About the book
It draws on ancient and modern thinkers to address adversity such as illness, grief and failure.
Curated by intendle
Published
Psychology, Philosophy & Personal Development
Life Is Hard
How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way
KS
Written by
Published by
Riverhead Books (Penguin Random House)
Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way is a work of philosophy by Kieran Setiya, published by Riverhead Books in October 2022.
- Published
- 2022
- Pages
- 240
- Format
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
Most philosophy promises the good life; Kieran Setiya begins instead with the hard one.
Life Is Hard is a work of consolation for realists, taking seriously the fact that lives contain illness, loneliness, grief, failure and injustice, and asking what philosophy - ancient and modern - can offer not as a cure but as company. Setiya, an MIT philosopher, writes with unusual warmth for an academic, weaving Aristotle and Iris Murdoch with his own chronic pain and midlife doubts.
He resists easy uplift, arguing that acknowledging difficulty honestly is itself a form of help. intendle recommends it for readers who find relentless positivity hollow and want a wiser, more humane companion for the rough passages. Named a best book of 2022 by The New Yorker and The Economist, it is compact, humane and quietly profound.
A rare self-help book that treats its reader as a thinking adult facing real trouble.
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Pages
240
Published
2022
Riverhead Books (Penguin Random House)
Where to buy
Format
Hardcover
First edition
Language
English
Psychology, Philosophy & Personal Development
ISBN
978-0593538210
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