Description: What is Good? by Prof A.C. Grayling, A.C. Grayling AC Grayling answers the question - How do we live a good life? FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description One of the most fundamental questions in our life is to find out what we value - what principles we want to live by and which codes we will use to guide our behaviour. Most of us want to live a good life. But what, in todays secular society, does good actually mean?To classical Greeks, the acquisition of knowledge, the enjoyment of the senses, creativity and beauty were all aspects of life to strive for. Then came the volcanic declarations of St Paul and his fundamentalist ideas on sin and human nature.In WHAT IS GOOD?, A.C Grayling examines these and other proposals on how to live a good life, from the heroic ideals of the Greek poets to Kants theories on freedom and the UN Declaration of human rights. Notes Re-issued with a fantastic new series look, these 5 books tackle important philosophical questions for the 21st century. Grayling writes with clarity, elegance and the occasional aphoristic twist, conscious of standing in a long tradition that runs from Montaigne and Bacon back to Emerson and Thoreau Sunday Telegraph on the bestselling The Meaning Of Things. Author Biography Anthony Grayling teaches philosophy at Birkbeck College, London and is a fellow of St Annes College, Oxford. He is a literary journalist and broadcaster who reviews frequently in the Financial Times and has a regular column in Prospect. Review "A plain mans guide to ethics, from Homers warriors to Nietzsches superhero via Plato and Renaissance Man, clearly and elegantly written." SUNDAY TELEGRAPH "This book reminds us that often the greatest disagreements are between priorities rather than principles." INDEPENDENT "Intelligent introduction... rewards your endeavours." -- Martin Tierney THE HERALD "The book is beautifully written and highly engaging and it contains no footnotes." TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT "This popular yet nonetheless highly accomplished philosopher examines the different ways in which to live a good life, as proposed from classical antiquity to the present day." IRISH EXAMINER Promotional Reissued in the fantastic new series look What is Good was number one in the Observer bestselling titles for philosophy and has sold 24,000 copies in paperback Grayling nicely straddles the artificial divide between man of letters and philosopher, and here he takes the general reader on a civilised and lucid journey from the ethics of the pagan world through the Christian centuries, past the enlightenment and its utilitarian descendants, through the anxiety-ridden 20th century, and into the present Simon Blackburn, Sunday Times Grayling effectively demystifies a subject that is all too often discussed as though its secrets are accessible only to long-bearded gurus. He writes like a dream and with impressive but not overbearing erudition Julian Baggini, TES Kirkus UK Review In What Is Good? Grayling explores the long history of humanitys search for answers to questions such as, What values should we live by in order to live the genuinely good life? Starting with the ancient Greeks and finishing with the moral complexity of the 20th century, Grayling sees the search for truths about the good as a tussle between an enlightened, rational humanism and the religions of the book - Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Graylings philosophical survey is vast in scope, encompassing classical philosophers such as Socrates, the birth of Christian morality, the Reformation, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the final triumph of science in the past two centuries. Perhaps surprisingly for a book that covers so much ground, one of its strengths is the amount of detail Grayling manages to pack in: his chapter on the Greek philosophers, for example, includes a discussion of Homeric ideals as well as those of the great thinkers of the age. This is that rare and wonderful thing: a book on philosophy that is readable without being patronising. Indeed, it is one of Graylings central contentions that philosophy should attempt to address the problems the world currently faces, instead of hiding behind dry, logical analysis of terms and concepts. This inevitably involves communicating philosophical ideas to people who do not study philosophy, and Grayling is the ideal writer to do this. Although Graylings book is a historical survey, it is also packed with lively ideas and discussion. Such is his authorial skill, readers may find themselves seduced into believing that the only common-sense view of the world is the humanism that Grayling proposes. For this reason, What Is Good? would ideally be read in conjunction with something like John Grays Straw Dogs, which attacks this humanist view of the world without resorting to religion. (Kirkus UK) Long Description One of the most fundamental questions in our life is to find out what we value - what principles we want to live by and which codes we will use to guide our behaviour. Most of us want to live a good life. But what, in todays secular society, does good actually mean?To classical Greeks, the acquisition of knowledge, the enjoyment of the senses, creativity and beauty were all aspects of life to strive for. Then came the volcanic declarations of St Paul and his fundamentalist ideas on sin and human nature.In WHAT IS GOOD?, A.C Grayling examines these and other proposals on how to live a good life, from the heroic ideals of the Greek poets to Kants theories on freedom and the UN Declaration of human rights. Review Quote Grayling effectively demystifies a subject that is all too often discussed as though its secrets are accessible only to long-bearded gurus. He writes like a dream and with impressive but not overbearing erudition-- TES Promotional "Headline" A.C. Grayling answers the most important question - How do we live a good life? Description for Sales People Reissued in the fantastic new series lookWhat is Good was number one in the Observer bestselling titles for philosophy and has sold 24,000 copies in paperback Details ISBN0753817551 Publisher Orion Publishing Co ISBN-10 0753817551 ISBN-13 9780753817551 Format Paperback Subtitle The Search for the Best Way to Live Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 170.9 Media Book Pages 288 Language English Imprint Weidenfeld & Nicolson Short Title What Is Good? UK Release Date 2007-10-03 Year 2007 Publication Date 2007-10-03 Author A.C. Grayling Audience General NZ Release Date 2004-04-30 AU Release Date 2004-04-30 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:4148660;
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Book Title: What Is Good?: the Search for the Best Way to Live
Item Height: 198mm
Item Width: 133mm
Author: Prof A.C. Grayling
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Topic: Popular Philosophy, Opinion of the People
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
Publication Year: 2007
Item Weight: 251g
Number of Pages: 288 Pages