Abstract

As a professional philosopher, I rarely feel that I have adequate time to read all the things I want or need to read, a feeling exacerbated by having to read many things I would rather not read, in my capacity as a teacher of undergraduates. Thus, it is extremely high praise for John Kekes’s latest monograph that I strongly recommend this book for your summer reading list. It is both an enjoyable and a useful tome. It is well written, accessible and yet rigorous, appropriate for adoption in undergraduate courses; but also of interest to other philosophers, teachers, and scholars working in ethics or interested in the ancient question: Is there an art of life? Kekes writes for a generally educated audience and not primarily for specialists. Though the book features interesting discussions of many philosophers—classical and contemporary—it scrupulously avoids the pitfall of bogging down in pedantic scholarly quibbles. Kekes’s discussions of every philosopher’s relevant ideas are clearly and concisely presented, and hence they would be understandable even by those who have not read the philosophers he discusses.