Life Is Short: An Appropriately Brief Guide to Making It More Meaningful

Rickles (What Is Philosophy of Science?), a philosophy of modern physics professor at the University of Sydney, investigates how to live a meaningful life in this charming and profound outing. Drawing from ancient Stoics and 20th-century existentialists, he contends that to “have a meaningful life, death is necessary,” and examines how freedom can arise from limitations and rules. Immortality would mean life without consequences, the author argues, because choices not taken could be explored at a later point. Rickles updates Roman philosopher Seneca’s contention that humans should make the most of their short lives, noting that many people waste time on social media “concerned more with how they appear than how they are.” To live a meaningful life, the author recommends “becoming psychologically whole” through “individuation,” psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s concept for understanding how conscious and unconscious factors influence one’s actions. Rickles asserts that without this self-knowledge, one lives as an object steered by forces outside one’s awareness, and to avoid this fate readers must resist “bulletproofing” themselves and closing off to vulnerability and self-reflection. The thoughtful treatment of big ideas is matched by a lucid presentation that achieves accessibility without sacrificing intellectual heft. This brief volume packs a punch. (Oct.)