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Title details for Seven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering by Scott Samuelson - Available

Seven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering

What Philosophy Can Tell Us about the Hardest Mystery of All

by Scott Samuelson
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A reflection on the role of suffering in human existence.

It's right there in the Book of Job: "Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward." Suffering is an inescapable part of the human condition—which leads to a question that has proved just as inescapable throughout the centuries: Why? Why do we suffer? Why do people die young? Is there any point to our pain, physical or emotional? Do horrors like hurricanes have meaning?

In Seven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering, Scott Samuelson tackles that hardest question of all. To do so, he travels through the history of philosophy and religion, but he also attends closely to the real world we live in. While always taking the question of suffering seriously, Samuelson is just as likely to draw lessons from Bugs Bunny as from Confucius, from his time teaching philosophy to prisoners as from Hannah Arendt's attempts to come to terms with the Holocaust. He guides us through the arguments people have offered to answer this fundamental question, explores the many ways that we have tried to minimize or eliminate suffering, and examines people's attempts to find ways to live with pointless suffering. Ultimately, Samuelson shows, to be fully human means to acknowledge a mysterious paradox: we must simultaneously accept suffering and oppose it. And understanding that is itself a step towards acceptance.

Wholly accessible, and thoroughly thought-provoking, Seven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering is a masterpiece of philosophy, returning the field to its roots—helping us see new ways to understand, explain, and live in our world, fully alive to both its light and its darkness.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 24, 2018

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780226407111

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780226407111
      • File size: 444 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      June 15, 2018

      Samuelson (philosophy, Kirkwood Community Coll.; The Deepest Human Life) terms responses to pointless suffering as "fix-it" and "face-it." Modern civilization, dominated by technology, seeks to deal with evils by eliminating them. Samuelson does not reject this utilitarian approach altogether. He questions, though, that an overly technological approach makes us neglect a fundamental truth. Accepting and learning from suffering is essential to leading a meaningful life. From this perspective, he examines the views of John Stuart Mill, Friedrich Nietzsche, Hannah Arendt, the Book of Job, the Stoic Epictetus, Confucius, and traditions in blues music. The book stems from lectures Samuelson gave at Iowa's Oakdale Prison. The insights of prisoners as well as the author's views of the American prison system enhance a narrative that deals with a topic everyone must confront in an unforgettable way. Samuelson has read widely and addresses each of his perspectives with depth. The account of Stoicism is especially well done. Compare to Peter Kreeft's Three Philosophies of Life. VERDICT Will be of interest to not only students of philosophy, religion, and literature but also to general readers.--David Gordon, Ludwig von Mises Inst., Auburn, AL

      Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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