Life Is Hard
How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Cornerstone
Published:5th Oct '23
Should be back in stock very soon
This insightful book explores the challenges of human existence, offering philosophical perspectives on pain, loneliness, and hope. Life Is Hard encourages readers to find solace in shared experiences.
In Life Is Hard, Kieran Setiya offers a profound exploration of the human condition, addressing themes of pain, loneliness, and grief while also seeking hope. The book serves as a gentle companion through challenging times, providing readers with a philosophical lens to understand and accept the hardships they face. Rather than encouraging readers to simply 'cheer up,' Setiya invites us to acknowledge our struggles and find solace in the shared experience of being human.
Setiya draws upon his own experiences with chronic pain, illustrating how philosophy can guide us through life's difficulties. He delves into how confronting our vulnerabilities can lead to a deeper understanding of ourselves and our relationships with others. By reflecting on loneliness and loss, he emphasizes the importance of compassion and connection, showing that even in our darkest moments, there is room for warmth and humor.
Ultimately, Life Is Hard is not just a book about enduring suffering; it is a call to embrace our shared humanity. Setiya weaves together insights from ancient and modern philosophy, fiction, and personal narratives to create a work that resonates deeply with readers. In a world filled with injustice and absurdity, this book offers a path toward finding meaning and justice, encouraging us to acknowledge the complexities of life and the beauty that can emerge from them.
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 *
At last a philosopher tackles the meaning of life and comes up with useful answers -- James McConnachie * The Sunday Times *
Through carefully crafted examples, [Kieran Setiya] makes the case that philosophy can help us navigate the adversities of human life ... No life worth living is free of suffering and pain. Better to face it with the clarity to which philosophy, at its best, aspires * Guardian *
Attentive readers of this humane, intelligent book will come away with a firmer grasp and better descriptions of
whatever it is that ails them or those they cherish
Kieran Setiya argues that certain bracing challenges-loneliness, failure, ill health, grief, and so on-are essentially unavoidable ... But it's good, the book shows, to acknowledge hard experiences and ask how they've helped us grow tougher, kinder, and wiser -- Joshua Rothman * New Yorker *
Exceptionally rich and subtle -- Jonathan Derbyshire * Financial Times *
An eloquent, moving, witty and above all useful demonstration of philosophy's power to help us weather the storms of being human - not with rarefied theories about the best way to live, but by making the best of life as it really is. Kieran Setiya is both an unusually gifted writer and as imperfect a human being as the rest of us, which is to say the perfect companion for the journey. -- Oliver Burkeman, author of FOUR THOUSAND WEEKS
While there is no skimping on academic rigour, he makes existential inquiry relatable - offering gentle advice on how one might approach such experiences as grief and failure. * Irish Times *
Life may be hard, but Kieran Setiya shows us better ways to think about it and how, despite everything, that can give us hope. -- Katherine May, author of WINTERING
In LIFE IS HARD, Kieran Setiya shows us the gift that philosophy becomes when it removes its mask of impersonality to reveal its human face. His insights are stunning, his compassion sustaining. Anyone susceptible to life's hardships must read this book -- which means that everyone must read it. -- Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of PLATO AT THE GOOGLEPLEX
ISBN: 9781529156164
Dimensions: 198mm x 130mm x 15mm
Weight: 173g
240 pages