Moral Disquiet and Human Life

Attempting to steer moral philosophy away from abstract theorizing,Moral Disquiet and Human Lifeargues that moral philosophy should be a practical, rational, and argumentative engagement with reality, and that moral reflection should have direct effects on our lives and the world in which we live. Illustrating her discussion with vivid examples from literature, music, drama, and current events, the noted French philosopher Monique Canto-Sperber resumes the most ancient pursuit of philosophy: the examination of human life itself. What did Socrates mean when he said that the unexamined life is not worth living? How can reflecting on one's existence incorporate human singularity, the contingency of events, the certainty of death, the presence of the past, or the irreversibility of time? Carefully analyzing and proposing answers to such questions,Moral Disquiet and Human Lifeeloquently calls for a redefinition of the task of moral philosophy and of its limits.

Monique Canto-Sperber is a philosopher and the director of the Ecole normale superieure in Paris.