The Avid Reader Show

Episode 684: Kieran Setiya - Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way


Listen Later

A philosophical guide to facing life’s inevitable hardships.

There is no cure for the human condition: life is hard. But Kieran Setiya believes philosophy can help. He offers us a map for navigating rough terrain, from personal trauma to the injustice and absurdity of the world. 

In this profound and personal book, Setiya shows how the tools of philosophy can help us find our way. Drawing on ancient and modern philosophy as well as fiction, history, memoir, film, comedy, social science, and stories from Setiya’s own experience, Life Is Hard is a book for this moment—a work of solace and compassion.

Warm, accessible, and good-humored, this book is about making the best of a bad lot. It offers guidance for coping with pain and making new friends, for grieving the lost and failing with grace, for confronting injustice and searching for meaning in life. Countering pop psychologists and online influencers who admonish us to “find our bliss” and “live our best lives,” Setiya acknowledges that the best is often out of reach. Instead, he asks how we can weather life’s adversities, finding hope and living well when life is hard.

Get the book here:
https://wellingtonsquarebooks.indiecommerce.com/book/9780593538210


...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Avid Reader ShowBy Samuel Hankin

  • 3.6
  • 3.6
  • 3.6
  • 3.6
  • 3.6

3.6

43 ratings


More shows like The Avid Reader Show

View all
The Girl Next Door Podcast by Kelsey Wharton and Erica Ladd

The Girl Next Door Podcast

725 Listeners

Close Reads Podcast by Goldberry Studios

Close Reads Podcast

835 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,073 Listeners

Up First from NPR by NPR

Up First from NPR

55,861 Listeners

Bad On Paper by Becca Freeman & Olivia Muenter

Bad On Paper

4,067 Listeners

The Literary Life with Mitchell Kaplan by Mitchell Kaplan

The Literary Life with Mitchell Kaplan

194 Listeners

Talk Bookish To Me by Talk Bookish To Me

Talk Bookish To Me

60 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,306 Listeners

My Unsung Hero by Hidden Brain

My Unsung Hero

1,157 Listeners

ZOE Science & Nutrition by ZOE

ZOE Science & Nutrition

1,966 Listeners