The Good Life

What can you say after reading a book like "The Good Life"? To read through this collection of twenty-five essays by many of the greatest thinkers ever is to be awed and overwhelmed. There is so much wisdom here, and so many areas that could lead to more thought and investigation. This is a book that you could bring with you to a desert island.As to the selection of essays in the book, the only thing I found lacking was that there were no essays covering two of the fundamental schools of ethical thinking, Kantianism and utilitarianism. Guignon has also left out psychologically oriented thinkers such as Freud, which he argues belong in a separate collection. Finally, it would have been nice to have an essay by Kierkegaard, but Guignon said he was unable to get permission. So what do you do on reading a book like this? You may well leave the experience as confused as when you start it, if not more so. Guignon does a nice job with a brief introductory biography of each of the writers, as well a summary to give some context to the selections that are provided. But you need to be a true autodidact to make it through the essays on your own. This book is clearly intended to be used in conjunction with an undergraduate survey course, but I don't see how any course could even do a fair job of integrating or exploring the many themes here. For me at least, a book like this is a useful part of a process that I am dedicating much time to, a process of developing a conception of the good life that is responsive to and aware of the much great thinking that has come before. After reading these selections, that process seems even more daunting and exciting.