This Beauty: A Philosophy of Being Alive

by Nick Riggle

An acclaimed philosopher  and new father argues that engaging with beauty can make life worth living
 
You didn't choose to live this life, in this body, in these conditions—this delicate and difficult life. Yet when you consider that your existence is fleeting, an inspired sense of urgency can spring forth. Say you often hike with a friend. One day, they propose that you skydive instead. You're wavering, and they  Come on. You only live once!  And soon you're flying through the air. Why embrace a life you did not choose?

In  This Beauty , philosopher Nick Riggle explores the beauty of being alive by investigating the things we say to inspire ourselves and each   seize the day, treat yourself,   you only live once . These clichés are at best vague, at worst stupid. They imply that you should do something wild with your life because your life is precious, a little like saying you should go swimming with your grandfather's watch because it is irreplaceable.  

Drawing on insights from aesthetics and his experiences as a professional skater and new father, Riggle shows us how we can understand the idea that life is beautiful enough to bear repeating. Insightful and deeply humane,  This Beauty  offers a personal and searching inquiry into the mystery of life's beauty.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Audiobook

240 pages, Hardcover

Published December 6, 2022

Reviews

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an interesting blend of analytic philosophy, autobiography, and existential musing. Stylistically, the book is one part inspirational prose, one part poetic reflection, and one part precise analysis. This Beauty is part of a small, but possibly growing, movement among academic philosophers to refocus on some classic and existential questions: what things give life meaning, what matters most, and what makes life worth living at all.

Riggle frames the book around exactly this sort of question. He asks ‘Why value this life that you were unwittingly given without your consent or approval?’

And he looks for answers by meditating on the common-place mantras that we hear and—depending on our dispositions—occasionally utter that are supposed to inspire us to make the most of the life we have. He reflects on the meaning behind such phrases like ‘carpe diem’, ‘live like there’s no tomorrow’, ‘you only live once’, ‘love each moment like it’s your last’, ‘live in the moment’, and the slightly less common Nietzschean idea of eternal recurrence.

He calls these sorts of things, ‘existential imperatives’. It’s hard to say just what these vague imperatives are telling us to do to make the most of our life. Riggle patiently, and often amusingly, sorts through the different meanings each might have. Some interpretations wind up being utterly empty or simply misguided, but some readings contain a bit of reasonable advice. As he works through the different imperatives and the different takes on each one, he considers examples of some hypothetical (and some not so hypothetical) actions and life-styles. As a skater in the late 90’s, it seems like Riggle himself YOLO’d before it was cool, and now he’ll probably YOLO long after it was cool (though in a different, slightly less bone breaking, fashion.) By his lights, it turns out, somewhat unsurprisingly, that different interpretations of the ‘YOLO’ mantra can lead to very different kinds of lives. One can lead people to a rad life, one to a sad life (or to a bit of both,) and still another reading—with an emphasis on the ‘once’ bit—can lead to a life of extreme caution. The examples, real, imagined, or autobiographical make the ideas vivid and help keep our feet on the ground.

This everyday style of philosophical analysis was probably brought into the collective consciousness by Harry Frankfurt’s essay On Bullshit. Similar things were done with a good bit less press before Frankfurt’s book had its moment. And I personally love this sort of thing—just watching an analytically inclined personality take their time to slowly think through some concept or pervasive idea or commonplace phrase. And I felt the analyses here were done very well and stayed accessible throughout. (Some analysis like this starts with the everyday concepts and then gets pretty hard to track pretty quickly.)

But after all the analysis, Riggle comes back to his question, ‘The Question’— why value this life? He finds an answer that seems open textured, but still somehow definite: ‘When we sort through the confusions, extremes, and idiocies of these existential imperatives, we find that they share an aesthetic dimension: they all say in one way or another that you should engage with, amplify, and understand beauty, the beauty in this life, this day, this moment, this body.’

Beauty makes life valuable on Riggle’s account. Socrates notoriously thought the unexamined life was not worth living; Riggle believes the un-beautiful life—a life entirely devoid of beauty—is not worth much either. And it’s hard to argue with that in a way.
(Though philosophers certainly will— and they’ll probably ask things like: is beauty the only thing that makes life valuable? Are good actions valuable because they are beautiful or because they are good? More generally, do all the good things in life make life valuable primarily because they are beautiful? Or are there deeply significant values in life that are wholly separate from beauty?)

I placed all those pointed philosophical questions in parentheses for a reason. This book has more truth in it than most. And it can make someone pause and focus on what matters in our life for just a moment—and that’s a beautiful thing.

[Birdie Condor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, it’s been quite a long time since I read anything in this vein.. like probably at least a good six or so years.
I forgot how much I loved diving into truly thought provoking pieces of writing, and this is definitely going to the top of my list now.

I’m far from a writer, and I never review books… so I’ll just say this. Grab a copy, settle in, and enjoy the experience.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Beauty is so many good things. It is a quick read but feels like it will stick with me a long time. It’s accessible but learned — not dumbed down. It covers a lot of ground but ultimately circles around a very important idea.

We’re bombarded by existential catch phrases about how we should seize the day, YOLO, etc. Riggle goes into the heart of what we mean when we ask how we can make the most of our one, fragile life. He finds compelling practical answers — what we can do to live well — that are grounded in aesthetics. When we recognize, make, and share beauty with others, we harvest the good things in life that are right in front of us and make meaning.

This is everything philosophy should be. I loved this book, made lots of marginal notes, and will be giving it to lots of people who will love it.

[jun angelo cabuguas · Rating 5 out of 5]

great first read of 2023, a lovely reminder of how wonderful it is to share beauty in the world with others. looking forward to coming back to this one with older eyes

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riggle starts with the fact that none of us chose to be born. We end up alive, and we've had no say in that decision nor to whom we are born to, so he asks why should we care about this life we've been given. I like how systematically he develops first his question and then his answer to it; I'm a scientist, methodical thinking is my jam. His answer, which deals with the beauty of life, was not so much a revelation to me but a confirmation made concrete in argument, which I appreciated. I'm in my late 50s. If I had read this 20-30 years earlier, I might have relished some parts of life more, but overall, I found this a validation of how I've chosen to live. And that was a balm. Highly recommended for persons interested in aesthetics, philosophy, and how to get the most out of a life.

[Anne McKeirnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this philosophy book. Sometimes this kind of book can be dry or hard to read but it was compelling. I did have to not have very many distractions around or I’d get lost in an idea and have to reread a paragraph. I like that the author is here in San Diego my hometown.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is your life- the only one you will ever have and the one when it is gone will be gone forever.

We need to make our existence something more than strange and endurable.

We need to make it beautiful.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for a class at college. It had a really solid start and I was having a good time with following it! I think around Chapter 5 is when things kind of begin to drop off and some of his arguments don't tend to be explained as well. His answers feel incomplete in how they're structured and it just makes the ending of the book feel disappointing after all the build up. That is not to say that the answer he gives is bad, it's definitely something that's in the right direction.

I think the only other thing or issue I have with this book is that there's several claims that feel strawman-y to me (and to my Professor). It makes me curious about how things would be explained if he didn't do that and looked at some in a more properly complex way.

[Sangeetha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riggle asks The Question. What are we doing here with this life we didn't choose? He works through some common expressions like carpe diem and yolo and spins them on their head. What does it mean to "make the most of life"? Why are these expressions so focused on the self and don't make room for community or communal needs? Riggle argues that beauty makes life worthwhile. Engaging with it, learning what you like, discussing it with others, creating it. It's a slim tome, but I think the principles will stick with me. I especially loved how Riggle argues the world is not our playground. It's something we must be active stewards of.

[Estel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights on how to live life to the fullest :)

[Scott Lupo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am totally torn on this book. On one hand, I do love the optimism that aesthetics brings and I do like beauty in its multitude of ways that it exhibits itself. On the other hand, there is something vitally missing in this way of thinking and living. The book itself felt rather too positive, bordering on toxic. Believing that just about everything falls into the beauty category and that sharing that with others somehow gives meaning in life is a bit of stretch and quite a leap for me personally. I think I understand the author's message of trying to look at life through the lens of beauty - of the day, the moment, your friends, this world, etc. And when you share that beauty with others it can give meaning and make life more engaging and worthy. Hmm. That doesn't seem to fit the majority of life and reality. I think it is a good tool to use while living your life but I don't think it rises to the level of giving meaning and purpose. I'm not sure it actually connects a human to something larger than themselves, which in my opinion is what meaning and purpose are. I think the author does a fabulous job of making the argument of at least trying to view life via the beauty lens. However, there has to be a balance with things that are not beautiful because life has a whole lot of ugliness. But doesn't that ugliness also teach us something about life? Doesn't it also allow us to see meaning and purpose too?

[LeeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the deft strokes of a poet's pen, Riggle's prose is both as sweet & airy as a spring breeze while also as apt and grounded as a forest trail. Just when you think he might be getting overly sappy, he hits you with a gut punch. Riggle reminds me so much of HD Thoreau (whose Walden is my favorite rereadable nonfiction) and the great Peter Wohlleben (whose Heartbeat of Trees is a perfect companion). I have no doubt Riggle is a Transcendentalist.

To be quite honest, Riggle has a way of taking lofty thoughts and firmly affixing them in the here and now. Thoreau would call that "putting foundations under them". "Life is precious, rare, and under constant threat," Riggle writes. "Put that on a mug."

You know what? This book would make a perfect graduation gift. Definitely add it to your May shopping cart.

[Allison Fortman · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first started this book, I was completely enamored, but as it progressed, it became slightly convoluted and unnecessarily abstract in my opinion. Although it was hard to get through at the end, it was overall a warm and sweet novel that I would still recommend to anyone needing a reminder about the abundance of art and beauty. Its main argument is that while we may not have asked to be born, we make life worth living by engaging with the aesthetic life. By noticing the connections, creativity, and incidental nature of life, we create individualism and meaning.

Favorite Blips:

"When I engage with the aesthetic present and feel drawn to what I find there, I identify with that feeling. I have to: I have lowered my trust in the future, and now all there is to fill in my sense of self is this world before me, seen through my complicated eyes. The beauty I manage to find or create then seems to be beauty that finds me. It is like love, or home. You cannot help becoming the love you feel, or feeling like you belong in a place that welcomes and accepts you. The suddenly beautiful world that comes into view when I am in the aesthetic moment, this world that seems to have unwittingly folded itself into my existence, now feels like a home, like it not only tolerates the strange existence it forced on me but welcomes me and invites me to be more myself by engaging with the beauty I find and make here."

"So maybe what mediates between death and you only live once is the opposite thought, not that life is meaningful but that it is, in a sense, meaningless or absurd."

"What's the point of it all? Life is absurd. When I zoom out and take a bird's-eye or cosmic perspective on my life, I lose my grip on the thought that I should care at all. I begin to doubt the seriousness with which I tend to regard my life. Think of your life as the blip that it is, over so soon, spent doing more or less ordinary things. You are one fleshy blob among many, in an instant of time, in the void of space. The perspective reveals an almost comical gap between the urgent importance you attach to your life and the utter nothing that your life will amount to no matter what you do."

[Emily Mellow · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the beginning, I really thought this might be the best book ever. Beautifully written, beautifully read audiobook, narrated by the author, and the meaning of the writing was profound, interesting, and informative.
But then it was like a switch flipped and the book went deep into philosophy jargon, ramblings I couldn't care about, questions I haven't asked since I was a 14 year old stoner.
Enjoy this book! You might get a lot more out of it than me. I have a thing against philosophy for its own sake, like it's a mobius strip of endless debate that I want nothing to do with.

[Prateek Jain · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book starts okay with the author talking about having no choice about being born and raising interesting questions around it. He talks about his upbringing and his life as a skater. After that to me it started sounding like ramblings about art and using art to give gift of elegance etc etc. It was very hard to follow because it sounds very much like one size fits all. It’s possible it’s not my taste and I didn’t get what the author was aiming for.

[Pol Herrero Castillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly disappointed after reading this book! The first half is a lilbit messy, gets into many discussions I think he could delve more into, and the author uses informal vocabulary to attempt to do informal philosophy, which is sometimes cringey. The second part, however, is beautifully written and very cohesive!

[Kate Vereb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find myself thinking of certain parts of this book after I finished it. I really enjoyed the meat of his theory around chapter 6ish. Impressive how he expertly weaved together ancient philosophers with YOLO and Drake, Sia and Kate McKinnon. Look forward to his work and wish I could take his class.

[Chari · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
i loved the message behind this book, as it puts into words many of the thoughts and ways in how i’ve chosen to live my life. putting beauty and love at the center of everything.

but it was so so repetitive! this book could’ve been 100 pages shorter and it’d been perfect

[Kevin Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think this beauty was a pretty good book, but if i had to critique it i would say a little less YOLO and a little more ANYTHING ELSE

[Annette Witham · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I still like philosophy, so every once in a while, I pick up a book like this. The author offers ideas on how to get the most out of life, a life you didn’t choose to be part of.

[William Bookman III · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's beautiful! Read this quickly. The late blooming of a skater turned philosopher and poet. A very working person's perspective on answering challenging philosophical questions.

[Lewis]

"This Beauty" indeed. I think it's quite lovely (beautiful, perhaps!) that Riggle attempts to answer the question "Why are we born?" by trying to answer what his newborn son will one day ask: "Why was I born?"

A lighthearted, fun, and enlightening musing/memoir/dissertation on why our lives find meaning when we engage with, treasure, and share beautiful things. In fact, it perhaps even goes so far as to answer another question: "What is art for?".

In Riggle's words (and mine too!), the answer would certainly be: because it brings us together, because it makes us feel alive. Loved it!

[Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really refreshing hearing a optimistic perspective on what the meaning of life is. I think the author did a good job of highlighting that maybe we shouldn't focus on what the meaning of life itself is, but rather focus on finding the meaning within this life. Specifically, he highlights finding beauty and how finding beauty is an invitation to forming relationships with others. To me, this highlighted a kind of interpersonal idea of meaning, which I really enjoyed.