Learning to Live

A User's Manual

Luc Ferry

Learning to Live by Luc Ferry (Paperback ISBN 9781847672865) book cover

Available as Paperback

A smart, accessible history of philosophy to inspire readers young and old

From the ordered universe of the ancient Greeks to the shadows of Nietzsche’s nineteenth century, Learning to Live shakes the dust from the history of philosophy and takes us on a fascinating journey through more than two millennia of humanity’s search for understanding - of the world around us and of each other.

Both a sparkling and accessible history of Western thought, and a courageous dissection of how religion and philosophy have converged and clashed through the ages, Luc Ferry’s blueprint for a new humanism challenges every one of us to learn to think for ourselves, and asks us the most important question of all: how can we live better?


“In this philosophical survival kit, the reader will find brilliant ideas to help them think better, if not live better.”
Dominique Simonnet
l’express

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“Every curious reader has a book that opened philosophy up for them, one that’s enlightening, accessible and free of Dogma. For some it was Sophie’s World; for many, it will be this book.”
waterstone’s Books Quarterly

“a lucid and committed book”
new Humanist


Luc Ferry

Luc Ferry is a philosopher, teacher and politician. His writing has been published in twenty-five countries and he has won the Prix Medicis for his essays, as well as the Prix Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He was formerly the Minister for Youth and Education in France.

Learning to Live has sold over 300,000 copies in France, and appeared on the bestseller list for thirty-two consecutive weeks.