Reading Suggestions - The Meaning of Life

[AmongTheWeeds]

Hi,

First, let me apologize if this is not the proper place to post this, or if these sort of threads of generally frowned upon. I'm new to the forums.

Basically, I am looking for reading suggestions. The subject is the meaning of life, or the material can be related to the meaning of life in some way. For example, Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" is quite explicitly about the subject, whereas "Super Consciousness" about Colin Wilson is about understanding how to achieve a "peak experience", which is related, in my opinion, to our ability to decipher and understand the meaning in our lives.

Fictional works, such as novels, are welcome as well!

I appreciate any genuine input, as I really am unsure of who the best authors are out there.

Thanks!

[spiltteeth]

Well, I LOVE Frankl, he has a few other books like 'Man's search for ultimate meaning'

As far as non-fiction, I'd say

Tragic Sense of Life by Miguel de Unamuno

Fiction :

The Plague by Camus
The Fall by Albert Camus

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky

Mist: by Miguel de Unamuno

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

[AmongTheWeeds]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll be sure to look into them.

[Lord Hargreaves]

The Meaning of Life, by Terry Eagleton

[kalu]

I've always found Deleuze to be a fascinating philosopher when dealing with the meaning of life, even if his overall method rests on shaky grounds. You might try his last collection of essays, Pure Immanence: Essays on a Life, though I haven't read it.

Of course, you also couldn't go wrong with the original, Nietzsche. Most contemporary stuff about meaning of life will be placed squarely in the continental tradition (Heidegger, Sartre, Levinas, etc.) Overall though, I'd say your best bet is to just read some fine literature (western canon or not).

[AmongTheWeeds]

Thank you for the new suggestions.

[MarxSchmarx]

Robert Nozick, in "Philosophical Explanations" has a chapter on the meaning of life.