Seven ways of looking at pointless suffering : what philosophy can tell us about the hardest mystery of all / Scott Samuelson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Samuelson, Scott, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Suffering.

Pain.

Suffering--Religious aspects.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (279 pages)

Place of Publication:

Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2018.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction. The Paradox of Pointless Suffering

Part One. Three Modern Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering

One. We Should Eliminate Pointless Suffering

Two. We Should Embrace Pointless Suffering

Three. We Must Take Responsibility for Pointless Suffering

Interlude on the Problem of Evil

Part Two. Four Perennial Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering

Four. Pointless Suffering Reveals God

Five. Pointless Suffering Atones Us with Nature

Interlude on Heaven and Hell

Six. Pointless Suffering Evokes Our Humanity

Seven. Pointless Suffering Inspires Art

Conclusion. The Way of Suffering Humanly

A Sad Postlude

Acknowledgments

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780226407111

022640711X

OCLC:

1035763292