The Good Life Method: Reasoning Through the Big Questions of Happiness, Faith, and Meaning

“Philosophy can supply the methods” for living a good life, according to this wise and accessible guide. Notre Dame philosophy professors Sullivan (Time Biases) and Blaschko bring to the page their course on applying philosophy to one’s life plans, covering the works of such thinkers as Plato, Søren Kierkegaard, William James, and Elizabeth Anscombe to provide a philosophical foundation in virtue ethics. Their ideas, the authors posit, can help one find their way to eudaimonia, an Aristotelian concept that means “having fulfilled your function as a human being.” The first half of the study focuses on such concerns as jobs, relationships, and money, and the authors use Plato’s approach to sophistry, for example, to discuss finding common ground in a polarized political age (“Tolerance is a virtue directed at people with positions, not positions themselves”). The second half deals with more spiritual subjects such as religion, contemplation, and suffering; though both authors are forthright about their Catholic beliefs, their entertaining and insightful approach to applying philosophy everyday will appeal to readers both religious and not. Those pondering the perennial question of how to live a good life should start here. (Jan.)