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Vita: Istruzioni per l'uso

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Non sarebbe tutto più facile se anche la vita avesse un libretto di istruzioni? Non esiste un elenco di regole che funzioni per tutti noi, ma quello che avete tra le mani è un manuale per gli utenti della vita, scritto da altri utenti con più esperienza per aiutarci a vivere meglio, a vedere con maggiore chiarezza nei momenti di crisi e superare la confusione e i dubbi quotidiani.

Vita è un prontuario per tutti, organizzato per voci da consultare a seconda delle necessità o dei problemi da fronteggiare. Non offre norme inflessibili o indicazioni da seguire in modo acritico, ma suggerimenti, esempi, idee su cui riflettere e discutere, attraverso i quali possiamo vedere in modo più distinto il nostro percorso e prendere le decisioni migliori. Cercare o meno soddisfazione nel lavoro, sopportare la noia, districarsi nel campo minato delle relazioni e delle amicizie, affrontare la perdita e il dolore, riscoprire il piacere dell’ozio e del tempo libero, gestire l’ansia, prendersi cura delle persone care in difficoltà: in queste pagine ci sono consigli per tutte le situazioni in cui ci troviamo ogni giorno.

Julian Baggini e Antonia Macaro traggono spunto da un enorme serbatoio di saggezza – da Aristotele a Hume, da Heidegger a Confucio, da Epicuro a Sartre – e allestiscono una vera e propria farmacia sapienziale cui attingere liberamente per combattere le inquietudini del nostro tempo, con rimedi testati attraverso secoli di esperienza e universalmente apprezzati da tutta l’umanità. Attenzione: può creare dipendenza.

408 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

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379 people want to read

About the author

Julian Baggini

77 books600 followers
Julian Baggini is a British philosopher and the author of several books about philosophy written for a general audience. He is the author of The Pig that Wants to be Eaten and 99 other thought experiments (2005) and is co-founder and editor of The Philosophers' Magazine. He was awarded his Ph.D. in 1996 from University College London for a thesis on the philosophy of personal identity. In addition to his popular philosophy books, Baggini contributes to The Guardian, The Independent, The Observer, and the BBC. He has been a regular guest on BBC Radio 4's In Our Time.

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5 stars
37 (28%)
4 stars
46 (35%)
3 stars
34 (26%)
2 stars
9 (6%)
1 star
4 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Tariq Mahmood.
Author 2 books1,064 followers
October 13, 2022
The book provides very short introduction to most human life challenges along with reference reading for those who want to explore more on the subject. This makes reading complex topics very easy to digest.
Profile Image for Any Length.
2,179 reviews7 followers
November 15, 2020
Of all the books about philosophy - most of them I didn't enjoy, this one I did. And my idea about the general usefulness of philosophers extending to about 5 per earth is expanding to about 50 good ones. The rest are still just "well read taxi - or uber drivers with a sense of self-importance".
Profile Image for Jeff Chay.
50 reviews2 followers
March 13, 2023
A shallow, trifling collection of platitudes and truisms on how to live life, summarily dispensed with the odd philosophical name-drop here and there but sorely lacking in real substance or insight. Unless you are an alien who has crash landed onto Earth and urgently needs to absorb as much clichéd everyday wisdom as can be crammed into less than 400 pages, you probably won’t learn much from this book.
Profile Image for Ciro Borriello.
203 reviews3 followers
August 14, 2023
Prontuario filosofico dedicato ai termini che usiamo nella più stretta attualità.
Benchè le note fossero in parte scarne (per alcune parole non si arriva nemmeno ad una pagina), questo prontuario porta a riflettere sulla vita in generale.
140 reviews
December 27, 2023
Some interesting thoughts - I'd like to read again and make a few notes to reflect on what I learnt!
Profile Image for Ex Libris Meis.
159 reviews
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March 17, 2022
WAR

“Only a few generations ago, most people in the developed world had either fought in a war or knew someone who had.
Now war is something that many of us have never had to experience at all.”
..........................................................................................................................................................................
“As citizens, we have to ask ourselves: when should we support such military ventures and when should we do all we can to stop them?

Absolute pacifism provides a simple answer, but few are willing to say that a world without any killing at all is possible.
Even Ghandi, who promoted ahimsa (non-violence), accepted that pure pacifism was an ideal to be strived towards and not something that could ever be fully achieved:
<>

Most people see war as a regrettable necessity."

http://www.exlibrismeis.com/en/2022/0...

359 reviews2 followers
June 20, 2025
This book is mind boggling. By the far best idiots guide / 101 / for beginners genre. This time about philiosophy. Whilst such books are too repetitive this is the opposite. Each chapter so unique succinct and to the point i found it too short. Really well researched and has opened many doors to explore. As typical for philosophy its full of (great) thought provoking questions as opposed to answers.

I’d almost say too many nuggets im drowning. Definitely will get a second more patient re read.

Essential reading!
Profile Image for Donald Schopflocher.
1,469 reviews36 followers
November 25, 2025
Organized as a dictionary, this pop philosophy introduction features short essays on philosophers’ contributions to the question ‘how should I live?’. Clearly introductory, but pointing to sources for further discussion, this may be most useful to those with at least a passing acquaintance to philosophy in search of further insights and sources.
Profile Image for Rachel.
470 reviews3 followers
April 5, 2022
Mostly flicked through this book. Perhaps it was more of a “this book didn’t come into my life at the right time” scenario, but I failed to find engagement with its reading.
74 reviews
July 24, 2025
The book is more like a life a report of general life experience on earth with scientific back up theories.
Profile Image for Lia.
38 reviews4 followers
December 21, 2021
I definitely loved this book. The concepts, quotes and thoughts of the most important philosophers in history are here so well explained and makes me love philosophy even more. What is also definitely worth reading is the opinion of the authors about each of the philosophical terms reflected here. I recommend it 100% 👍🏻
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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