Commitment (The Art of Living) - Softcover

Benn, Piers

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1844652319 ISBN 13: 9781844652310

Publisher: Routledge, 2010

Synopsis

Most of us care about certain people and things, and some of these concerns become personal commitments, involving our values, our relationships, our work and our religious or political stances. But what is commitement, and why should it matter? Is social commitment - for example, to the family - being eroded by individualism or ironic detachment? And how should we deal with the potential tension between devotion to a life-stance, and the doubts prompted by pursuit of rational integrity?

In this work, Piers Benn delves into the relationship between commitment and meaningful life, and asks whether commitment must be based on truth to provide such meaning. He also explores obstacles to commitment such as boredom, sloth and indifference. Drawing on his own experience of dithering and procrastination, he suggests that a sceptical, cautious attitude to important matters can be both a virtue and a real obstacle to human fulfillment.

About this title

About the Author:

Piers Benn has lectured in philosophy at the universities of St Andrews and Leeds, and in medical ethics and law at Imperial College London.

Review:

'Benn has the happy knack of writing well and choosing helpful and witty examples which stick in the mind to illustrate his points...Benn is genuinely interested in the role commitment plays in his own life and although the book is not autobiographical, the personal 'commitment to commitment' adds spice and a certain poignancy to the subject.' --Metapsychology Online

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1844652319
• ISBN 13: 9781844652310
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160