These questions are difficult to resolve. There are times in which we face the mundane, the illogically cruel, and the tragic, which leave us to question the value of our lives. However, Iddo Landau argues, our lives often are, or could be made, meaningful--we've just been setting the bar too high for evaluating what meaning there is.
When it comes to meaning in life, Landau explains, we have let perfect become the enemy of the good. We have failed to find life perfectly meaningful, and therefore have failed to see any meaning in our lives. We must attune ourselves to enhancing and appreciating the meaning in our lives, and Landau shows us how to do that.
In this warmly written book, rich with examples from the author's life, film, literature, and history, Landau offers new theories and practical advice that awaken us to the meaning already present in our lives and demonstrates how we can enhance it. He confronts prevailing nihilist ideas that undermine our existence, and the questions that dog us no matter what we believe. While exposing the weaknesses of ideas that lead many to despair, he builds a strong case for maintaining more hope. Along the way, he faces provocative questions: Would we choose to live forever if we could? Does death render life meaningless? If we examine it in the context of the immensity of the whole universe, can we consider life meaningful? If we feel empty once we achieve our goals, and the pursuit of these goals is what gives us a sense of meaning, then what can we do? Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World is likely to alter the way you understand your life.
Samuel Arbesman is the scientist in residence at Lux Capital, a science and technology venture-capital firm.
'Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World' by Iddo Landau. An eminently readable philosophical overview of how to think about meaning in one's life. 5/ https://t.co/uqxbE5mnWr
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"Written for the generally educated reader, but of interest to the professional philosopher, Iddo Landau's book is a guide to making life meaningful under less than ideal conditions. Landau is a careful, informed navigator, showing the reader how to reach a meaningful life despite obstacles such as suffering, death, evil, randomness, and a lack of free will. Making insightful philosophical points without jargon, referring to literature and the arts to illustrate, and also plumbing people's psychologies to identify mental blocks, Landau's book is practically wise and theoretically profound." --Thaddeus Metz, Distinguished Research Professor, University of Johannesburg