The Examined Life is a 1989 collection of philosophical meditations by the philosopher Robert Nozick.[1] The book drew a number of critical reactions. The work is drawn partially as a response to Socrates assertion in Plato's "The Apology of Socrates" that the unexamined life is one not worth living[2][3]
Author | Robert Nozick |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject | Philosophy |
Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 1989 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
Pages | 308 |
ISBN | 0-671-72501-7 |
The book is an attempt to "tackle human nature, the personal, 'the holiness of everyday life' and its meaning."[4] Nozick expresses his concerns with libertarianism and proposes some form of inheritance taxation.[5][6] According to reviewers such as Thomas Kelly, Nozick used The Examined Life as well as another work to "explicitly [disown]" the earlier radical libertarian concepts he presented in Anarchy, State, and Utopia.[7]
Denis Donoghue praised The Examined Life in The Wilson Quarterly, but stated that it had some passages that were less strong than others.[2] The journalist Jane O'Grady called the work "disappointingly schmaltzy" in The Guardian.[4]
In The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (2005), the philosopher Anthony Quinton described The Examined Life as "unkindly treated".[8]
Jim Holt, a columnist for The Literary Review leaves a few remarks about the "semantic slum", essentially deeming it "trickled down philosophy", saying that it is not worth following/reading.