Buy new:
$13.99
FREE delivery Sunday, May 19 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$13.99
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Sunday, May 19 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Saturday, May 18. Order within 6 hrs 18 mins
In Stock
$$13.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$7.74
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Good condition or better. Not an ex-library book. May have writing or highlights in text. Good condition or better. Not an ex-library book. May have writing or highlights in text. See less
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 21 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 5 hrs 3 mins
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$13.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Julian Baggini
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

What's It All About?: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life 1st Edition

by Julian Baggini (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 179 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$13.99","priceAmount":13.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"KcKBE78WLo28hYvPv7AgtKEZeJmHFf9uSecESghaK%2BfMsgAZ%2FXVidK5Jc%2B%2FpshLUeuS%2FnNCMce5M%2FQSNFVnOyqWiY%2Bu1rGTA9AXirBmrQMmNjtWfoiaX6PhwVTNyrzIXWl6NyNS46oo%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$7.74","priceAmount":7.74,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"7","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"74","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"KcKBE78WLo28hYvPv7AgtKEZeJmHFf9u%2FUO6VkSPWiCU%2F1oGhQMXp7PhsueOsQ07fy0fBe6SO%2B6JBQTBrDrRgjvN2lHVPZx60b1Z6Ln5%2F%2BJ9Pi32O%2BdH7QJj4OFcj%2F2TzBlV7zW%2FwFFb9M7bUrow%2FLVckmoQ66rLHkgTSmsvRXiqPW21bhdynA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

What is the meaning of life? It is a question that has intrigued the great philosophers--and has been hilariously lampooned by Monty Python. Indeed, the whole idea strikes many of us as vaguely pompous and perhaps more than a little absurd. Is there one profound answer, an ultimate purpose behind human existence?

Julian Baggini thinks not. Rather, as Baggini argues in What's It All About, meaning can be found in a variety of ways. He succinctly breaks down six answers people commonly suggest when considering what life is all about--helping others, serving humanity, being happy, becoming successful, enjoying each day as if it were your last, and "freeing your mind." By reducing the vague, mysterious question of "meaning" to a series of more specific (if unmysterious) questions about what gives life purpose and value, he shows that the quest for meaning can be personal, empowering, and uplifting.

Illustrating his argument with the thoughts of many of the great philosophers and examples drawn from everyday life, Baggini convincingly shows that the search for meaning is personal and within the power of each of us to find.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    9780195315790
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0195315790
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    January 8, 2007
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    8.14 x 0.47 x 5.46 inches
  8. Print length
    224 pages
  9. See all details
Next page
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Frequently bought together

What's It All About?: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life
$13.99
Get it as soon as Sunday, May 19
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Ma
$17.95
Get it as soon as Sunday, May 19
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Albert Camus: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
$12.99
Get it as soon as Sunday, May 19
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Baggini's book is a pellucid reminder that philosophy is a wonderfully universal, democratic endeavor. As questions go, there is no simpler and no more productive query than "What's it all about?" and in the short span of a cab ride, it is the driver and not 'the world's greatest living philosopher' 1), whose intellect does the inviting, the confounding, and the demanding. For the reader of 'What's it All About?' the philosophical ride infinitely exceeds the fare."--Tim Weldon, Philosophical Practice

"Useful and provocative."--Wall Street Journal

"Looking for a clear guide to what contemporary philosophy has to say about the meaning of life? Baggini takes us through all the plausible answers, weaving together Kierkegaard, John Stuart Mill, Monty Python, and Funkadelic in an entertaining but always carefully reasoned discussion."--Peter Singer, author of How Are We To Live

"A work of popular philosophy that is simple, serious and devoid of ostentation. The question of the meaning of life has long been a byword for pretentious rambling. It takes some nerve to tackle it in a brisk and no-nonsense fashion." --New Statesman

"Informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining in the process.The book takes a refreshingly personal approach and offers an encounter with a vigorous mind at work, puzzling through the issues in a trenchantly argued but subtly reasoned way."--New Humanist

"It's egalitarianism of style and content is admirable. There is nothing here to put off someone who has never read a book of philosophy, yet the book is doing philosophy, not just talking about it."--Scotland on Sunday

Book Description

A wonderfully liberating guide to the quest to find meaning in life

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0195315790
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (January 8, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780195315790
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195315790
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.14 x 0.47 x 5.46 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 179 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Julian Baggini

Julian Baggini

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Dr Julian Baggini is the author, co-author or editor of over 20 books including The Great Guide: What David Hume Can Teach Us about Being Human and Living Well (Princeton University Press), The Godless Gospel, How The World Thinks, The Virtues of the Table and The Ego Trick (all Granta) and The Edge of Reason (Yale University Press). He was the founding editor of The Philosophers’ Magazine and has written for numerous newspapers and magazines, as well as for the think tanks The Institute of Public Policy Research, Demos and Counterpoint. He is Academic Director of the Royal institute of Philosophy and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent. His website is JulianBaggini.com

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
179 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Eloquent and thorough analysis of the possible meanings of life
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is a beautifully written book about the possible meanings of life. It covers the most common ways to think about the meaning of life -- helping others, happiness, achieving things, etc -- and basically dismisses them. It is therefore more about what is NOT the meaning of life, rather than what is. The author's conclusions are similar to what many other philosophers have concluded: "Life can be worthwhile in itself, particularly if it is a life with a balance of authenticity, happiness and concern for others; one which engages in the ongoing work of becoming who we want to be and being successful in those terms."

A religious reader would probably not like this book, since the point of the book is to consider the meaning of life assuming the "naturalist account is broadly true" and "to consider the implications for life's meaning if it is true." A religious reader, however, is unlikely to go looking for a book on the meaning of life, so I think there's little risk of this book bothering anyone. A religious reader would be better off starting with Baggini's book on atheism.

The argument in the book that best struck me is that it is better to consider life as a process rather than as a set of discrete targets or goals, since once you achieve a goal, you're done, and the achievement is really just a single point in time. After you achieve a goal and until you set a new one, you may think of your life as meaningless. So think of goals along a continuous process of your life, not as end points.

The best thing I like about the book is the writing style. It was a joy to read the clear and incisive arguments. Highly, highly recommended, if only for reading pleasure.

Other good books on the meaning of life are What Is The Meaning Of Human Life? by Belliotti and The Brain and the Meaning of Life by Paul Thagard.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Sergei G.
4.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad shot, but not quite complete.
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2008
Verified Purchase
Overall I liked the book very much especially since is was my first on my Kindle! I'm often preoccupied with what life is all about and I was very excited when I found something accessible and comprehensive from a professional philosopher with a 360 degree view on the issue. I found the first few chapters very satisfying but as the book went on, I sometimes struggled to keep up with the author and sometimes a little bored (the chapter on Carpe Diem is kind of boring). One of the problems with the author's style is that he's slightly repetitive. Once you struggle through a paragraph, often the next one reiterates the same idea, and takes just as much time to understand. Again, the section on Carpe Diem is a good example. I would love this book to be a bit less wordy.

The conclusion that meaning of life could be found in finding a satisfying activity that will last a lifetime is just OK. It could work for a lot of people but many others would still be left overboard. True, just because not everybody can be happy doesn't mean that the author's conclusion is wrong, but I would have enjoyed the book much more if I saw some acknowledgment that life can really, well, suck and there could be nothing we could do about it. That would make the discussion more honest. One just needs to think about the great number of those sick, oppressed, tortured (right this moment), deeply depressed, unjustly imprisoned, etc. Their suffering might be too all-consuming to think about anything but putting an end to it. Can they find a meaning to their lives?

I think it would be more honest if we said that there is a tremendous degree of chance and luck involved in our ability to make our lives bearable. We might know the recipe for a good life but our brain constitution could be such that implementing the plan would be anatomically/neurologically impossible. Even if some of us do find a way to get enjoyment out of our lives, it hardly has any significance after our death, because that enjoyment (or any other emotion for that matter) doesn't transcend our being.

Death erases all signs of our lives as Marcus Aurelius kept telling himself in his "Meditations". Our feeling of enjoyment is just a function of our brain (made possible by our dopamine based reward system) and so just another animalistic function that stops working the minute we are dead. How we felt during our lives has zero significance. Except our brains make us feel better when we do something that they think is good for us. A hard question for me is: if it doesn't matter how we feel during our lives, why not just enjoy our lives since it feels better (i.e. generates dopamine)? It sure is an enticing proposition but strangely enough, hurting gives its own pleasure. In the end, happy or unhappy doesn't change anything after our death and in that sense Camus' question "Why not commit suicide?" still stands -- at least for those whose suffering is hard to bear.

In my opinion, the best take on life, its meaning or lack thereof was given by Schopenhauer despite all the criticism his philosophy has received. Yes, his philosophy is pessimistic, but just because it is pessimistic doesn't make it wrong.
17 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amit Sahoo
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good for non-philosophers
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2008
Verified Purchase
This is a good book for a reader who is not an expert of philosophy. One hears a lot of answers/maxims/directives/mottos when one asks about life's purpose. And on the surface a lot of these answers sound logical. Baggini digs deeper behind these answers and analyzes in what ways a particular motto/directive makes sense and in what ways it does not. Baggini stresses the point that a lot of the simple mottos that are thrown around e.g "sieze the day", "always strive towards your goals", "just try to be happy", "helping others is the greatest virtue" could mean different things to different people. And some of the inferences that could be drawn from these mottos just do not make sense. Hence one should be careful about latching on to catch phrases like these without fully understanding what it entails.

Baggini does not pre-suppose any deep philosophical knowledge on the part of the readers. So, he explains any philosophical concepts that he brings up. In this way, the book is also a good introduction to philosophy. As other reviewers and even Baggini himself have mentioned, Baggini provides no clearcut prescription but a framework which can be used to live a meaningful and purposeful life. Baggini discusses and identifies a number of components of the purposeful life, but it is up to the readers to work out the specifics and to bring it to fruition. I find this approach very hopeful and motivating although I can understand that it can also feel daunting.

For someone who is already well versed in philosophy, this book might not be a satisfying read. Baggini does not spend more than a couple of pages (small pages and large print!) on any of the philosophical concepts/theories that he introduces. But for the layperson looking to read her first book on the meaning/purpose of life, this book is great.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Ramkumar R
5.0 out of 5 stars Transfixing arguments for clear headed approach to life
Reviewed in India on January 23, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is a wonderful book that is very accessible, and explores the nuances of various stances that are often held by proponents as providing meaning to life. Each stance, whether it is life as a pursuit of success, life with an end goal as happiness, life as a moral gymnasium, life as work, life as religion or spirituality, life in family or altruism and even thorny stances on the very existence on free will and choice are explored. There is no grand narrative on the meaning of life, which may disappoint solution seekers and often the very existence of meaning in life in the universe is questioned. The book made me reflect deeply, and I changed my mind on multiple things, as I read the book after taking into account his arguments. One of the points resonated with me deeply. Baggini states that it is not often the question that "does life have a meaning?" which is relevant, rather the question of "how do people find meaning in life" that matters.
Report
colin benjamin
1.0 out of 5 stars A lot is words without mMaking much umptession
Reviewed in Australia on August 28, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is an interesting ramble without matching its potentuak
Report
Maria
5.0 out of 5 stars Klug, ausgewogen.
Reviewed in Germany on March 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
Erfreulich distanziert, Ein kluger Blick aus der Weitwinkelperspektive auf den "Sinn des Lebens" . In leicht verständlichem, klaren Englisch geschrieben. Ich werde es in Etappen lesen, weil ich viele Anregungen zum Nachdenken bekomme. Und ich werde es immer wieder nachlesen.
Report
Alan Urdaibay
5.0 out of 5 stars Compact grand tour of the subject
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2006
Verified Purchase
A small volume that provides food for thought about the big issues. One small gripe would be that, like most philosophers, Baggini tends at times to think that knowledge can be acquired merely by thinking very clearly. This does provide a very good starting point but is insufficient. For example, Descartes tried it with 'I think, therefore I am'. Clear thinking can demonstrate the wrongness of his conclusion that nothing else but god could be verified, it is true, since clearly the language Descartes wrote this in is a social construct and he couldn't have used it in a world comprised only of himself. However, science can disprove even his first observation. Sufferers from Cotard's syndrome have a sense of identity and autobiography but believe they have ceased to exist - 'Am I dead?' they ask. Baggini dismisses the conclusions of evolutionary biology in the same way that Descartes might be supposed to dismiss the conclusions of modern neuroscience. However, much of the fun of reading philosophy is that it provides a challenge to think and Baggini's well-argued and usually crisp text does that well. Baggini takes on a big theme in a few pages and the overall result is a gem with few obvious flaws.
7 people found this helpful
 Report
Ergo Ipso Facto
4.0 out of 5 stars The Birds and the Bees
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2015
Verified Purchase
This was a thoughtful and logical consideration of where the meaning of life might lie.
However it occurred to me that the author neglected to consider the meaning of life from an evolutionary point of view.
We are part of the natural world - an advanced mammal - so therefore the basic behavior of simpler species should be contrasted with us.
When we examine other animals, birds and fish etc. their aims are clear - survival and fundamentally reproduction.
Our thoughts and sense of self lead us to speculate on a whole range of loftier purposes for our lives. Despite this we are basically little different from other forms of life in our key motivators.
So in effect, I would suggest that to reproduce is the purpose in life coded in our DNA. So perhaps, at an instinctive level, having offspring is what makes all organisms most happy and complete.
Starting a family may be what it's all about.
2 people found this helpful
 Report