A lively and personal guide to pursuing true happiness through a life grounded in empathy and shared purpose
Of all the ancient thinkers, Aristotle is the humane, dynamic guide we need to navigate modern life. Unlike the Stoics, who advocated detachment and self-reliance, Aristotle knew that goodness grows through human connections. People flourish through friendship and community, and they wither when they retreat.
Distilling Aristotle’s core ideas, acclaimed scholar Nancy Sherman explores how connection, curiosity, and ethical character can help us make peace with the fragility of happiness, and how we can address the questions we struggle to answer:
• What is it to flourish?
• What is it to live a good life?
• How do we find joy in nature without exploiting it?
• How do we play without hurting, joke without mocking?
• How do we build strong friendships in an age of loneliness?
• What does it mean to have a good soul?
As Sherman walks beside the famous philosopher, she shows us why his vision speaks powerfully to our anxious and divided times—and how we can put that vision into practice.