In the article the author would like to draw the readers’ attention to the philosophy of a contemporary French thinker, Renaud Barbaras. The main point in his investigations is the philosophy of life ; however, he does not belong to the movement called “Lebensphilosophie”. Barbaras has built up his own philosophy in long discussions and polemics with other philosophers, especially those who like E. Husserl, M. Heidegger, J. Patočka, E. Levinas or M. Henry are connected with phenomenology. One of the (...) important elements of Barbaras’ original philosophy of life is his conception of the human being. Barbaras points out the role of lack in the life of the human subject. As a result the concept of the subject of desire emerges from the broad perspective of the metaphysics of life. (shrink)