Philosophy for Life: Applying Philosophy in Politics and Culture

by Rupert J. Read, Matthew A. Lavery (Editor)

Philosophy for Life is a bold call for the practice of philosophy in our everyday lives. Philosopher and writer Rupert Read explores a series of important and often provocative contemporary political and cultural issues from a philosophical perspective, arguing that philosophy is not a body of doctrine, but a practice, a vantage point from which life should be analysed and, more importantly, acted upon.



Philosophy for Life is a personal journey that explores four key areas of society  Politics, Religion, Art, and the Environment. Taking tangible examples from modern politics, from climate change to the war on terror, and culture, from Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy to the poetry of T.S. Eliot, Read shows that philosophy is already an active part of today's world. This captivating and timely book offers a philosophical response to some of the key questions facing today's society and encourages us to use philosophy as a kind of therapy. Philosophy for Life shows that we can improve our perspective on the world and our place in it by doing philosophy everyday.

Genres: Philosophy

184 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2007

Reviews

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book covering diverse areas of life and/or philosophy, in which the constant is an affection for the approaches taken by Wittgenstein (and a love of parentheses). Many of the chapters are clear and helpful - I would pick out those on the ecosystem and forgiveness as highlights. Others get a bit tangled up; if I understood the chapter about poetry and art correctly, I don't agree with it, and I'm pretty sure I understood the chapter on death and dying correctly, and have completely different intuitions. I'll be coming back to some of these, probably especially the chapter on the relationship of religion to the liberal/postliberal state, which uses Quakerism as an example.

[Isaac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting some pop philosophy when I bought this book. Instead it is a collection of edited academic essays. Interesting but I found the book going. Started and stopped several times.