On Purpose: How We Create the Meaning of Life

On Purpose: How We Create the Meaning of Life
ISBN-10
0199948909
ISBN-13
9780199948901
Series
On Purpose
Category
Social Science
Pages
245
Language
English
Published
2016
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Author
Paul Froese

Description

From the start, Froese admits that the answer to the question is deceptively simple: our purpose is whatever we imagine it to be. But what we imagine our purpose to be depends on innumerable factors beyond our control: our wealth, race, education level, upbringing, past experiences, and community. Froese argues that one's surroundings serve as a kind of soil that can either nurture purpose or foster meaninglessness. Framing the book around six key questions, Froese refuses to collapse the meaning of life into a single authoritative answer, as self-help gurus do. Instead, he deconstructs each question to reveal the social pathways that guide people to distinctive answers. Through lively, engaging storytelling that mixes data and analysis with literary and historical examples of the quest for purpose, Froese sheds new light on a timeless and all-too-human quandary.

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