On Suffering is a non-technical, philosophical-literary essay on what it means to be human and is addressed to all those, be they professional philosophers or simply existing individuals concerned with the meaning of life, who have an abiding interest in the central questions of philosophy--with basic issues having to do with the human condition and the nature of consciousness, as well as with the relation between mind and body, self and world. It is concerned throughout to elucidate the meaning of human happiness and the "good life." The book makes abundant use of the best of ancient wisdom...

This collection of essays addresses the question raised long ago by Socrates: "How should we live?" How should we live so as to enjoy what philosophy calls the "good life," which is a life characterized by what the ancient stoics called "freedom and happiness." This book seeks to call attention to an age-old, but now largely overlooked, tradition in philosophy focused on the "art of living" and seeks, as well, to draw out some of its implications for our present-day, disturbed world which is deeply confused about the meaning of life and what it means to live as a human being should.