What's It All About?: Philosophy And The Meaning Of Life

Description

This book is aimed at the reader who is serious about confronting the big issues in life but is turned-off by books which deal with them through religion, spirituality or 'psycho-babble'. It is for people who want an honest, intelligent discussion which doesn t hide from the difficulties or make undeliverable promises. It aims to help the reader to understand the overlooked issues behind the obvious questions and shows how philosophy does not so much answer them as help provide us with the resources to answer them for ourselves.

Julian Baggini is the editor and co-founder of The Philosophers' Magazine. He writes regularly for the Guardian, Independentand Independent on Sunday, Prospect and the TES, and has appeared on Nightwaves and In Our Time. He is the author of several books on philosophy, including The Pig That Wants to be Eaten.

"Useful and provocative."--Wall Street Journal "Looking for a clear guide to what contemporary philosophy has to say about the meaning of life? Baggini takes us through all the plausible answers, weaving together Kierkegaard, John Stuart Mill, Monty Python, and Funkadelic in an entertaining but always carefully reasoned discussion."--Peter Singer, author of How Are We To Live "A work of popular philosophy that is simple, serious and devoid of ostentation. The question of the meaning of life has long been a byword for pretentious rambling. It takes some nerve to tackle it in a brisk and no-nonsense fashion." --New Statesman "Informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining in the process.The book takes a refreshingly personal approach and offers an encounter with a vigorous mind at work, puzzling through the issues in a trenchantly argued but subtly reasoned way."--New Humanist "It's egalitarianism of style and content is admirable. There is nothing here to put off someone who has never read a book of philosophy, yet the book is doing philosophy, not just talking about it."--Scotland on Sunday "Useful and provocative."--Wall Street Journal "Looking for a clear guide to what contemporary philosophy has to say about the meaning of life? Baggini takes us through all the plausible answers, weaving together Kierkegaard, John Stuart Mill, Monty Python, and Funkadelic in an entertaining but always carefully reasoned discussion."--Peter Singer, author of How Are We To Live "A work of popular philosophy that is simple, serious and devoid of ostentation. The question of the meaning of life has long been a byword for pretentious rambling. It takes some nerve to tackle it in a brisk and no-nonsense fashion." --New Statesman "Informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining in the process.The book takes a refreshingly personal approach and offers an encounter with a vigorous mind at work, puzzling through the issues in a trenchantly argued but subtly reasoned way."--New Humanist "It's egalitarianism of style and content is admirable. There is nothing here to put off someone who has never read a book of philosophy, yet the book is doing philosophy, not just talking about it."--Scotland on Sunday "Useful and provocative."--Wall Street Journal "Looking for a clear guide to what contemporary philosophy has to say about the meaning of life? Baggini takes us through all the plausible answers, weaving together Kierkegaard, John Stuart Mill, Monty Python, and Funkadelic in an entertaining but always carefully reasoned discussion."--Peter Singer, author of How Are We To Live "A work of popular philosophy that is simple, serious and devoid of ostentation. The question of the meaning of life has long been a byword for pretentious rambling. It takes some nerve to tackle it in a brisk and no-nonsense fashion." --New Statesman "Informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining in the process.The book takes a refreshingly personal approach and offers an encounter with a vigorous mind at work, puzzling through the issues in a trenchantly argued but subtly reasoned way."--New Humanist "It's egalitarianism of style and content is admirable. There is nothing here to put off someone who has never read a book of philosophy, yet the book is doing philosophy, not just talking about it."--Scotland on Sunday "Useful and provocative."--Wall Street Journal "Looking for a clear guide to what contemporary philosophy has to say about the meaning of life? Baggini takes us through all the plausible answers, weaving together Kierkegaard, John Stuart Mill, Monty Python, and Funkadelic in an entertaining but always carefully reasoned discussion."--Peter Singer, author of How Are We To Live "A work of popular philosophy that is simple, serious and devoid of ostentation. The question of the meaning of life has long been a byword for pretentious rambling. It takes some nerve to tackle it in a brisk and no-nonsense fashion." --New Statesman "Informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining in the process.The book takes a refreshingly personal approach and offers an encounter with a vigorous mind at work, puzzling through the issues in a trenchantly argued but subtly reasoned way."--New Humanist "It's egalitarianism of style and content is admirable. There is nothing here to p