2024 the best things in life review
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(as of Nov 18, 2024 04:53:16 UTC - Details)
For centuries, philosophers, theologians, moralists, and ordinary people have asked: How should we live? What makes for a good life?
In The Best Things in Life, distinguished philosopher Thomas Hurka takes a fresh look at these perennial questions as they arise for us now in the 21st century. Should we value family over career? How do we balance self-interest and serving others? What activities bring us the most joy? While religion, literature, popular psychology, and everyday wisdom all grapple with these questions, philosophy more than anything else uses the tools of reason to make important distinctions, cut away irrelevancies, and distill these issues down to their essentials. Hurka argues that if we are to live a good life, one thing we need to know is which activities and experiences will most likely lead us to happiness and which will keep us from it, while also reminding us that happiness isn't the only thing that makes life good. Hurka explores many topics: four types of good feeling (and the limits of good feeling); how we can improve our baseline level of happiness (making more money, it turns out, isn't the answer); which kinds of knowledge are most worth having; the importance of achieving worthwhile goals; the value of love and friendship; and much more. Unlike many philosophers, he stresses that there isn't just one good in life but many: pleasure, as Epicurus argued, is indeed one, but knowledge, as Socrates contended, is another, as is achievement. And while the great philosophers can help us understand what matters most in life, Hurka shows that we must ultimately decide for ourselves.
This delightfully accessible book offers timely guidance on answering the most important question any of us will ever ask: How do we live a good life?
Publisher : Oxford University Press; 1st edition (December 17, 2010)
Language : English
Hardcover : 208 pages
ISBN-10 : 0195331427
ISBN-13 : 978-0195331424
Item Weight : 9.9 ounces
Dimensions : 7.99 x 5 x 0.63 inches
Reviewer: Longtime Shopper
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Enjoyable and Thought Provoking
Review: Who doesn't want to know more about pleasure, satisfaction and happiness and how to achieve them ?This book is part treatise, part blueprint for living a more satisfying life. It is not a step by step self help book, but there are plenty of those out there already. This is a thought provoking and dare I say"pleasurable" read. Though Hurka is an academic, this book doesn't have a text book sort of feel. But it does make you ponder what a "good life" looks like and how we all might have one.Well done.
Reviewer: GDS
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Disappointing
Review: A lot more fluff and filler than substance; repetitious and belabors obvious or minor points but doesn't provide many original insights. I expected more, and better.
Reviewer: Lohengrin
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Worthwhile reading
Review: Worthwhile reading
Reviewer: Becky XD
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Not for the novice reader, especially if reading it alone.
Review: It was what I wanted in terms of expanding my understanding of what creates confusion in the development and acreative and wholesome relationship with others who are close to yoi.
Reviewer: Alice Baxter
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Philosophy made simple
Review: This is a very accessible introduction to some basic ideas that philosophers like to investigate. It is thought provoking and can be related to one's own life.
Reviewer: Mike Baldwin
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Five Stars
Review: Very interesting take on what constitutes the good life as distinct from wellbeing and happiness
Reviewer: Rolf Dobelli
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The Best Things in Life
Review: Professor of philosophy Thomas Hurka ponders what makes a good life. He writes simply, explaining philosophical concepts with understandable examples: Chocolate and sex, for instance, are good. Hurka layers his concepts, one upon another, weaving a modern and interesting - if not necessarily compelling to the reader who is not philosophically minded - report on what comprises a good life. More practical readers might prefer tips or parameters, but this isn't a self-help guide. It's more of a discussion, with points to consider and directions for reaching your own conclusions. Hurka's ability to cite Kant, Socrates and other philosophical giants without getting bogged down helps readers consider theories they might find otherwise inaccessible. getAbstract suggests this book to managers, executives, entrepreneurs and armchair philosophers seeking gentle guidance toward a more rewarding life.
Reviewer: Armando Brons
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Nothing really matters, much ado about nothing
Review: The title of this book is TOTALLY misleading!I purchased this book (the kindle edition) because of the positive reviews of MANGO and Lisa Starke that I read here.I was disappointed from the very beginning: unending minimalist dissections of what pleasure is, many innocuous examples that bring nothing to an understanding of the (supposedly) best things in life nor of what really (in the author's opinion) does or should matter in it.The book reads as a boring dissertation by a boring or lukewarm professor who seem to be unable or uninterested to teach how, at some point, to make decisions or take any action.After finishing reading the book, I still have no idea what the "(Philosophy in Action") of the title means... ?In the end, with the exception of the inevitable death (sooner or later, take your pick), the best thing in life is that nothing really matters: don't get too excited by anything, it is not worthy...Armando Brons,Caracas, VenezuelaPS: If you plan to purchase the Kindle edition, beware that while reading through the book, there is no way to go directly to the Table of Content. The shortest way is to go to "The beginning" and then manually search for it.
Reviewer: Pat Johnson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I very much enjoyed this book. I've read it twice since I bought it. I will likely keep it around to go through again and again because sometimes I need to be reminded. I bought a copy for my nephew and my sister.It not so much tells you what's important as helps guide you to discover what is important to you.I found the book to be clear. Not an intimidating read at all.I should probably buy 20 copies and give them to friends and family.
Reviewer: B Brown
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Enjoyable read
Reviewer: JOHN A. KENNEDY
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Awesome