Life Is Hard

How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way

By: Kieran Setiya

Narrated by: Kieran Setiya

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER AND THE ECONOMIST

“Life Is Hard is a humane consolation for challenging times. Reading it is like speaking with a thoughtful friend who never tells you to cheer up, but, by offering gentle companionship and a change of perspective, makes you feel better anyway.” —The New York Times Book Review

There is no cure for the human condition: life is hard. But Kieran Setiya believes philosophy can help. He offers us a map for navigating rough terrain, from personal trauma to the injustice and absurdity of the world.

In this profound and personal book, Setiya shows how the tools of philosophy can help us find our way. Drawing on ancient and modern philosophy as well as fiction, history, memoir, film, comedy, social science, and stories from Setiya’s own experience, Life Is Hard is a book for this moment—a work of solace and compassion.

Warm, accessible, and good-humored, this book is about making the best of a bad lot. It offers guidance for coping with pain and making new friends, for grieving the lost and failing with grace, for confronting injustice and searching for meaning in life. Countering pop psychologists and online influencers who admonish us to “find our bliss” and “live our best lives,” Setiya acknowledges that the best is often out of reach. Instead, he asks how we can weather life’s adversities, finding hope and living well when life is hard.

HERES TO LIFE

In the beginning of Kieran Setiva's book something seems awry. It is written by a PhD graduate of Princeton who is working as a professor at MIT. What does a philosopher who is admittedly happily married (with one child), working as a professor at a prestigious university know about life being hard? Stick with it, and by the end of the book, Setiva's point becomes clear and worth more than one listen. The "Economist" calls Setiva's book one of the best of 2022. Being an acolyte of the magazine, it seems prudent to review "Life is Hard".

Hope is the insight Setiva reveals to one who is faced with hardship in life. Whether one is a university professor, wealthy industrialist, penniless beggar, or cloistered saint, hardship is a part of their life. Hoping to grow old is all that remains, and its value seems circumspect if not useless. Setiva's book may be one of the best of 2022 but like the hope he describes in the last chapter, it's a mixed blessing.

Fantastic listen!

Probably the most relatable and interesting philosophical book I've come across. It's a deep dive into a lot of the perils and conflicts we're going through as a society given the pandemic and other world events

This book delivers the goods!!!

This book delivers on the promise of its title. The author is brilliant and humble in the way that he teaches us to use philosophy to find our way, despite life being hard.

Loved the author’s personal perspective.

Philosophy can be dry, but when applied to someone’s life experience, it becomes an enthralling story.

Solid

Enjoyed it. I think people who make fun of philosophy majors are doing a disservice to life and are ultimately afraid of their own mortality. If not for a life lived well, what are we here for anyway?
Jason Blum
Washington DC