What'S it All About?: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life - Softcover

'You're T. S. Eliot,' said a taxi driver to the famous poet as he stepped into his cab. Eliot asked him how he knew. 'Ah, I've got an eye for a celebrity,' he replied. 'Only the other evening I picked up Bertrand Russell, and I said to him, "Well, Lord Russell, what's it all about?" And, do you know, he couldn't tell me.' Did the taxi-driver's question reveal his own naivety or did it puncture the pretensions of the philosopher? Why was Russell Britain's most famous philosopher if he couldn't tell us 'what it's all about'? Is there an answer to the cabby's question and are philosophers the ones to provide it? These questions are answered in What's it All About? This book is aimed at the reader who is serious about confronting the big issues in life but is turned-off by books which deal with them through religion, spirituality or 'psycho-babble'. It is for people who want an honest, intelligent discussion which doesn't hide from the difficulties or make undeliverable promises. It aims to help the reader to understand the overlooked issues behind the obvious questions and shows how philosophy does not so much answer them as help provide us with the resources to answer them for oursel

Julian Baggini is the editor and co-founder of The Philosophers' Magazine. He writes regularly for the Guardian, Independent and Independent on Sunday, Prospect and the TES, and has appeared on Nightwaves and in Our Time. He is the author of several books on philosophy, including Making Sense: Philosophy Behind the Headlines (OUP) and Atheism: A Very Short Introduction (OUP).