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The Meaning of Life (Hardcover)

by Terry Eagleton (Author) "Philosophers have an infuriating habit of analysing questions rather than answering them, and this is how I want to begin ..." (more)
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 200 pages
  • Publisher: OUP Oxford (22 Feb 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0199210705
  • ISBN-13: 978-0199210701
  • Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 12.4 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 258,212 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #4 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Cultural Studies > Modernism
    #28 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > History & Criticism > Literary Theory & Movements > Modernism

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Product Description

Guardian, 30.12.06

'Eagleton's new book, breezily entitled The Meaning of Life'


Review

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 )
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Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Philosophers have an infuriating habit of analysing questions rather than answering them, and this is how I want to begin. Read the first page
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars A struggle, 16 April 2009
This review is from: The Meaning of Life: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)
I tried my utmost to read this book till the end, but found my eyes would glaze over. I barely made it to the end and the experience was not pleasant.
Maybe it is the fault of trying to cram too many ideas into too small a book. These ideas lack a sufficient introduction/explanation and the experience was like attending a high level lecture in a subject I had no familiarity with. Disappointing as this was supposed to be an 'introduction'.
I didn't personally feel as if the author made much effort to clarify anything he was talking about and the text seemed to regularly bounce from subject to seemingly unrelated subject without any solid conclusion being produced.
Maybe I am being a bit harsh. If you are already well read in philosophy and the other subjects touched upon in the book, then this may well be a good summary.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Smoke and Mirrors, 6 Oct 2009
This review is from: The Meaning of Life: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)
Those familiar with Eagleton's work will find nothing here that has not been covered in his other books, and will encounter the same articulate but often glib survey of modern thought, with a line up of the usual suspects - Heidegger, Freud, Marx etc. And once again you cannot escape the odd sensation of an intellect that ranges comfortably across the cultural terrain of contmporary thinking without really offering something original and incisive that engages in a truely productive or creative way with any of the ideas discussed. There is always the nagging suspicion that the author has gleaned his knowledge of these various titans of modern thought from other sources and has somehow managed to avoid the actual tedious business of reading these great bores.
And this seems to me Eagleton's great talent - the lucid reduction or distillation of obscure and impenetrable verbage into entertaining and readable prose.

Perhaps the short commings are due to the nature of the work - a brief survey rather than an a unique contribution to the subject - whatever the subject might be. But isn't this yet another 'survey' from Eagleton, which as readable and entertaining as it is, does not offer anything that has not been covered in his other works.

It is true of course that there is no answer to 'the meaning of life' but this is not the point, no one would seriously expect an answer, but what they might expect is something less glib and knowing, that avoids the self satisfied tone that reduces everything to a nudge nudge, wink wink, we know better leftist sneer. Of course Eagleton's Marxism is less evident than it once was, it seems even he has realised this was an ideology long past it's sell by date. Those unfamiliar with Eagleton's oeurve will find this a succinct introduction to his modus operandi.







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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly engaging and beautifully succinct, 1 Sep 2009
By H Raz (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Meaning of Life: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)
Terry Eagleton writes in a very readable style conveying complex, deep issues in a way that is very accessible. Highly intelligent, clever and witty, this Very Short Introduction to arguably the biggest of all questions does an amazing job of answering it, if "answering" is the right word. Eagleton remains credible throughout, never resting on easy standpoints and never afraid to either praise or criticise different philosophies and movements for their pros and cons, and he never slips into simplistic reductionist explanations. Highly recommended!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A good read but rather biased and narrow for such a topic
For such a large topic in so few pages it is well-written and entertaining. It poses many of the questions regarding this topic very well and gives some good insights into the... Read more
Published 26 days ago by Keith Savitri

5.0 out of 5 stars A decent read
While written as an introduction to 'the meaning of life', this book also attempts to entertain with the odd candid remark and a whistle stop tour of great thinkers' views on the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Tufty

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