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‘The Meaning of Life (A Very Short Introduction)’ by Terry Eagleton, Oxford University Press

‘The Meaning of Life’ by Terry Eagleton is a philosophical and humorous inquiry for the meaning of human life.
Chapter 1 ‘Question and Answers’ explains why we have a question for our life and the meaning of life, and what is the structure of the question and human existence, introducing historically how philosophers and religions think about them and answer, why TV evangelists and sports attract people.
Chapter 2 ‘The Problem of Meaning’ describes theological and abstract arguments about ‘meaning(s)’. And the Eagleton considers what is meaning(s) and why we ask and want to know meaning of life.
Chapter 3 ‘The Eclipse of Meaning’ wrote spreading philosophical and scientific questions about meaning of life to the people and decline of religious meaning and value supported by God in modern ages. ’inherent’ and ‘ascribed’
Chapter 4 ‘Is Life What You Make It?’ introduces Aristotle’s view of happiness and pleasure, Nietzsche’s concepts of power and will, Marx’s materialism and ‘self-realisation’, and Freud’s desire and Thanatos. Then Eagleton states his one conclusion of the meaning of life. It’s fulfilment of one another or social fulfilment. ‘The fulfilment of each becomes the ground for the fulfilment of the other. When we realize our natures in this way, we are at our best. This is partly because to fulfil oneself in ways which allow others to do so as well rules out murder, exploitation, torture, selfishness, and the like.’
Then Eagleton give a case of a jazz band as an example of good life. ‘There is no conflict here between freedom and the ‘good of the whole’.’ ‘Though each performer contributes to ‘the greater good of the whole’.’

This book is humorous tricky book and essential descriptions are few. It’s just only an introduction to obtain the meaning of life.

The Meaning of Life (A Very Short Introduction)
Terry Eagleton
Oxford University Press, Oxford, June 30 2007
pages £7.99 $11.95
ISBN: 978-0-19-953217-9
Contents:
List of illustrations
Preface
1. Questions and Answers
2. The Problem of Meaning
3. The Eclipse of Meaning
4. Is Life What You Make It?
Further Reading
Index

‘Aristotle (A Very Short Introduction)’ by Jonathan Barnes, Oxford University Press

‘Aristotle (A Very Short Introduction)’ by Jonathan Barnes is a little commentary to Aristotle and his Philosophy. 20 chapters of this book introduces Aristotle’s Philosophy, especially his thinking about science, knowledge, reality and (what is, aim of) Philosophy from ‘Physics’ and ‘Metaphysics’. This book consists of metaphysical abstract but detailed argument of them, such as his theories and thinkings of Philosophy (today’s total science), knowledge, logic, being, creature, causes, change, world, psuchê (soul), teleology, virtue, happiness and government. The first half of this book attentions comparison Aristotle’s thought about knowledge, science and Philosophy to Plato’s. Author emphasises Aristotle’s characteristic of philosopher-scientist differ from literary and poetic characteristic of Plato.

Barnes describe from objective and neutral viewpoint to Aristotle. He does not criticise and admire Aristotle’s Philosophy, and introduces Aristotle’s faults and differences to modern science. And he concluded ‘If we want to learn biology or logic, we no longer turn to Aristotle’s treatises: they are now of historical only. The same is not true of Aristotle’s more philosophical writings. The essays in the Physics, the Metaphysics, and the Ethics are less sure, less perfect, less scientific than the logic and the biology; but they are, paradoxically, more alive’, ‘But it an also be read as a contribution to a contemporary debate – or rather, to an eternal debate, Contemporary philosophers read Aristotle in this fashion, treating him as a brilliant colleague’.
The metaphysical and ontological commentary of this book is profound and packed, but biographical description and commentary of various genres of Aristotle’s Philosophy is very short. I recommend this book as the second or third introduction to Aristotle, especially who want to know Aristotle’s metaphysics and his thinking of what are knowledge, science and Philosophy.

Aristotle (A Very Short Introduction)
Jonathan Barnes
Oxford University Press, Oxford, January 18 2001
176 pages £ 6.99 $ 9.95
ISBN: 978-0-192-85408-7
Contents:
List of Illustrations
List of Maps
1. The Man and His Works
2. A Public Figure
3. Zoological Researchers
4. Collecting Facts
5. The Philosophical Background
6. The Structure of the Science
7. Logic
8. Knowledge
9. Ideal and Achievement
10. Reality
11. Change
12. Causes
13. Empiricism
14. Aristotle’s World-Picture
15. Psychology
16. Evidence and Theory
17. Teleology
18. Practical Philosophy
19. The Arts
20. Afterlige
References
Chronological Table
Further Reading
Index

‘Barthes (A Very Short Introduction)’ by Jonathan Culler

‘Barthes (A Very Short Introduction)’ by Jonathan Culler is a guide book about Roland Barthes. Roland Barthes (1915 – 1980) was a french ‘écrivain’ (writer), literary critic, literary theorist, semiologist (semiotician) and structuralism thinker. He made vast influences to humanities, social science, sociology, literary study, literary critic, philosophy and social thought.

In this small book, Culler summarises Barthes’s thoughts and pick out their essences.

Culler divided Barthes and his works into many various periods and aspects such as a Literary Historian, Mythologist, Semiologist, Hedonist and Writer. He don’t describe Barthes’s career as 4 periods usually mentioned (literary critic – semiologist or social mythologist – text theorist – romanesque author). And he describes clearly in each chapters but not surely chronologically.

A feature of this book is philosophical analysis of Barthes’s ‘pleasure’, in the French tradition, from Descartes to structuralism. The Cartesian consciousness to mind and subject is contrary to Barthes’s pleasure and emphasises of social codes and cultural skills. But ‘The notion of the body permits Barthes to avoid the problem of the subject: appealing to “the given that separates my body from other bodies and appropriates suffering or pleasure to it“, he emphasizes that he is not talking about subjectivity.’ Then Culler explains that ‘replacement of “mind” by “body” accords with Barthes’s emphasis on the materiality of the signifier as a source of pleasure. When listening to singing he prefers the corporeal “grain of voice” to expressiveness, meaning, or articulation’.

In this book Culler describes Barthes as a fixed figure or an intentionally thinker. Barthes wrote the society as the myth, in the same way Barthes and his works are myth constructed and consumed by people, society and Barthes himself.

This Culler’s introduction to Barthes, one of few english commentary book about Roland Barthes for beginners.

Barthes (A Very Short Introduction)
Jonathan Culler
Oxford University Press, Oxford, May 16 2002
152pp $11.95
ISBN: 978-0-19-280159-3
Contents:
Preface to This Edition
List of Illustrations
1. Man of Parts
2. Literary Historian
3. Mythologist
4. Critic
5. Polemicist
6. Semiologist
7. Structuralist
8. Hedonist
9. Writer
10. Man of Letters
11. Barthes after Barthes
Notes and References
Further Reading
Index