How Are We to Live?

How Are We to Live? Synopsis

'Imagine that you could choose a book that everyone in the world would read. My choice would be this book.' Roger Crisp, Ethics Many people have an uneasy feeling that they may be missing out on something basic that would give their lives a significance it currently lacks. But how should we live?

What is there to stop us behaving selfishly? In a highly readable account which makes reference to a wide variety of sources and everyday issues, Peter Singer suggests that the conventional pursuit of self-interest is individually and collectively self-defeating. Taking into consideration the beliefs of Jesus, Kant, Rousseau, and Adam Smith amongst others, he looks at a number of different cultures, including America, Japan, and the Aborigines to assess whether or not selfishness is in our genes and how we may find greater satisfaction in an ethical lifestyle.