Philosophy and Life

About the book

'Grayling brings satisfying order to daunting subjects' Steven Pinker

'An enthusiastic thinker who embraces humour, common sense and lucidity' Independent
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From the eminent philosopher, an authoritative exploration of the great questions of how to live

'There is a question everyone has to ask and answer - in fact, has to keep on asking and keep on answering. It is, 'How should I live my life?' meaning, 'What values shall I live by? 'What sort of person should I be? What shall I aim for?' The great majority of people do not ask this question, they merely answer it unthinkingly, by adopting conventional views of life and what matters in it...'

From Stoics to existentialists, in philosophy and literature, discussion of the philosophy of life -- of love and death, of courage, fortitude and wisdom -- challenges us all to think about what kinds of life are truly worth living. In this summation of a lifetime thinking and writing about this great question, A. C. Grayling explores with clarity and depth the ideas that each of us must use in answering it for ourselves.

Drawing on the lives, experiences and works of a fantastically eclectic range of thinkers -- taking in not only philosophers such as Confucius, Seneca and Nietzsche, but also authors from Shakespeare to Ursula LeGuin, and modern thinkers such as Martha Nussbaum and Bernard Williams - Philosophy and Life brings together wisdom from across eras and continents in a tour de force on the philosophy of being human in a complicated world.