Product 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 today's 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 Kant's theories on freedom and the UN Declaration on Human Rights.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #159661 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
"A plain man's guide to ethics, from Homer's warriors to Nietzsche's 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

Martin Tierney, THE HERALD
"Intelligent introduction... rewards your endeavours."

TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
"The book is beautifully written and highly engaging and it contains no footnotes."

Customer Reviews

A Beautiful Guide to the Good Life
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.

Very readable history of the search for the good life
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.

Excellent read - strong on Humanist values
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.