Living Philosophy: Reflections on Life, Meaning and Morality

The mystery of birth and death, of fate and destiny, of the nature of wisdom, and of the meaning of life itself have preoccupied philosophers since time immemorial.

Some of the perplexities of our moral life form the basis of Christopher Hamilton's book. In a series of original and perceptive philosophical essays - including those on 'Birth and Death', 'Virtue and Human Flourishing', 'The Need to Sleep', 'Sex', 'Truth and Reality', 'Vanity and Destiny' and 'The Fear of Death'- the author reflects on the nature of morality and its relation to experience; on the individual mind and its place in philosophy; and on the strangeness of life itself.

Drawing widely on literature and philosophy, and grouping many of its reflections on thoughts found there - from Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, from Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, George Eliot, Kafka, Jean-Paul Sartre, D H Lawrence and others - Living Philosophy has some affinities with the philosophy practised by such figures as Martha Nussbaum, Stanley Cavell and Peter Winch. Written in a gentle, meditative and exploratory style, the book develops a way of approaching philosophy that opens up room not so much to answer the pressing questions of life as to deepen our sense of what those questions are.

Key Features

• Can be used for both introductory and advanced courses on ethics
• Engages with contemporary philosophical and cultural issues
• Provides numerous literary and philosophical examples
• The clear, direct and non-technical style of writing makes the book accessible to those outside academic life who are interested in philosophy and to established philosophers
• Constitutes a bold critique of current academic writings in the area