In his major new book A.C. Grayling examines the different ways to live a good life, as proposed from classical antiquity to the recent present. Grayling focuses on the two very different conceptions of what a good life should be: one is a broadly secular view rooted in attitudes about human nature and the human condition; the other is a broadly transcendental view which locates the source of moral value outside the human realm. In the modern world - the world shaped by the rise of science in the seventeenth century - these two views have come increasingly into conflict, and the constantly accumulating tension between them is one of the greatest problems faced by the twenty-first century. Using his renowned clarity of thought and philosophical rigour, AC Grayling has produced an invaluable guide through mankind's ethical struggle to live decently.
What is Good?: The Search for the Best Way to Live
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How do we live a good life? Grayling is a professional philosopher, and his latest book - subtitled 'The Search for The Best Way To Live' - is an attempt to focus upon the big question with which philosophy has been perennially preoccupied. Addressing a 'general reader' without condescension, Grayling depicts an ongoing conflict between 'secular' and 'transcendental' attempts to define the good life. Between, that is, a tradition based upon enlightened humanism and those opposing traditions which tend to manifest themselves in organised religions. Grayling is hardly a neutral observer of the debate. He is, rather, a passionate humanist, alert to the contemporary dangers of a variety of fundamentalisms. He tends, at points, to oversimplify the opposition. But this is an admirably clear and engaging book, as well as a learned one.
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A.C. Grayling answers the most important question - How do we live a good life?
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Many important and difficult questions arise in the course of a human life, but few can compare with the most significant question any individual can ask, namely, 'How shall I live, in order to live a good life?' Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Many important and difficult questions arise in the course of a human life, but few can compare with the most significant question any individual can ask, namely, 'How shall I live, in order to live a good life?' Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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117 of 119 people found the following review helpful
By Paul D
Format:Hardcover
Anthony Grayling is a philosopher with a difference: he actually wants people to read what he writes! And, with books like this, we should all be reading him. The majority of the book is taken up with overviews of how the "good life" has been seen through the ages: from Plato and Aristotle, through the various religions, to more modern interpretations. Grayling beautifully debunks the claims of religion, not least by demonstrating that there is no connection between belief in a god, and behaving well to our fellow creatures. He also questions whether god, on the evidence of the Bible, is actually good, and, whether good or otherwise, why we should obey. Grayling's style is pacy and readable, free from jargon and easy to follow, though far from dumbed down. Grayling shows that a life free from religious superstition is far from bleak, lonely or immoral, but is, in fact, a life of reason, full of the joy of being a part of the natural world which science and the arts have opened up to us. He demonstrates that a morality based on a sincere regard for life is far more valid than one based on religious superstition and the fear of retribution from an "invisible pliceman". Anyone who has ever asked themselves questions such as "What is life for?" "Why am I here?" or "How do I live a good and meaningful life?" really needs to read this book.
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Grayling provides what must be the most enjoyable journey through the history of the search for the good life that is in print today. Always adopting a strong humanist slant (and he puts his cards on the table in the introduction) he charts the struggle between "free will" and submission to divine power across the centuries. In his closing chapters he endeavours to make an overwhelmingly strong case for the human life in a human world, humanly lived and in my opinion he succeeds.
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By Keith Appleyard
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Unlike some of Graylings other books, this is not a collection of short articles, but a journey from Ancient Greece through to the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
It compares and contrasts the Stoics with Christianity, and then on to Darwin and Mill. The book builds to the final conclusion that you don't need organised religion, the public domain should be wholly secular, leaving religion to the personal sphere.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable but flawed
This little volume is quite illuminating on an important subject, but is rather flawed when taken as a whole. Read more
Published 13 months ago by johann28
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well researched but a grating writing style
Although AC Grayling clearly possesses an in depth knowledge of issues concerning how to live a 'good life' spanning most major areas of philosophical thought on the issue, his... Read more
Published 15 months ago by caw1994
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb: lucid, rational, cogent. Excellent!
My first A. C. Grayling purchase was the excellent Ideas That Matter, whose subtitle - 'A Personal Guide for the 21st Century' - hints at a similar approach to the one taken in... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Sebastian Palmer
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not all that enlightened
This is a readable book and amusing in places. It is not a practical guide to personal behaviour but a comparison of Enlightenment teaching with religious teaching. Read more
Published 20 months ago by budhen
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book and secular humanism are part of the answer
Broadly speaking, there are two "ways of understanding the nature and sources of value": the secular and the transcendental. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2009 by Sphex
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Rediscovery of Ethics
If you are looking for a prescription of what constitutes a 'good life' then this book may disappoint. Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2008 by JA Foxton
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Book Dawkins Might Have Written
I will restrict my review to just the second chapter of this book, "The Ordinances of God". This perfectly formed 30 page section is the book that Dawkins should have written... Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2008 by A. Skarzynski
2.0 out of 5 stars
Dismay
I find the following smug assertion 'It is fortunate that many who choose to work in medicine, are by inclination, among the best equipped to think them [the dilemma of ethics]... Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2007 by J.V.A.Robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a nice book!
This book is summary of centuries of philosophy. Grayling is surprisingly good in taking the reader through the debate between reason and superstition across the centuries. Read more
Published on 7 April 2007 by -
2.0 out of 5 stars
Talk about being bias!
I've read the bible quite a bit and come from a religious back-ground, what a coincidence that im going to write a negative review on this book..... Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2006 by Candyman
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