100 books like The Meaning of Life

By E. D. Klemke, Steven M. Cahn,

Here are 100 books that The Meaning of Life fans have personally recommended if you like The Meaning of Life. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Exploring the Meaning of Life: An Anthology and Guide

Stephen Leach Author Of The Meaning of Life and the Great Philosophers

From my list on philosophy and the meaning of life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an honorary senior fellow at Keele University and have written books on philosophy, art history, and archaeology. In philosophy one of my main interests is the comparative analysis of a wide range of philosophical approaches to the question of the meaning of life. 

Stephen's book list on philosophy and the meaning of life

Stephen Leach Why did Stephen love this book?

In philosophy that focuses upon the meaning of life it is not long before one comes across the name of Joshua Seachris.

He wrote the introduction to this book and each of his fellow editors introduce their respective sections.

Thaddeus Metz introduces ‘Understanding the Question of Life’s Meaning’; John Cottingham introduces ‘What Does God have to do with the meaning of life?’; Garrett Thomson introduces ‘The Loss of Meaning in a World without God’; Erik J. Wielenberg introduces ‘Finding Meaning in a World without God’; and John Martin Fischer introduces ‘The Meaning of Life and the Way Life Ends: Death Futility and Hope’. 

Each section consists of about six different essays, from authors as diverse as Bertrand Russell, C.S. Lewis, and Leo Tolstoy.

By Joshua W. Seachris,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Exploring the Meaning of Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Much more than just an anthology, this survey of humanity's search for the meaning of life includes the latest contributions to the debate, a judicious selection of key canonical essays, and insightful commentary by internationally respected philosophers. * Cutting-edge viewpoint features the most recent contributions to the debate * Extensive general introduction offers unprecedented context * Leading contemporary philosophers provide insightful introductions to each section


Book cover of The Meaning of Life: Religious, Philosophical, Transhumanist, and Scientific Perspectives

Stephen Leach Author Of The Meaning of Life and the Great Philosophers

From my list on philosophy and the meaning of life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an honorary senior fellow at Keele University and have written books on philosophy, art history, and archaeology. In philosophy one of my main interests is the comparative analysis of a wide range of philosophical approaches to the question of the meaning of life. 

Stephen's book list on philosophy and the meaning of life

Stephen Leach Why did Stephen love this book?

 This book provides short summaries of the views of about one hundred philosophers of the twentieth and twentieth-first centuries.

Only one earlier philosopher is included, “the most prominent pessimist of the entire western philosophical tradition,” Arthur Schopenhauer.

One of the interesting features of the book – partly because it has rarely been attempted – is a taxonomy of the different answers that have been given to the question.

By John G Messerly,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Meaning of Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Meaning of Life: Religious, Philosophical, Transhumanist, and Scientific Perspectives is the first book to summarize the writings of the important contemporary theologians, philosophers, and scientists on the question of the meaning of life. In addition the book deals with the relevance of death for the question as well the huge importance that the potential scientific elimination of death will have for humanity’s concern regarding meaning. Finally the book considers the question in the context of cosmic evolution and deep time, offering in the end an answer to the question of whether life is or is not ultimately meaningful. Show…


Book cover of The Meaning of Life and Death: Ten Classic Thinkers on the Ultimate Question

Stephen Leach Author Of The Meaning of Life and the Great Philosophers

From my list on philosophy and the meaning of life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an honorary senior fellow at Keele University and have written books on philosophy, art history, and archaeology. In philosophy one of my main interests is the comparative analysis of a wide range of philosophical approaches to the question of the meaning of life. 

Stephen's book list on philosophy and the meaning of life

Stephen Leach Why did Stephen love this book?

The author explains the views of Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Herman Melville, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Nietzsche, William James, Proust, Wittgenstein, and Camus. 

He reminds us that: “What we find in these writers’ work is not abstract theories: we find actual people, breathing, vulnerable individuals who when they reflect on life and death also reflect on their own living and dying.”

The book ends not with a grand conclusion but with a joke which, given that life is sometimes viewed as an ‘awful joke’, may be quite appropriate.

I’ll leave it to you to decide whether the joke is good or bad.

By Michael Hauskeller,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Meaning of Life and Death as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What is the point of living? If we are all going to die anyway, if nothing will remain of whatever we achieve in this life, why should we bother trying to achieve anything in the first place? Can we be mortal and still live a meaningful life? Questions such as these have been asked for a long time, but nobody has found a conclusive answer yet. The connection between death and meaning, however, has taken centre stage in the philosophical and literary work of some of the world's greatest writers: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Soren Kierkegaard, Arthur Schopenhauer, Herman Melville,…


Book cover of A Defence of Nihilism

Stephen Leach Author Of The Meaning of Life and the Great Philosophers

From my list on philosophy and the meaning of life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an honorary senior fellow at Keele University and have written books on philosophy, art history, and archaeology. In philosophy one of my main interests is the comparative analysis of a wide range of philosophical approaches to the question of the meaning of life. 

Stephen's book list on philosophy and the meaning of life

Stephen Leach Why did Stephen love this book?

My final choice is slightly different from the others on my list, in that it is not an anthology or an exposition of different viewpoints.

It is a short book (just 60 pages) that simply argues that there is no meaning of life but that that does not matter in the least.

In this respect, the book is a good antidote to Schopenhauer’s view – discussed or excerpted in all of the above – that there is no meaning of life and that that matters a great deal.

Whether you agree with Tartaglia and Llanera or not, you are likely to find their views a useful foil against which to formulate your own.

By James Tartaglia, Tracy Llanera,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Defence of Nihilism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book offers a philosophical defence of nihilism. The authors argue that the concept of nihilism has been employed pejoratively by almost all philosophers and religious leaders to indicate a widespread cultural crisis of truth, meaning, or morals. Many religious believers think atheism leads to moral chaos (because it leads to nihilism), and atheists typically insist that we can make life meaningful through our own actions (thereby avoiding nihilism). In this way, both sides conflate the cosmic sense of meaning at stake with a social sense of meaning. This book charts a third course between extremist and alarmist views of…


Book cover of The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose

Dave Kerpen Author Of The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want

From my list on entrepreneurs who want to go further faster.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love building businesses. I’ve built several businesses, ranging from a one person consultancy to a venture-backed tech company to an 8-figure marketing agency to a managed HR marketplace to a virtual memorial services company. The only thing I love more than building businesses is building and helping create new entrepreneurs. These books have helped me tremendously in my journey and I hope they help you as well!

Dave's book list on entrepreneurs who want to go further faster

Dave Kerpen Why did Dave love this book?

Oprah is my hero. I can think of no more impressive entrepreneur, from what she started with to what she built and the impact she has had on the world. For many people, understanding one’s purpose and direction is the first step towards becoming a successful entrepreneur and a happy and fulfilled human being. This book will help you begin to do the hard work to get there.

By Oprah Winfrey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Path Made Clear as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Everyone has a purpose. And, according to Oprah Winfrey, 'Your real job in life is to figure out as soon as possible what that is, who you are meant to be, and begin to honour your calling in the best way possible.'

That journey starts right here.

In her book, The Path Made Clear, Oprah shares what she sees as a guide for activating your deepest vision of yourself, offering the framework for creating not just a life of success, but one of significance. The book's ten chapters are organized to help you recognize the important milestones along the road…


Book cover of Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair

Gwen Adshead and Eileen Horne Author Of The Devil You Know: Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry

From my list on managing mental suffering.

Why are we passionate about this?

We are a writing team of doctor and dramatist, two long-time friends who have made our life’s work over the last 30 years the exploration of empathy, with her forensic patients in Gwen’s case, and for Eileen, through the invention of characters in dramas. Our shared passion, as our five book choices reveal, is to offer hope through the healing power of narrative; as Carl Jung said, "the reason for evil in the world is that people are unable to tell their stories."

Eileen's book list on managing mental suffering

Gwen Adshead and Eileen Horne Why did Eileen love this book?

One of several Lamott non-fiction works that we love, you’ll return to this slim volume many times over for a witty, warming shot of wisdom. With a familiar mix of the philosophical, autobiographical, and anecdotal, Lamott provides a refreshing perspective on coping with hopelessness and suffering, both private and public. For Lamott, meaning comes from ‘living stitch by stitch' and protects us from being overwhelmed by the world’s problems (or our own). Through hard topics including her own addiction and losses, the author testifies to the power of hope and community. Like a therapist or forensic psychiatrist, Lamott talks of the import of bearing witness to the suffering of others, as a path to change.

By Anne Lamott,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stitches as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What do we do when life lurches out of balance? How can we reconnect to one another and to what's sustaining, when evil and catastrophe seem inescapable?

These questions lie at the heart of Stitches, Anne Lamott's follow-up to her New York Times-bestselling work, Help, Thanks, Wow. In this book, she explores how we find meaning and peace in these loud and frantic times; where we start again after personal and public devastation; how we recapture wholeness after loss; and how we locate our true identities in this frazzled age. We begin, Lamott says, by collecting the ripped sheets of…


Book cover of Nanny Ogg's Cookbook

Cassandra Reeder Author Of The Geeky Chef Cookbook: Real-Life Recipes for Fantasy Foods

From my list on cookbooks written by storytellers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a food blogger and cookbook author who has been making up recipes for fictional foods from fantasy and science fiction since I was old enough to walk and talk. I love building a bridge between stories, imagination, fandom and food. For over a decade, with a lot of research and some really bad puns, I have been helping other geeks and nerds all over the world make their fictional food fantasies come true.

Cassandra's book list on cookbooks written by storytellers

Cassandra Reeder Why did Cassandra love this book?

Written by the late and great Terry Pratchett himself, this is obviously a must-have for any Discworld fanatic. The actual recipes in this tome range from questionable to delightful, the “narrator,” Nanny Ogg, is the real star of the show. Nanny Ogg’s er… life advice, this book will have you giggling and the recipes will have you intrigued.

By Stephen Briggs, Paul Kidby, Terry Pratchett , Paul Kidby

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Nanny Ogg's Cookbook as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach which just goes to show they're as confused about anatomy as they gen'rally are about everything else, unless they're talking about instructions on how to stab him, in which case a better way is up and under the ribcage. Anyway, we do not live in a perfect world and it is foresighted and useful for a young woman to become proficient in those arts which will keep a weak-willed man from straying. Learning to cook is also useful.'

Nanny Ogg, one of Discworld's most famous witches, is…


Book cover of Life on Purpose: How Living for What Matters Most Changes Everything

Robert Quinn Author Of Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within

From my list on finding your purpose and success.

Why am I passionate about this?

Robert Quinn is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan School of Business. His research and writing focus on purpose, leadership, culture, and change. He has published 18 books on these subjects. He is passionate about speaking and teaching and his recent talk to Google on finding your purpose was viewed by over 18 million people.

Robert's book list on finding your purpose and success

Robert Quinn Why did Robert love this book?

Stecher is a scientist who can also communicate ideas effectively. He does a tour of the literature on purpose and translates it into concepts of practical significance. The data suggests that you and I are designed by nature to be people of higher purpose. Until this happens, we are literally throwing our life away.

By Victor J. Strecher,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Life on Purpose as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A pioneer in the field of behavioral science delivers a groundbreaking work that shows how finding your purpose in life leads to better health and overall happiness. Your life is a boat. You need a rudder. But it doesn't matter how much wind is in your sails if you're not steering toward a harbor-an ultimate purpose in your life. While the greatest philosophers have pondered purpose for centuries, today it has been shown to have a concrete impact on our health. Recent studies into Alzheimer's, heart disease, stroke, depression, functional brain imaging, and measurement of DNA repair are shedding new…


Book cover of Mortal Questions

Scott Soames Author Of The World Philosophy Made: From Plato to the Digital Age

From my list on western philosophy: what it is and how to do it.

Why am I passionate about this?

A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, I was educated at Stanford and MIT. I taught for four years at Yale and 24 years at Princeton before moving to USC, where I am Chair of the Philosophy Department. I specialize in the Philosophy of Language, History of Philosophy, and the Philosophy of Law. I have published many articles, authored fifteen books, co-authored two, and co-edited two. I am fascinated by philosophy's enduring role in our individual and collective lives, impressed by its ability to periodically reinvent itself, and challenged to bring what it has to offer to more students and to the broader culture.

Scott's book list on western philosophy: what it is and how to do it

Scott Soames Why did Scott love this book?

This book presents ethics as both a theoretical and personal enterprise. Because it aims not only at what we should believe, but also at what we should want and how we should act, it starts not with pre-reflective ideas about the world, which we hope to make more accurate, but with pre-reflective ideas about what we want and how we want to live, which we hope to improve. Among the most gripping in contemporary philosophy, Nagel's essays -- on death, meaning in life, equality, the power of sex, limitations on our understanding of other beings, and morally evaluating people vs. morally evaluating their actions -- are informed by a unique cconception of objectivity, subjectivity, and of how the two must be combined if we are to progress.

By Thomas Nagel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mortal Questions as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Thomas Nagel's Mortal Questions explores some fundamental issues concerning the meaning, nature and value of human life. Questions about our attitudes to death, sexual behaviour, social inequality, war and political power are shown to lead to more obviously philosophical problems about personal identity, consciousness, freedom and value. This original and illuminating book aims at a form of understanding that is both theoretical and personal in its lively engagement with what are literally issues of life and death.


Book cover of Finite and Infinite Games

Niki Harré Author Of Psychology for a Better World: Working with People to Save the Planet

From my list on living well together.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a psychologist with environmental interests people often ask me about hope. It goes something like this: “Climate change is pushing us toward disaster! What is your source of hope?”  I finally figured out that I only have one source of hope. It is that we, as people, are able to work together just well enough to keep it all afloat. There’s a lot involved in working together – learning to listen with compassion, run good meetings, empower everyone to give of their best, and rebuild trust when it starts to break down. I’ve been researching these topics in community settings for the past 15 years. 

Niki's book list on living well together

Niki Harré Why did Niki love this book?

After the first edition of Psychology for a Better World was published, I was on the search for a symbol or metaphor to capture the drive of so many people to contribute to the common good. It needed to be something that worked in secular settings and would resonate with the big social movements for the environment, justice, and wellbeing. I heard Carse speak about the infinite game on a podcast and immediately bought his book.

The notion is simple – in life, there are at least two kinds of games: finite games in which the object is to win, and the infinite game in which the object is to keep the game in play. That is it, I thought, life is about keeping the game in play. You don’t have to believe anything, but if you want, you can join the infinite game. Carse describes how these games play…

By James Carse,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Finite and Infinite Games as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"There are at least two kinds of games," states James P. Carse as he begins this extraordinary book. "One could be called finite; the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play."

Finite games are the familiar contests of everyday life; they are played in order to be won, which is when they end. But infinite games are more mysterious. Their object is not winning, but ensuring the continuation of play. The rules may change, the boundaries may change, even the participants may change-as long as…


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