It's right there in the Book of Job: "Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward." Suffering is an inescapable part of the human condition--which leads to a question that has proved just as inescapable throughout the centuries: Why? Why do we suffer? Why do people die young? Is there any point to our pain, physical or emotional? Do horrors like hurricanes have meaning? In Seven Ways of Looking at Suffering, Scott Samuelson tackles that hardest question of all. To do so, he travels through the history of philosophy and religion, but he also attends closely to the real world we live in. While always taking the question of suffering seriously, Samuelson is just as likely to draw lessons from Bugs Bunny as from Confucius, from his time teaching philosophy to prisoners as from Hannah Arendt's attempts to come to terms with the Holocaust. He guides us through the arguments people have offered to answer this fundamental question, explores the many ways that we have tried to minimize or eliminate suffering, and examines people's attempts to find ways to live with pointless suffering. Ultimately, Samuelson shows, to be fully human means to acknowledge a mysterious paradox: we must simultaneously accept suffering and oppose it. And understanding that is itself a step towards acceptance. Wholly accessible, and thoroughly thought-provoking, Seven Ways of Looking at Suffering is a masterpiece of philosophy, returning the field to its roots--helping us see new ways to understand, explain, and live in our world, fully alive to both its light and its darkness.

About the Author
Scott Samuelson has taught philosophy to a wide range of people, including at Kirkwood Community College and the Iowa Medical and Classification Center (Oakdale Prison).A He is the author of The Deepest Human Life: An Introduction to Philosophy for Everyone.

Reviews
"In this eminently readable but subtle book, Scott Samuelson opens up new ways of thinking about suffering. Weaving together philosophical reflections with compelling stories of his time teaching in prison, Samuelson shows us the various roles undeserved suffering play our lives, and indeed in life itself. This book is a necessary read for those of us who want to reflect on the place of pain in human existence."--Todd May, author of A Significant Life



Book Information
ISBN 9780226407081
Author Scott Samuelson
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press