Hauskeller M. The Meaning of Life and Death - Ten Classic Thinkers on the Ultimate Question

London, New York, Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2020. — XVI, 240 p.What is the point of living? If we are all going to die anyway, if nothing will remain of whatever we achieve in this life, why should we bother trying to achieve anything in the first place? Can we be mortal and still live a meaningful life? Questions such as these have been asked for a long time, but nobody has found a conclusive answer yet. The connection between death and meaning, however, has taken centre stage in the philosophical and literary work of some of the world's greatest writers: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Soren Kierkegaard, Arthur Schopenhauer, Herman Melville, Friedrich Nietzsche, William James, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Marcel Proust, and Albert Camus.This book explores their ideas, weaving a rich tapestry of concepts, voices and images, helping the reader to understand the concerns at the heart of those writers' work and uncovering common themes and stark contrasts in their understanding of what kind of world we live in and what really matters in life.What is the point of living? If we are all going to die anyway, if nothing will remain of whatever we achieve in this life, why should we bother trying to achieve anything in the first place? Why does it matter what we do or not do? Or does it? Can we be mortal and still live a meaningful life? Questions such as these are not new. They have been asked for a long time. They are part of, or versions of, what is sometimes called the ‘ultimate’ question. The ultimate question concerns the meaning of life and death and is ultimate not only in the sense that it is the most fundamental question, reaching down to the very core of our existence, but also in the sense that it is the most difficult one to answer.Well written, richly informative, and deeply meaningful, this volume will be an excellent primer for anyone seeking a clear and concise understanding of these thinkers’ ideas on the meaning of life and death. The volume is remarkable for demonstrating that when it came to trying to understand the essential questions of life, little changed over the 200 years this book covers, a span of time that embraces the industrial revolution. Drawing on ideas from some of the world's most intriguing thinkers, Hauskeller invites us on a philosophical journey, in which we consider different aspects of life and death. Bringing together exciting philosophers such as Wittgenstein and Nietzsche, and renowned literary figures such Tolstoy and Proust, the book offers a new set of perspectives on the time-honoured question of the meaning of life and death.Hauskeller has made a wise selection of work by philosophers and fiction writers about the connection between death and meaning in life. The book as a whole represents many of the main ideas in this area of such deep existential interest.This is a highly recommendable, informative and even entertaining survey of classic thinkers'and writers' views on the perennial questions of the meaning of life and death. Hauskeller binds together philosophical and literary perspectives on the topic by exploring the positions of philosophers such as Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard as well as those of poets such as Melville and Proust. His style is easily accessible and free from philosophical jargon. The book will serve as a reliable guide to eminent thinkers'and poets' answers to the questions "What is the point of living?" and "Does death give meaning to life?". Moreover, it offers a concise and well-informed introduction to these thinkers'and writers'philosophical and literary works in general.The worst of all possible worlds: Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860)
The despair of not being oneself: Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855)
The interlinked terrors and wonders of God: Herman Melville (1819–1891)
The hell of no longer being able to love: Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881)
The inevitable end of everything: Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910)
The joy of living dangerously: Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
The dramatic richness of the concrete world: William James (1842–1910)
The only life that is really lived: Marcel Proust (1871–1922)
Our hopeless battle against the boundaries of language: Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)
The benign indifference of the world: Albert Camus (1913–1960)Postlude
Notes
Sources