made of cat skin) → The cat skin for the shamisen becomes much more popular → The number of cats decreases → The number of rats increases → The rats gnaw through the barrels → Orders for barrels increase → The barrel seller makes money.
Following this logic, the saying “When the wind blows, the barrel merchant makes money” came about.
So, does this really fit with our real-world experience? When we think about it carefully, something feels off.
Because it doesn't match our specific experiences.
The logic is plausible, but when we compare it to our real-life experiences, it doesn't make sense.
Let's think about why that is.
It is true that when the wind blows, sand flies.
You may have seen in movies how a gust of wind blows across the desert and creates sand pillars.
But does the wind blow sand on paved city roads? It might blow a little, but on clean roads, there's almost no sand.
So if you live in a city, the wind won't necessarily make you blind.
Even if you live in a place with a lot of sand, you can prevent blindness by wearing an eye patch or avoiding sandstorms.
Also, if the logic that the wind blows sand and makes people blind were true, then everyone living in the desert would be blind.
Obviously, when the wind blows, sand flies and if that sand gets into a person's eyes, it can cause blindness.
But that's not necessarily the case.
Even if sand gets into your eyes, you may not become blind if you receive treatment.
… …
Judging from the story above, we can see that the saying, “When the wind blows, the barrel seller makes money” does not necessarily correspond to reality.
So, what did the person who said this fail to understand? It was because they only saw the connection between things and failed to see the unrelated parts.
In other words, in the relationship between sand and blindness caused by the wind, if the wind blows and the sand is blown away, you may or may not become blind, but only the case of blindness is emphasized.
Also, in the relationship between the blind and the shamisen, if you become blind, you can make a living by playing the shamisen on the street or you can make a living in other ways, but the emphasis is only on making a living by playing the shamisen.
This is also true for the shamisen and the cat, the cat and the mouse, and the mouse and the barrel merchant.
In other words, we only see the parts of things that are related and do not see the parts that are not related.
Therefore, it is very important to understand that things are related and at the same time not related.
If we only emphasize the relevant parts of things, we are saying things that are not in line with reality, like, “When the wind blows, the barrel seller makes money.”
There is a Japanese proverb that goes like this:
“When the wind blows, the barrel seller makes money.” This is a saying that may seem difficult to understand at first glance.
So let's see how this came about.
The wind blows → Sand blows → Sand gets into people's eyes → The number of blind people increases → The blind people make money by playing the shamisen (a Japanese instrument made of cat skin) → The cat skin for the shamisen becomes much more popular → The number of cats decreases → The number of rats increases → The rats gnaw through the barrels → Orders for barrels increase → The barrel seller makes money.
Following this logic, the saying “When the wind blows, the barrel merchant makes money” came about.
So, does this really fit with our real-world experience? When we think about it carefully, something feels off.
Because it doesn't match our specific experiences.
The logic is plausible, but when we compare it to our real-life experiences, it doesn't make sense.
Let's think about why that is.
It is true that when the wind blows, sand flies.
You may have seen in movies how a gust of wind blows across the desert and creates sand pillars.
But does the wind blow sand on paved city roads? It might blow a little, but on clean roads, there's almost no sand.
So if you live in a city, the wind won't necessarily make you blind.
Even if you live in a place with a lot of sand, you can prevent blindness by wearing an eye patch or avoiding sandstorms.
Also, if the logic that the wind blows sand and makes people blind were true, then everyone living in the desert would be blind.
Obviously, when the wind blows, sand flies and if that sand gets into a person's eyes, it can cause blindness.
But that's not necessarily the case.
Even if sand gets into your eyes, you may not become blind if you receive treatment.
… …
Judging from the story above, we can see that the saying, “When the wind blows, the barrel seller makes money” does not necessarily correspond to reality.
So, what did the person who said this fail to understand? It was because they only saw the connection between things and failed to see the unrelated parts.
In other words, in the relationship between sand and blindness caused by the wind, if the wind blows and the sand is blown away, you may or may not become blind, but only the case of blindness is emphasized.
Also, in the relationship between the blind and the shamisen, if you become blind, you can make a living by playing the shamisen on the street or you can make a living in other ways, but only the way to make a living by playing the shamisen is emphasized.
This is also true for the shamisen and the cat, the cat and the mouse, and the mouse and the barrel merchant.
In other words, we only see the parts of things that are related and do not see the parts that are not related.
Therefore, it is very important to understand that things are related and at the same time not related.
If we only emphasize the relevant parts of things, we are saying things that are not in line with reality, like, “When the wind blows, the barrel seller makes money.”

--- p.50~54