Philosophy
by Massimo Pigliucci, Skye C. Cleary and Daniel A. Kaufman, editors
Do you have a philosophy of life?
Most people do, even if they've never put it into words. Massimo Pigliucci, Skye Cleary and Daniel Kaufman gathered essays on a wide range of them, from ancient schools to world religions to modern movements. The idea is to help you choose one on purpose, instead of by accident.
Hear a sample · read by Laura
Each essay sets out a philosophy's big ideas and what living by it looks like day to day. Two of the editors write from the inside. Pigliucci, a practising Stoic, writes the Stoicism chapter, and Cleary, an existentialist philosopher, writes on existentialism.
The ancient philosophies come from India, China and Greece. Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism sit beside Aristotle, who asks what it means for a human life to flourish, and Epicurus, who argues the pleasant life is simple, spent among friends and free of needless fear.
A second group of essays treats religious traditions as ways of living, including Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Beside them sits Ethical Culture, a movement founded by Felix Adler in 1870s New York, which asks members to agree on how to act and leaves belief to each person.
The newest philosophies include existentialism, which says you're free and responsible for what you make of yourself, and pragmatism, which judges ideas by how they work in practice. Secular humanism builds ethics without gods. Effective altruism uses evidence to work out how to do the most good.
Read side by side, the essays disagree, sometimes sharply. Buddhists argue the self is a kind of illusion. Existentialists say you make yourself through your choices. Epicureans treat pleasure as the good, which Stoics deny. Noticing which side you instinctively take tells you something about your own philosophy.
Many roads
There's more than one good way to live, and it helps to try a few on before you choose.
Buddhism
Buddhists see craving as the root of suffering and work to loosen its hold.
Aristotle
For Aristotle's followers, a good life comes from building good character through habit.
Stoicism
Stoics put their effort into what they can control and let the rest go calmly.
Existentialism
Existentialists say nobody hands you meaning. You make it through the choices you make.
One thing to try
Pick one philosophy from the book and try a single practice from it for seven days. It might be a Stoic review of your day at bedtime, or an Epicurean simple supper with a friend. At the end of the week, ask what changed and whether you'd keep it.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. How to Live a Good Life comes with a Name That Idea round to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appDo you have a philosophy of life? Most people do, even if they've never put it into words. Massimo Pigliucci, Skye Cleary and Daniel Kaufman gathered essays on a wide range of them, from ancient schools to world religions to modern movements. The idea is to help you choose one on purpose, instead of by accident.
Ideas you can live by; The oldest answers; Traditions of faith; Modern answers; Where they disagree.
Pick one philosophy from the book and try a single practice from it for seven days. It might be a Stoic review of your day at bedtime, or an Epicurean simple supper with a friend. At the end of the week, ask what changed and whether you'd keep it.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from How to Live a Good Life in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Name That Idea round to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
