The Examined Life: Philosophical Meditations [Paperback]

Robert Nozick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1990

An original work from a preeminent professor of philosophy at Harvard University, in which happiness, dying, creativity, religious faith, sexuality, good and evil, the ideal and the real, are explored in the grand Socratic tradition. Now in paperback, this bestseller will appeal to anyone concerned with inner transformation and personal growth.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Everyday emotions and events including romance, sex, self-worth and creativity are not often the focus of formal philosophy, but are questioned and analyzed here by Harvard social thinker Nozick. PW found this "an accessible, novel discourse."
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Nozick here offers an illuminating discussion of such topics as death, sexuality, and friendship--concerns that everyone has but that have not often been discussed by analytic philosophers, among whom Nozick holds eminent rank. His consideration of broader questions--e.g., what is the nature of value?--leads him to extend the theory of value he developed in Philosophical Explanations ( LJ 11/1/81), and he unifies a wide range of phenomena that previous philosophers have been unable to connect as tightly. He also addresses theological concerns, throwing unexpected light on such topics as the nature of God and the problem of evil. Chapter 25, "The Zig-Zag of Politics," will without doubt rivet political philosophers, for here Nozick recants in part the libertarianism he supported in Anarchy, State, and Utopia ( LJ 1/15/75). This strikingly original book will arouse much discussion. Highly recommended.
- David Gordon, Bowling Green State Univ., Ohio
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (December 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671725017
• ISBN-13: 978-0671725013
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for the romantic philosopher, April 17, 2002

By 

bob20799 "bob20799" (the magic theater) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Examined Life: Philosophical Meditations (Paperback)

There being so few reviews here on this work I thought I would read them all before adding my own, afterall if I would just be repeating the others why bother. I was very impressed by the general knowledge of Nozick and the philosophical sophistication of the reviewers. But I belive that same sophistication made them miss the boat on this one.
This is not hard analytic philosophy. This is an examination of everyday concerns about life that apply to everyone and it is written for everyone, not just those of us with degrees in philosophy. For the lay person, it provides a glimps at how a philosopher might approach a problem, even one where a straight answer may not be possible. The nature of "Love's bond" for example may do little more than create a framework for how to think about one's intimate relationship, but it does it in such a way as to expose the reader to the economic analysis of human motivation and also to such things as the motivations that keep people ( or political groups ) from even offering conditional statements. Even his use of parenthetical digressions encourage the reader to go beyond what he is presenting and apply their own analysis to the sub-issue. True, things like the difference between making love and f...king may not be of great philosophical importance at university but his distinction is insightful and fun and the sort of subject matter that tittilates the neophyte in to wondering why they never looked at it that way. Then that neophyte might also wonder what else they should examine in that light.
These days the only political philosophy that seems to rule the land is pragmatism, the only debate on ethics is between relativism and absolutism, and the only exposure to epistomology is via cyberpunk and "the matrix." Academic philosophers in the U.S. have made themselves invisible to the people by excessive analysis of the minutia of language, the nature of the mind, and other things that have no bearing on the common persons life. Nozick has, like Socrates, used this book to reach out to the common people in a way that demonstates that philosophy can still be relavent to them. This book encourages all to open their minds and to look at things in new ways. ( I have often lent it to other lawyers in my office only to hear things like " I never that of it that way.")
To sum it up, this is not Socrates closeted with plato discussing the nature of ultimate reality, this is Socrates, with a drink in his hand, reclining at the symposium and talking to his freinds.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply lovely, August 25, 2005

By 

Scott D. Scheule "Scott Scheule" (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Examined Life: Philosophical Meditations (Paperback)

The Examined Life is the first I've read from Robert Nozick. I had read a review denigrating the book, one of his later works, as a mere "self-help book," but after flipping through it in a Borders' a few months ago, decided to give it a read. If nothing more than a "self-help book," it's one of the best of that genre. I feel expanded, even irradiated.

The title obviously comes from Socrates' famous line (challenge) in the Apology, and Nozick's answer is rich and full of blood. A set of meditations, touching upon one by one the significances of life, all flows forth and simply blooms from the opening line: "I want to think about living and what is important in life, to clarify my thinking-and also my life." The act of creation, sexuality, love (of parent, of child, of God), the nature of reality and its component dimensions, politics, eating, and much more are all probed, fleshed full and good.

The author's style is bold and broad: it charts new ground, it makes daring leaps from uncertain foundations. Yet, he remains modest and honest. Questions breed tentative answers and new questions: some are answered, some are ground into new questions once again. There is an unmistakable organic nature, and one is left with the warm reward of having more questions after finishing than one did when beginning. The meditations, each a chapter long, grow as crystalline lattices from little germs, pearls from simple sand. The prose is easy: the author, polite to the last, apologizes when brief incursions into metaphysics become necessary. And I, an atheist, was fascinated by these meditations on brahma and the Christian God, the creative guesses at age old paradoxes: why does He let evil things happen, and why is Enlightenment so hard to reach? And I, a libertarian, was intrigued by Nozick's own "betrayal" (if you will) of his previous positions, his investigation of political virtue and the noble-non-libertarian-whims of the electorate.

And I want to express just how much this book has changed me. I see things differently now; life itself is richer, holier, lighter. Paradigms have cracked. Possibilities are mossy and multiplied. One night I was miserable-why, I don't recall-so I flipped ahead a few chapters and read the meditation on happiness and then I was calm, content, and real.

Though the backbone is not obvious, one can sense a vague progress through the chapters, as Nozick develops his idea of the highest value, the multidimensional amalgam of "reality." What does it mean to be more "real?" How does one achieve more "reality?" What are the component parts and what are their relationships? He then attempts a grand, and-so he admits-very precarious assimilation of reality's dimensions into a rectangular matrix. When this exhausting work is done, the meditations turn to other intricacies that have been left unresolved: light and dark, the meaning of wisdom, a cute reflection on democracy, and the bittersweet conclusion, quiet and humble, sad in its finality, and positively verdant in (I don't use the word lightly) the love that shines forth.

And I loved reading his book. I hope one day I can repay the light he has shed upon me.

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Readers of Nozick will be delighted and a bit disappointed, July 18, 2000

By 

Keith Levenberg (New York, N.Y. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Examined Life: Philosophical Meditations (Paperback)

I admire Nozick greatly, and he is one of the only philosophers I continue to read now that I've graduated college. This book is probably his best book to read "for pleasure," and as there are few contemporary philosophy books that fall into this category, this one seems like an important buy for that reason alone. Unfortunately, the ideas for most of the essays here are quite a bit more interesting than how they actually turn out. Some topics promised real intrigue, only to degenerate into mush (some) or academic gobbledygook (others). (The essay on the Holocaust is, however, a real gem.) I subtract a second star because this book is also infamous for Nozick's recanting of quite a bit of his philosophy from _Anarchy, State, and Utopia_, his most important book. He was more convincing his first time around. After spending years and years being one of the only philosophers in the universities to defend libertarianism, Nozick appears to have let his colleagues bully him into selling himself out. This might earn him a few more friends in the People's Republic of Cambridge, but long-time admirers have been seriously let down. Nevertheless, the book is very ambitious. It falls a bit short of its promise, but really gets one thinking and expands the scope of what philosophy offers. On balance, not bad at all.