How to Live a Good Life

A collection of essays by fifteen philosophers presenting a thoughtful, introductory guide to choosing a philosophy for living an examined and meaningful life. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL

Socrates famously said "the unexamined life is not worth living," but what does it mean to truly live philosophically?

This thought-provoking, wide-ranging collection brings together essays by fifteen leading philosophers reflecting on what it means to live according to a philosophy of life. From Eastern philosophies (Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism) and classical Western philosophies (such as Aristotelianism and Stoicism), to the four major religions, as well as contemporary philosophies (such as existentialism and effective altruism), each contributor offers a lively, personal account of how they find meaning in the practice of their chosen philosophical tradition.

Together, the pieces in How to Live a Good Life provide not only a beginner's guide to choosing a life philosophy but also a timely portrait of what it means to live an examined life in the twenty-first century.

MASSIMO PIGLIUCCI is currently the K.D. Irani professor of philosophy at the City College of New York. He has a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in philosophy from the University of Tennessee. Pigliucci has been elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science "for fundamental studies of genotype by environmental interactions and for public defense of evolutionary biology from pseudoscientific attack." His work has been published in national and international outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Aeon, Philosophy Now,and The Philosophers' Magazine, among others. He is most recently the author of the bestselling How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life .

SKYE C. CLEARY, PhD, MBA, is a philosopher and author of Existentialism and Romantic Love  She teaches philosophy, leadership, and management at Columbia University, Barnard College, the City University of New York, and the New York Public Library. Skye authored the script for the TED-Ed animation "Why Do We Love? A Philosophical Inquiry," which has had over 2.2 million views. Skye is currently working on a second animation for TED-Ed about Simone de Beauvoir. Her work has been published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Philosophers' Magazine, HuffPost, Business Insider, and The New Republic.

DANIEL A. KAUFMAN, PhD, received his BA in philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and his PhD in philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center. He is professor of philosophy at Missouri State University.

Introduction by Massimo Pigliucci, Skye C. Cleary, and Daniel Kaufman          

Group I: Ancient Philosophies from the East
1. Buddhism: Owen Flanagan (Duke University)    
2. Confucianism: Bryan W. Van Norden (Vassar College)          
3. Daoism: Robin R. Wang (Loyola Marymount University)     

Group II: Ancient Philosophies from the West      
4. Aristotelianism: Daniel A. Kaufman (Missouri State University)      
5. Stoicism: Massimo Pigliucci (City College of New York)      
6. Epicureanism: Hiram Crespo (Society of Friends of Epicurus)          

Group III: Religious Traditions  
7. Hinduism: Deepak Sarma (Case Western Reserve University)    
8. Judaism: Rabbi Barbara Block (Temple Israel, Springfield MO)      
9. Christianity: Alister McGrath (Oxford University)        
10. Progressive Islam: Adis Duderija (Griffith University, Australia)    
11. Ethical Culture: Anne Klaeysen (New York Society for Ethical Culture)          

Group IV: Modern Philosophies 
12. Existentialism: Skye C. Cleary (Columbia University and Barnard College)       
13. Pragmatism: John Kaag (University of Massachusetts Lowell) and Douglas
      Anderson (University of North Texas)
14. Effective Altruism: Kelsey Piper (Vox)   
15. Secular Humanism: John R. Shook (University of Buffalo) 

Conclusion