BOOK REVIEW

Life, Death & Meaning: Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions – edited by David Benatar

Wide-spread compilation of readings to quench the appetite of deeper thinkers

           As this is not a novel or even a traditional book in the sense that it is actually a compilation of philosophical essays, it retains a special spot on my bookshelf for its uniqueness. In my opinion its inclusion in this list should go unquestioned: although I must confess to not having read this cover to cover, some of the readings altered my perspectives on life drastically. It was required reading for one of my mid-level philosophy courses in university, which adopted the same name as the book’s title, and I so much enjoyed exploring topics on which I’d never before given considerable thought that I kept my copy of the volume and have reread many of the pieces since.

           Although in typical fashion many of the philosophers have a tendency to be extremely verbose, it is at times necessary for them to do so as they attempt to delineate their theses in a crystal clear manner. This can occasionally give the reader the feeling they are digressing as they anticipate counter-arguments to their points and proactively respond to these, but it concurrently also offers the sensation that the topic has been comprehensively exhausted. Too, I found that some of the writers wasted lines on defining terms and the scope of their arguments, but again this is often understandably necessary to be as careful as possible.

             The pleasure I derived from some of the readings is of an entirely different sort to reading novels or business-related books. Too often I notice that many people I’ve befriended have given no thought to these bigger ideas, such as the construct of time or suicide’s moral permissibility, as they are “too deep” and “have no impact on my day-to-day”. I see this as a sad dismissal of our analytical faculties and a deliberate naivety as an excuse to channel our energies solely in the direction of activities we consider ‘worthwhile’ or ‘profitable’. The book’s most significant impact on me followed when I completed two of the readings on death: namely Why Death is Not Bad for the One Who Died and How to be Dead and Not Care: A Defense of Epicurus. The authors’ pragmatic combat of our inherent notion that death is necessarily something to be feared for its unknowable qualities made me rethink things a great deal.

             Stephen Hawking may claim that modern philosophy is dead, but I figure that depends on your definition – the word’s Greek root means ‘love of wisdom’. I fear the day if and when this oft-ignored discipline really does disappear, and what that could mean for us as a species.   

-NP, August 2013