- The Meaning of Things
"The Meaning of Things: Applying Philosophy to Life" is a 200 page book by
A. C. Grayling first published in2001 . Written withoutfootnote s with the intention to popularize philosophical reasoning, it consists of short essays on a variety of subjects which, although deeply rooted inphilosophy , are everyday phenomena encountered, recognized, and understood by everyone.Contents
Part I: "Virtues and Attributes"
Moralising —Tolerance —Mercy —Civility —Compromise —Fear —Courage —Defeat —Sorrow —Death —Hope —Perseverance —Prudence —Frankness —Lying —Perjury —Betrayal —Loyalty —Blame —Punishment —Delusion —Love —Happiness —Part II: "Foes and Fallacies"
Nationalism —Racism —Speciesism —Hate —Revenge —Intemperance —
Depression —Christianity —Sin —Repentance —Faith —Miracle s —Prophecy —Virginity —Paganism —Blasphemy —Obscenity —Poverty —Capitalism Part III: "Amenities and Goods"
Reason —Education —Excellence —Ambition —Acting —Art —Health —Leisure —Pace —
Reading —Memory —History —Leadership —Travel —Privacy —Family —
Age —Gift s —Trifles Quotations
*Defeat is always an opportunity, even when, as far too often happens, what is genuinely the better cause has been crushed by the worse. [...] But nothing happens without a
lesson to offer, or without opening other routes into the future.*
Hatred [...] is dislike andantipathy inflamed to a high degree and inspired by beliefs which stimulate a set of other emotions in the hater, chief among themfear ,ignorance ,jealousy ,anger anddisgust . But note that all these emotions, and especially the first three, are about the hater; thus hating says more about haters than what they hate. It shows weakness, for it is a crude emotion which turns fears and anxieties outward to fix them on something else.*What underlies talk of
virginity is a profound and often hidden moral "angst " aboutpurity and pollution—and therefore also sentiments oftemptation and desire. If our religions had decided thatear s or wisdom teeth were spiritually significant, we should feel the same anxieties regarding them as with thehymen ; and moral concern would be devoted to them instead.Editions
The
2001 hardcover edition of "The Meaning of Things" was published byWeidenfeld & Nicolson . Apaperback edition was published in2002 by Phoenix, animprint of theOrion Publishing Group .
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