The Age of Absurdity: Why Modern Life Makes It Hard to Be Happy

Foley, Michael

ISBN 10 : 1543624812 ISBN 13 : 9781543624816

Editeur : Audible Studios on Brilliance audio, 2017

A propos du livre

Quatrième de couverture

'Foley's entertaining, intelligent book may just help you get over yourself ... Laugh-out-loud funny ... Absurdly readable' Observer
Never have so many wanted so much so badly ...
In a world that demands conspicuous consumption, high-octane relationships and perpetual youth, we can find ourselves tormented by dissatisfaction and anxiety, fearful that everyone is having a better time than we are.
This thorny problem of happiness is the subject of Michael Foley's entertaining and witty investigation into how fulfillment eludes us as we work, love and grow old in the twenty-first century. Drawing on a wide range of sources, from the earliest writings to the latest research in psychology, Foley sheds ironic light on the absurd nature of contemporary cultural conditioning.
In conclusion, rather than denouncing and rejecting our age, he proposes a strategy of not just accepting but embracing modern life - by learning that absurdity is the new sublime.
'Achingly funny and wise ... vastly entertaining' Daily Mail
'It will make you laugh, perhaps harder than you've laughed at a book of pop philosophy ... [Foley] skewers our society's absurdity while being disarmingly conscious of his own' Guardian
'One of the most insightful and entertaining of its kind' Irish Examiner

Présentation de l'éditeur

The good news is that the great thinkers from history have proposed the same strategies for happiness and fulfilment. The bad news is that these turn out to be the very things most discouraged by contemporary culture. This knotty dilemma is the subject of The Age of Absurdity - a wry and accessible investigation into how the desirable states of wellbeing and satisfaction are constantly undermined by modern life.
Michael Foley examines the elusive condition of happiness common to philosophy, spiritual teachings and contemporary psychology, then shows how these are becoming increasingly difficult to apply in a world of high expectations. The common challenges of earning a living, maintaining a relationship and ageing are becoming battlegrounds of existential angst and self-loathing in a culture that demands conspicuous consumption, high-octane partnerships and perpetual youth. In conclusion, rather than denouncing and rejecting the age, Foley presents an entertaining strategy of not just accepting but embracing today's world - finding happiness in its absurdity.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Audible Studios on Brilliance audio
• Date d'édition: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1543624812
• ISBN 13: 9781543624816
• Reliure: MP3 CD