Descartes Meditation Essay Example for Free

Descartes Meditation Essay 1. If Descartes’s aim is to find certainty, why does he proceed by doubting as many things as he can? He feels that as long as he goes on believing his old beliefs, laziness and habit will block him from receiving any truths. He feels that if he regards his beliefs in the same way as he does any falsehoods he can remain unbiased when judging information and only then will he receive real truths. 2. What reason does he give for doubting that the senses give knowledge? That a man asleep can have a realistic dream that he is having the same experiences as a man thats awake. 3. What does the experience of â€Å"dreams† show us concerning the senses? He talks about how real dreams appear even though they are proven to be deceiving. And if one can be deceived in a dream by all of their senses can they not also be deceived in reality by some supernatural demon. He says hypothetically that God may not have created earth, shapes, etc. and everything that we sense could be a form of deception. 4. Why can he doubt even that 2=3 = 5. He talks about the fact that he sometimes doubt others who claim to have the most perfect knowledge. And if that can be the case for them cant it also be possible for him to be wrong about â€Å"obvious† truths. Also, if one may feel that if Gods goodness would stop him from being deceived SOME of the time, wouldnt it stop him from being deceived ALL of the time since he is clearly deceived some of the time. Basically he is acknowledging the fact that he could be wrong.

Beowulf The Perfect Hero English Literature Essay

Beowulf The Perfect Hero English Literature Essay What is a hero. Directly defined from the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a hero is a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability. A great display of heroism and what it truly means to be a hero was captured in a long poem, Beowulf, which was close to being lost during a fire in 1731 in the Cotton Library (Foster). All of the attributes in which a hero should have are possessed by Beowulf, such as loyalty, courage, and strength. Beowulf presents a journey of a warrior that transforms himself into a unforgettable hero. The epic of Beowulf perfectly captured and paved the way for all heroes. The first attribute to a good hero is being loyal to the people around you, no matter the circumstance. In the very beginning of the poem we see the first signs of loyalty when Beowulf sails for land of the Danes. The family ties between that of Hrothgars family and Beowulfs is enough for Beowulf to go with his men and risk his life to help (Foster). Not only does this support and show how Beowulf was loyal but it shows us the mind set of how people thought in that time period. These morals and values which you begin to see in Beowulf also reflect some of the ideas and beliefs of Anglo-Saxons England, the time period in which Beowulf is believed to be set in (Foster). Once he arrives on the shore of Denmark he announces: We belong by birth to the Geat people And owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac. In his day, my father was a famous man, a noble warrior-lord named Ecgtheow. (260-263) Loyalty emerges again when Beowulf prepares to fight Grendel, Edward Foster writes Beowulf confronts that physical evil and, bolstered by lineage and loyalty, routs the inimical force with which all people must contend (Foster). What Edward Foster is saying is, Beowulf needs to stay loyal to Hrothgar as well as protect his families reputation; Beowulf must go through with his fight and defeat Grendel. After Beowulf had defeated Grendel he speaks to Horthgar in lines 1826-1829 saying: If ever I hear from across the ocean That people on your borders are threatening battle As attackers have done from time to time, I shall land with a thousand thanes at my back This passage continues to show Beowulfs continued loyalty to Hrothgar even after defeating Grendel and his mother. Jacqueline Vaught wrote in her criticism Beowulf: The Fight at the Center, In a poem so obviously concerned with social loyalty, the fact Beowulf is alone when he enters the mere is one of the largest signals that his experinces there are central to the meaning of the poem (Vaught). Hrothgar isnt the only person in the poem in which Beowulf swears loyalty to. Richard Schrader wrote in his analysis of Beowulf, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦never indicating that he wants to take over and his stressing his loyalty to Hygelac upon returning to his home (Schrader). Even towards end of his life, coincidentally towards the end of the poem, Beowulf shows loyalty to his people. When a thief steals the goblet guarded by a dragon it begins to terrorize the people of Geatland. In return Beowulf, much older now, suits up and sets out to defeat the dragon. The men with Beowulf refuse to go in to fig ht the dragon, all but one, whom shows loyalty to his leader. Loyalty, a recurring theme in this poem pushes the two men to defeat the dragon at the expense of Beowulfs life. Another, trait that contributed to Beowulfs heroism is his courage and lack of fear. One instance where Beowulf displays his courage was during the swimming match in lines 530-580. Not only was he swimming for five days and five nights but during the race he decides to stop and fight sea monsters as stated in lines 559-5641: Time and again, foul things attacked me, lurking and stalking, but I lashed out, gave as good as I got with my sword. My flesh was not for feasting on, there would be no monsters gnawing and gloating Over their banquet at the bottom of the sea. When is was time to fight Grendel, a descendent of Cain, Beowulf refused to wear armor or use any weapons because Grendel himself did not wear armor or have any weapons. The poem goes beyond belief to sell the point that Beowulf was truly afraid of nothing even making him seem godlike in a way. When the time comes to fight Grendels mother must separate himself from society to the cave in which she lives in (Vaught). Essentially in his epic adventure in being the perfect hero, Beowulf needs to man up and become a monster himself (Vaught). The final act of courage displayed by Beowulf was when he was at his weakest, weakened by old age. With a bunch of cowardly men as described in lines 2596-2601: No help or backing was to be had then from his highborn comrades; that hand-picked troop broke ranks and ran for their lives to the safety of the wood. But within one heart sorrowed welled up: in a man of worth the claims of kinship cannot be denied. No matter the circumstance Beowulf, even with the feeling of death among him, he went out on the quest to destroy the dragon terrorizing his people. He along, with Wiglaf, were the only two men with the courage to face the dragon and kill it for their peoples protection. The whole epic poem is a timeline of the development of a perfect hero. Each of the three battles contributed to the creation of the perfect hero. When he first comes Beowulf is a war hardened warrior but still needs to prove and make a name for him self. In the first battle with Grendel, Jacqueline Vaught does a great job pointing out Beowulf does not fulfill his quest as the hero-precisely because he is still within society, literally inside the walls of Herot and the circle of his men (Vaught). What you can take away from that is, although Beowulf wanted to even the playing field per say by taking off his armor and fighting Grendel bare handed, he still had home court advantage and still had all his men within Herot Hall. The real test came in the next great battle of Beowulfs against Grendels mother where he had to venture to a new undiscovered and unknown place. This is where you begin to see Beowulf grow as a hero and a character because for the first time he is really challeng ed. His transformation here was put best by Vaught when she wrote: As he enters the mere, Beowulf makes his journey inward. Rapidly he discovers that neither society nor even his own physical strength can help him in this internal battle. But when he stands, he also finds the center of himself, the strength of his unyielding will (Vaught) Still though, Beowulf relies on a sword made by giants to defeat the monster. Taylor Culbert summed it up best when saying Whereas the first two battles reveal  Beowulf  in the role of youthful warrior, the dragon fight displays his exemplary behavior as a mature king (Culbert). The last dragon he defeats is where the perfect hero is born and at the same time killed. It was when Beowulf knew he wasnt going to make it yet willed himself onward to help defeat the dragon that the perfect hero was made. Family and lineage was an important factor when determining whether or not someone could be a hero in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Throughout the poem, before Beowulf would speak, it would refer to him as Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow. This shows the importance of lineage along with other things. For example after the watchmen, Wulfgar, told Hrothgar of Beowulfs lineage, Hrothgar sends the reply: My lord, the conquering king of the Danes, Bids me announce that he knows your ancestry; Also that he welcomes you here to Herot And salutes your arrival from across the sea. (391-394) The hero in Anglo-Saxon culture is expected to carry about revenge in honor of family and to show loyalty (Foster). Some may have a different view of Beowulf and may see him as an arrogant character that only cares about glory. This is a valid point, but regardless Beowulf put the people first and protected them during all his fights. During his fight with Grendels mom Beowolf had no audience to see him defeat her, this shows that although he may care about being remembered, he cares more about his loyalty to Hrothgar and his people. Another relative point can be made during the fight against Grendel. During this fight the poet only regards Beowulfs point of view in four passages, as pointed out by Charles Moorman (Culbert). Also it is fair to point out that it was selfish of Beowulf to try and defeat the last dragon when he was old of age. But if it were not going to be Beowulf to defeat this dragon, who else would have? Clearly everyone else was afraid of it as was pointed out above during the passage in which all his cowardly men left him to go in alone with Wiglaf. The dragon would have contin ued to terrorize the people and set villages on fire. It was a necessary sacrifice to go and die for his people. The qualities of loyalty, courage and nobility all play key factors into the development of a perfect hero in Beowulf. In this epic poem he takes a journey to unknown lands and displays these characteristics in many ways. He was loyal to the Danes and helped them during a time where they lived in fear for their lives. He was courageous and didnt back down from any fight, even risking his life at times to give his opposition a fair fight. Beowulf proved to be a noble man and represent his lineage with great pride. The epic of Beowulf perfectly captured and paved the way for all heroes. As he was dying in the cave with Wiglaf by his side, Wiglaf refused to take Beowulfs treasures (Schrader). Being the only one of Beowulfs kinsmen to go in with him this man, Wiglaf, is set up to be the next perfect hero. Beowulf proved to be a legendary figure and displayed his ability of great strength many times, transforming himself into one of the greatest heroes of all time.

The Affect of Changing the Concentration on the Rate of Reaction :: Collision Theory Reaction Rates Essays

The Affect of Changing the Concentration on the Rate of Reaction To find out the affect of changing the concentration on the rate of reaction Scientific background Collision theory: Collision theory explains how chemical reactions occur and why rates of reaction differ. For a reaction to occur, particles must collide. If the collision causes a chemical change it is referred to as a fruitful collision and it's a Theory that explains how chemical reactions take place and why rates of reaction change? For a reaction to occur the reactant particles must collide. Only a certain fraction of the total collisions cause chemical change these are called fruitful collisions. The fruitful collisions have enough energy (activation energy) at the moment of impact to break the existing bonds and form new bonds, resulting in the products of the reaction. Increasing the concentration of the reactants and raising the temperature bring about more collisions and therefore more fruitful collisions, increasing the rate of reaction. Rate of reaction: amount of a substance that takes part in a chemical reaction in a given time, and its also Finding out how quickly reactions take place and understanding why they happen at the rate they did. Molecules: Molecules are compounds made up of atoms. Movement: is how the reaction occurs Activation Energy: the minimum energy in the reaction. Prediction: What I predict to happen in my experiment is that when I add 10 cm3 of Hydrochloric acid into the flask with the sodium Thiosulphate of 50cm3 then I hypothesise that the cross will disappear a lot faster than when I add less amount of Hydrochloric acid. Hypothesis: I predict is that when I use high concentration of Na2S2o3 the rate of reaction would be very fast and the cross is going to disappear more rapidly and when the solution is more diluted by adding more (water) so the reaction will slow down much slower and it will take more time for the cross to disappear. I think this will happen because by adding more water in it will produce more particles in the concentrated solution so because of this there will be more collisions and it will slow down the reaction. Apparatus: In order to do any type of experiment, you need equipment. The equipment I will use is: Measuring Cylinder Small measuring cylinder Flask 2 beakers Paper marked with a big cross in the middle. Stops watch (Timer). Method: - Firstly we got the equipments listed above - Then we set it up the equipment as shown above. - We got a piece of paper and drew a big cross on it. - Then using a conical flask and 100ml beakers and a 250ml beaker we

censored :: essays research papers

â€Å"Congress shall make no law†¦ abridging the freedom of speech.†(United States Constitution) However, it seems almost everywhere; many forms of art are being unfairly censored. One such form that is often overlooked as art is music. â€Å"Music is probably the most censored of all art forms†(The Economist; p 73) There are hundreds of artists who have been unfairly censored, ranging from popular music from artists such as Eminem, 2 Live Crew, and NWA, to classical music, such as Mozart’s Figaro. However unfair and unconstitutional this censorship is, the fact is that questionable music and lyrics are encouraging impressionable young children to follow their messages. Rappers like DMX or NWA, preaching gang violence often are â€Å"the straw that breaks the camel’s back,† and finally pushes a child looking for guidance into the world of gangs. The truth is that these children need to be protected from the harsh realities of the world surroun ding them, but is censoring music the right way to do it?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"No corporation can exist without authority of government. Government shouldn’t allow corporations that infect and contaminate the minds of children to be allowed to exist.† (Dr. C. Delores Tucker before senate subcommittee). This is one solution that seems to make good sense to many to support the censorship of music. Music of artists such as NWA, who urges their listners to say, â€Å"F*ck the Police,† or Eminem, who says he’ll â€Å"Kill You,† surround children, especially in urban areas. This type of music encourages children to get into drugs and gang violence. In the past eight years, the period in which â€Å"gangsta† rap has been heavily promoted, teenage drug use has increased more than four-fold (Dr. C Delores Tucker). The government is the underlying power that allows corporations to send messages like these to children, and the government is the only resource we can use to stop it. â€Å"Young people ofte n look to performing artists for moral guidance and inspiration as well as entertainment, but when these artists glorify guns and beatings they are injecting poison into the veins of America’s future† (Coretta Scott King). This argument is not isolated to urban areas, or rap music. In fact, hard rock groups have been blamed as the cause of several school shootings. The shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton Colorado was attributed to the music of Marilyn Manson. The most recent shooting blamed on occured in Santee California; the alleged shooter had said that he was listening to Linkin Park’s album, Hybrid Theory the night before the shooting. censored :: essays research papers â€Å"Congress shall make no law†¦ abridging the freedom of speech.†(United States Constitution) However, it seems almost everywhere; many forms of art are being unfairly censored. One such form that is often overlooked as art is music. â€Å"Music is probably the most censored of all art forms†(The Economist; p 73) There are hundreds of artists who have been unfairly censored, ranging from popular music from artists such as Eminem, 2 Live Crew, and NWA, to classical music, such as Mozart’s Figaro. However unfair and unconstitutional this censorship is, the fact is that questionable music and lyrics are encouraging impressionable young children to follow their messages. Rappers like DMX or NWA, preaching gang violence often are â€Å"the straw that breaks the camel’s back,† and finally pushes a child looking for guidance into the world of gangs. The truth is that these children need to be protected from the harsh realities of the world surroun ding them, but is censoring music the right way to do it?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"No corporation can exist without authority of government. Government shouldn’t allow corporations that infect and contaminate the minds of children to be allowed to exist.† (Dr. C. Delores Tucker before senate subcommittee). This is one solution that seems to make good sense to many to support the censorship of music. Music of artists such as NWA, who urges their listners to say, â€Å"F*ck the Police,† or Eminem, who says he’ll â€Å"Kill You,† surround children, especially in urban areas. This type of music encourages children to get into drugs and gang violence. In the past eight years, the period in which â€Å"gangsta† rap has been heavily promoted, teenage drug use has increased more than four-fold (Dr. C Delores Tucker). The government is the underlying power that allows corporations to send messages like these to children, and the government is the only resource we can use to stop it. â€Å"Young people ofte n look to performing artists for moral guidance and inspiration as well as entertainment, but when these artists glorify guns and beatings they are injecting poison into the veins of America’s future† (Coretta Scott King). This argument is not isolated to urban areas, or rap music. In fact, hard rock groups have been blamed as the cause of several school shootings. The shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton Colorado was attributed to the music of Marilyn Manson. The most recent shooting blamed on occured in Santee California; the alleged shooter had said that he was listening to Linkin Park’s album, Hybrid Theory the night before the shooting.

Greed and Malevolence in Macbeth :: Macbeth essays

The Power of Greed and Malevolence in Macbeth William Shakespeare's Macbeth is not necessarily a play of fate, but rather a tragedy that occurred as a result of uncontrollable greed and malevolence by Macbeth and his wife. The weird sisters only make suggestions about Macbeth's road to kingship; they do not cast spells to make true all their predictions. These interpretations lead Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan and secure the title Thane of Clawdor. While in kingship Macbeth elects to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, for Macbeth was fearful about losing his throne to Fleance. Senseless violence and inner rage cause the King of Scotland to murder Macduff's children and wife. The predictions of the witches are only temptations. The weird sisters never tell Macbeth what to do with these suggestions. He is initially curious and disbelieving about these deceptive hags, but he takes their forecasts literally. The witches only make predictions about the future kingship of Macbeth: "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor." Macbeth, along with Lady Macbeth, was responsible for making the judgments that leads to the downfall and destruction of himself. The prophecies predicted by the weird sisters do occur, but one can conclude that latter events, such as the death of Macbeth, were not caused by their direct powers, but they were simply the witches' foreknowledge: "He (the apparitionist) will not be commanded. Here's another / More potent than the first." The vaulting ambitions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth lead to the death of King Duncan. For the sake of Macbeth's ambition, he is willing to murder his cousin, Duncan. Macbeth realizes that murdering his king is perfidious and blasphemous because every king is set on throne by God; he is driven by his undying aspiration to steal the throne and be king: "I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself / And falls on th' other." Lady Macbeth is also moved by her avarice to be alongside her husband on the throne. She uses all her strength and intelligence for evil purposes; this confident and arrogant authoritarian instills the plan of the murder (of Duncan) to Macbeth: "We fail? / But screw your courage to the sticking place / And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep." Macbeth is the only individual responsible for the death of his friend Banquo and the flight of Banquo's son, Fleance.

A “Janner” in the “smoke” Essay

As I step out of the carriage at Paddington station I feel a sensation that I feel every time I come back to this stunning and enchanting city that I love so much. The red telephone boxes, black taxis and the marvellous architecture. This visit I’m staying in one of the many travel inns in London, this one is situated the other side of the tower bridge which is a bit different to the kind of hotel that I normally stay in when I’m visiting London but this is no normal visit. This visit I am going to be a tourist and experience London from a different viewpoint. Now I have to find a taxi and drop off my bags. The taxi driver finds the hotel effortlessly and I am soon at reception checking in. My room is large and airy, decorated in standard â€Å"travel inn† style. I drop my bags and go down to the bar to find my friends, as tonight we are visiting the very popular Maxwell’s restaurant in Covent Garden. Well all I can say for the meal is superb! Burgers and chips may not sound very nice but they’ve ruined its greasy reputation. Now back in my hotel room I’m making my self a coffee from the mini bar and am running myself a pleasantly hot bath which I will lay in for a couple of hours. Today is Saturday and I will be visiting the famous Oxford Street with its many shops. The first one on my Itinerary will be Hamly’s toyshop, which I think is incredible and great for children of all ages! Also on this magnificent street is the Warner bros. Shop and Selfridges. Later on in the day I will stroll through St. James Park, which links on to Buckingham palace, any trip to London, shouldn’t be without this relaxing experience. Tremendous. Fantastic. In St. James Park the squirrels have become so used to humans that one came and ate out of my hand! I was astonished. Tonight I’m planning on staying in, ordering a pizza and watching the television, in order to re charge my batteries ready for another strenuous day. Its 7:00am and I’ve just been woken up by some couple next door having a row and I can’t get back to sleep so I’m going to set out earlier than expected go on a tour bus round main London. I’m on the tour bus now and its great. There are more people than I’d thought on the tour but most of them are foreigners. So far we’ve passed St. Paul’s Cathedral, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar square and many more magical and momentous tourist attractions. Next I will be visiting Covent Garden to do a spot of light shopping and watch the performers. Having a hot chocolate and a bun at a small coffee shop in Covent Garden and watching a street performer on a BMX doing flatland tricks that I didn’t think were possible. The one thing that I have noticed that all these performers have in common is that all use juggling in there shows whether they do it on bikes, with chain saws or other hazardous objects. In these 2 days I have already spent à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½120 on presents for other people! Toys, Clothes or food if I’ve seen it I’ve brought it. Tonight I’m having dinner in the oddly shaped building across the road from my hotel, which every time I walk pass I smell the most stunning smells ever. Spices and herbs, sweet smells of the elegant deserts and everyone who comes out, comes out smiling. Today is the day that I have been most looking forward to. Today I’m going to Madame Tussauds. The creepy looking figures look like they are alive. But first I have to wait in the long queue of anxious and restless people. There is a sign in front which says,† 2 HOURS FROM HERE†, which sounds ridiculous. Madame Tussauds. What can say it was worth the wait, which only came to an hour in the end. It smelt strange and the rooms were hot and sticky inside. Some Japanese tourist asked me to take their picture as they stood next to the Queen and prince Philip. But I fancy having mine taken with Madonna. You could spend all day here but unfortunately I don’t have that much time left. I’ve been lucky enough to secure some tickets to watch Chelsea F.C play at home so it is off to the station to catch the train to Stamford Bridge before catching the late train home to Plymouth. What will I remember most about this different trip to London? As a tourist I see how fast the city moves, how dusty, how sticky and how lonely city can be when you are on your own!

A Review of Terry Eagleton’s The Meaning of Life Essay

Yet another non-fiction attempt at explaining the intricacies of life as we know it is in the offing, and the uninformed would most likely lump this particular one with the rest of mediocrity’s spawns. However, the less ignorant would recognize the prestige that is synonymous with the author’s name, which echoes loudly of literary theory and Marxism, in the most acceptable and understandable terms. Terry Eagleton’s discourse on one of the most profound yet unanswerable questions ever to be posed in actual form could have gone two disparate ways: the academic, which would call on the powers of scholarly influence and intervention; and the sardonic, which would debunk all trite and contrived notions about the subject and introduce a new concept that may border between reality and fantasy—or at least within the contexts of Eagleton’s philosophy. But the great theorist, without presenting his work as the millennium’s definitive answer to life and all its meanings, does what he is good at—analysis, study, and intellectualism. The big question in focus is quite applicable, as Eagleton begins, to the different persuasions available, from language to philosophy to civilization. Here is where the Eagleton style of in-depth probing takes place, and readers new and old will always find the author’s signature wit and humour refreshing against the backdrop of the subject’s utter seriousness and complexity. Eagleton builds his argument by citing some of the differences among people, based on their particular eras. He discussed how the issues thrown against faith and organized religion figured prominently in the late nineteenth century, and this brought on the question about life’s meaning in bigger, more insistent ways. Then we see how the great mind forms his own theory, but only after seeing how he provides a comparison between his thinking and those that came before him. The first, most obvious and easiest target would be Christianity and its various interpretations, that declares God as the all-powerful, all-knowing source of the world’s meaning and its corresponding effect on life itself, and the tenet that deems the world chaotic and meaningless without God. Eagleton quickly forges to disprove this established belief, by invoking the theories and discoveries alluded to by science, and how, even without the concept of God, the universe would continue to be an entity independent of anything, with a symmetry and logic that defies any claim on source and end. Eagleton did not agree with the free-flowing, opinion-respecting parameters of post-modernism, either. He found the standard allusions to individualism and realms and contexts of varying interpretations as contrary to the search for meaning; because meaning can only be discovered through dialogue with the world, and any pre-tense of an individual of finding the same unto himself or herself does not operate logically within Eagleton’s study. One must validate his or her particular life meanings with what the world has already set, out of respect and value for a construct that is no longer such, but is really a defined and proven reality that can mix both beauty and logic on the same level. Upon presenting his own personal cause towards providing an answer to the stated question, Eagleton now invokes Aristotelian philosophy to concretise an aspect of the meaning. According to Aristotle, human life’s significance lies within happiness—yet not just mere pleasure. Eagleton agress with this idea, and confirms the classic philosopher’s opinion that happiness may only be received through virtue, wherein virtue is, more than anything, a social practice and not a way of thinking. Therefore, happiness, which is the purpose of life, is also its practical and realisable version. However, all is not completely nice and happy in the Eagleton-Aristotle team-up—the author, after the initial meeting of great minds regarding the ideal integration of politics, ethics and happiness in one ideal society, admonishes the classicist’s expressed elements of a society necessary to attain happiness. That Aristotle defined this as one complete with women and slaves earmarked to carry out any dirty work while man goes forth to traverse the levels of happiness, is an ideal best left in history books and pageant presentations. Eagleton, being the trouper he is, tries to make up for Aristotle’s slip by taking the latter’s happiness concept and raising it one—to centre on the ultimate idea of love. Not erotic love, no, but that among fellow men, and even enemies. As with Aristotle’s original happiness idea, Eagleton’s love construct is a lifestyle, a practical way of giving meaning to life. He goes further by adding the presence of another individual in the equation, with whom love may be realized through mutual support. This refers to space for growth, a means to being one’s best. And, being one of Marx’s greatest disciples, Eagleton qualifies this concept by requiring the individuals be equals for real reciprocity, for the absence of such will render this adjudged purpose and meaning of life futile. The book ends with Eagleton’s inspired way of comparing life with jazz music, where improvisation is key, yet function as a whole. Thus, the author promises the answers to be found in this precise situation—happiness being individual and collective, which can only be realised through love. If any other writer tried to use the same words and the same concepts to give his or her own interpretation, everything would sound fake, and probably even absurd. But Terry Eagleton’s lucid writing and light touch prove that these often-lambasted elements may actually still be understood for what they are, and that love and life are indeed connected—all to provide the meaning we have long wanted to find.