A Wonderful Life

For as long as humankind has existed, we’ve pondered the meaning, purpose, and ultimate worth of our lives, and how to actually live this unique life of ours. In these pages, scholar and philosopher Frank Martela provides a unique perspective – in a series of soulful and thought-provoking essays – that explores what brings significance to our existence as well as why we are dissatisfied with the present and have a continual yearning for something beyond where we are right now.

This beautifully designed book approaches its subject in a readily digestible form. It grapples with some of life’s most pressing questions, such as:

“Is happiness a worthy goal?”
“What is the foundation for meaning in a secular society?”
“Is life an existential void?”

Martela answers these questions and more in a relaxed, conversational tone and with a wry sense of humor, placing some of life’s greatest philosophical concerns and quandaries into a modern-day context.

Martela quickly and concisely gets to the heart of the matter: your place in the world and how to find meaning in life as countless thinkers and philosophers have done before, yet the emphasis here is on what we do with the life we have and how we can make it more meaningful. Part prescriptive and part armchair philosophy book, A Wonderful Life is accessible to everyone, from the well-read scholar to the apprentice as well as anyone curious about how to extract the greatest meaning and sense of purpose from their existence.