The Meaning of Life

Terry Eagleton

Very Short Introductions

An intelligent, witty, and refreshingly approachable guide to the ultimate question.
Ties in philosophy and literature - from the 12th century scholastics to Marx, Schopenhauer, Sartre, and Beckett.
Reveals how the the philosophy of language can be applied to questions of any kind, how meaning can be understood and applied, and where the limits of questioning lie.
Eagleton suggests that the problem of the meaning of life arose with modernity. He looks at the cultural and philosophical reasons for this, and examines the meaninglessness that appears to plague our times - from 'New Age softheadedness' to fundamentalism.
After surveying a variety of possible candidates, Eagleton suggests his own, perhaps surprising, conclusion to the answer to the meaning of life.

The Meaning of Life

Terry Eagleton

Description

We have all wondered about the meaning of life. But is there an answer? And do we even really know what we're asking? Terry Eagleton takes a stimulating and quirky look at this most compelling of questions: at the answers explored in philosophy and literature; at the crisis of meaning in modern times; and suggests his own solution to how we might rediscover meaning in our lives.

The Meaning of Life

Terry Eagleton

Very Short Introductions

The Meaning of Life

Terry Eagleton

Very Short Introductions

Author Information

Terry Eagleton, John Edward Taylor Professor of English at the University of Manchester

An introduction from the author - Terry Eagleton

The Meaning of Life

Terry Eagleton

Very Short Introductions

Reviews and Awards

"A charming personal voyage round himself, I can only say it left me thoroughly surprised - and delighted." - Simon Jenkins, TLS Books of the Year

"wonders never cease. This is popular philosophy by an amateur in the best sense of the word, a man who clearly loves the stuff and writes plain English...[Eagleton] makes his case well and with a light touch." - Simon Jenkins, The Guardian (Review)

"It is a stimulating and often entertaining, if at times rather breathless, Cook's tour around the chief monuments of western philosophy and literature...The Meaning of Life is unusual and refreshing." - John Gray, The Independent

"The book's a little gem." - Suzanne Harrington, Irish Examiner (Cork)

"A lively starting point for late-night debate." - John Cornwell, Sunday Times

"Warm intellectual pleasure...meticulous treatment of the subject...It looks like Eagleton got it right." - Mario Pisani, The Financial Times

"His witty eclecticism is perfect for such a lofty subject" - Leopold Froehlich, Playboy

"It dazzles..."

"The name Terry Eagleton...assures us of stimulation, style, sparkling, sometimes acerbic, wit, and wide-ranging erudition. In other words he is eminently readable...[a] commendably pocket-sized book." - Gordon Parsons, Morning Star