Life Is Hard

byKieran Setiya

How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way

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A NEW YORKER AND THE ECONOMIST BEST BOOK OF 2022

'I adore this book . . . Setiya is a deeply astute and generous guide . . . a clear and consoling modern voice, for which I'm enormously grateful' Derren Brown

'At last a philosopher tackles the meaning of life and comes up with useful answers' James McConnachie, Sunday Times

Pain, Loneliness, Grief, Injustice ... Hope?

For too long we've been told that positive thinking is the key to living a happy life. But from personal trauma to the injustice and absurdity of the world, sometimes simply going on can feel too much. Could there be solace - and even hope - in acknowledging the hardships of the human condition? Might doing so free us from the tyranny of striving for our "best lives" and could it inspire in us the desire for a better world? In this profound and personal book, Kieran Setiya shows how philosophy can help us find our way. He shares his own experience with chronic pain and the consolation that comes from making sense of it, and asks what we can learn from loneliness and loss about the value of human life. Drawing on ancient and modern philosophy, as well as fiction, comedy, social science and personal essay, Life is Hard shows how philosophy can ultimately help us to make the best of a bad lot: the human condition.

'Exceptionally rich and subtle' Jonathan Derbyshire, Financial Times

'Life may be hard, but Kieran Setiya shows us better ways to think about it' Katherine May, author of WINTERING
Life Is Hard is a humane consolation for challenging times. Reading it is like speaking with a thoughtful friend who never tells you to cheer up, but, by offering gentle companionship and a change of perspective, makes you feel better anyway.
The New York Times Book Review

About Kieran Setiya

Kieran Setiya was born in Hull and now teaches philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of Midlife: A Philosophical Guide, and is the host of a podcast, Five Questions, in which he asks contemporary philosophers five questions about themselves. His writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, the London Review of Books, and The New York Times.
Details
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • ISBN: 9781529156164
  • Length: 240 pages
  • Dimensions: 197mm x 15mm x 129mm
  • Weight: 173g
  • Price: £10.99
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