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oz617's review against another edition
4.0
My stepmother bought me this book on a museum trip when I was clinically depressed. I’m not sure how much the words of great philosophers helped, but the thought behind the gesture meant a lot. As with any collection of quotes, most of the context that makes the quotes so interesting is lost, but the book still manages to provide a hopefully melancholy overview of some important history.
vic95's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
crystxlxsxd's review
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This was really lovely. It’s like imagining him sat in comfy chair chatting to you, with a whistle stop tour of philosophy.
rugbykake's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
ellozx's review against another edition
3.0
maybe it’s cuz it was an audiobook but idk if i learned that much from this book lmao
main takeaways: it focused a lot on like hedonism and cognitive hedonism and whether that’s the right way to live, and then how you should always live in the moment instead of psychoanalyzing urself (even tho the unexamined life is not worth living) and that the meaning to life always changes but is up to u, free will yay
feel like i would’ve benefitted a lot more if this book had more structure to it but ig that’s hard given the framing and formatting
main takeaways: it focused a lot on like hedonism and cognitive hedonism and whether that’s the right way to live, and then how you should always live in the moment instead of psychoanalyzing urself (even tho the unexamined life is not worth living) and that the meaning to life always changes but is up to u, free will yay
feel like i would’ve benefitted a lot more if this book had more structure to it but ig that’s hard given the framing and formatting
tjildau's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it, very well written. The author gives an 'overview' of a lot of philosophical/ethical theories in a light-hearted and funny way touching upon the question of the meaning of life. Has given me lots to think about :)
sjbanner's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
stienc's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
maryconnors6's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 Stars
Klein set up this book so well with it's framing device-- every chapter starts off with a "pithy" quote from a philosopher that he dissects through a modern lens. I'm not a fan of hedonism and I don't think that readers would really get alot out of this unless they are. However, I did enjoy the discussion about the role philosophy plays in Psychology and how the approach to issues such as depression has changed now that the two subjects are considered separate entities.
Klein set up this book so well with it's framing device-- every chapter starts off with a "pithy" quote from a philosopher that he dissects through a modern lens. I'm not a fan of hedonism and I don't think that readers would really get alot out of this unless they are. However, I did enjoy the discussion about the role philosophy plays in Psychology and how the approach to issues such as depression has changed now that the two subjects are considered separate entities.