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A Very Short Introduction
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The Meaning of Life: A Very Short Introduction
Terry Eagleton
128 pages
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12 black and white halftones
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174x111mm
978-0-19-953217-9
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Paperback
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24 April 2008
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- An intelligent, witty, and refreshingly approachable guide to the ultimate question
- Ties in philosophy and literature - from the 12th century scholastics to Marx, Schopenhauer, Sartre, and Beckett
- Reveals how the the philosophy of language can be applied to questions of any kind, how meaning can be understood and applied, and where the limits of questioning lie
- Eagleton suggests that the problem of the meaning of life arose with modernity. He looks at the cultural and philosophical reasons for this, and examines the meaninglessness that appears to plague our times - from 'New Age softheadedness' to fundamentalism
- After surveying a variety of possible candidates, Eagleton suggests his own, perhaps surprising, conclusion to the answer to the meaning of life
'Philosophers have an infuriating habit of analysing questions rather than answering them', writes Terry Eagleton, who, in these pages, asks the most important question any of us ever ask, and attempts to answer it.
So what is the meaning of life? In this witty, spirited, and stimulating inquiry, Eagleton shows how centuries of thinkers - from Shakespeare and Schopenhauer to Marx, Sartre and Beckett - have tackled the question. Refusing to settle for the bland and boring, Eagleton reveals with a mixture of humour and intellectual rigour how the question has become particularly problematic in modern times. Instead of addressing it head-on, we take refuge from the feelings of 'meaninglessness' in our lives by filling them with a
multitude of different things: from football and sex, to New Age religions and fundamentalism.
'Many of the readers of this book are likely to be as sceptical of the phrase "the meaning of life" as they are of Santa Claus', he writes. But Eagleton contends that in a world where we need to find common meanings, it is important that we set about answering the question of all questions; and, in conclusion, he suggests his own answer. Readership: Will interest anyone seeking an accessible yet intelligent view of how we have lost - and how we might find - meaning in life. It will be of particular interest to students of philosophy (particularly ethics, philosophy of religion, and 19th and 20th
century existentialism); literature; modernism; and religion.
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Terry Eagleton, John Edward Taylor Professor of English at the University of Manchester
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Review(s) from previous edition
"The book's a little gem. - Suzanne Harrington, Irish Examiner (Cork)
"Light hearted but never flippant." - The Guardian.
"Wonders never cease. This is popular philosophy by an amateur in the best sense of the word, a man who clearly loves the stuff and writes plain English...[Eagleton] makes his case well and with a light touch." - The Guardian (Review)
"It is a stimulating and often entertaining, if at times rather breathless, Cook's tour around the chief monuments of western philosophy and literature...The Meaning of Life is unusual and refreshing." - John Gray, The Independent
"[Eagleton] makes his case well and with a light touch... I stand convinced." - Simon Jenkins, Guardian Book of the Week
"A lively starting point for late-night debate." - John Cornwell, Sunday Times
"Warm intellectual pleasure...meticulous treatment of the subject...It looks like Eagleton got it right." - Mario Pisani, The Financial Times
"The name Terry Eagleton...assures us of stimulation, style, sparkling, sometimes acerbic, wit, and wide-ranging erudition. In other words he is eminently readable...[a] commendably pocket-sized book." - Gordon Parsons, Morning Star
"With sparkling effrontery, panache, and deft footwork, Eagleton moves from ironic flippancy and caustic demolition to resolute affirmation." - Marina Warner
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Preface
1: Questions and Answers
2: The Problem of Meaning
3: The Eclipse of Meaning
4: Is Life What You Make It?
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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