Publisher's Synopsis
A collection of essays by fourteen philosophers presenting a thoughtful, introductory guide to choosing a philosophy for living an examined and meaningful life. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL. Socrates famously said the "unexamined life is not worth living," but what does it mean to truly live philosophically? In this thought-provoking, wide-ranging collection, Pigliucci, Cleary, and Kaufman have collected essays by fourteen leading philosophers reflecting on what it means to live according to a philosophy of life. From John Kaag's experience grappling with pragmatism and William James's question of whether life is worth living, to Skye Cleary's examination of how the Existentialists' view of love altered the course of her romantic and professional paths, to Bryan Van Norden's rumination of Confucianism's relationality and what it means in a Western world where we hold dear the individual self, contributors offer accounts of how they find meaning in the practice of their chosen philosophical traditions (including Neo-Aristotelianism, Daoism, and Judaism, among others). Together, the pieces in How to Live a Good Life provide not only a beginner's guide to choosing a life philosophy but also a timely portrait of what it means to live an examined life in the twenty-first century.
