How ought we to live? What is it to flourish as a human being? How should we best approach death? We all think about these questions at one time or another, and, as Socrates famously said, 'the unexamined life is not worth living'.

In showing how the great philosophers of human history reasoned - and what they reasoned about - the popular philosopher Peter Cave provides a readable and entertaining introduction to thinking philosophically, and how to change our everyday lives. He addresses questions the great philosophers have grappled with: When we look at the world, what is it that tells us what morally we ought to do? And how do we even know that something exists?

This book paints vivid portraits of a global assortment of great thinkers throughout history: from Confucius, Plato, Augustine and Spinoza to Samuel Beckett, Mary Wollstonecraft, Iris Murdoch and Simone de Beauvoir. But thiere is also contemporary relevance here – the book relates to current affairs and issues such as debates over free speech, moral character in leaders, ethical issues such as abortion debates, gun control and religion.

In each brief chapter, Cave brings to life these often prescient, always compelling philosophical thinkers, showing how their way of approaching the world grew out of their own lives and times and how we can use their insights today.

Now more than ever we need to understand how to live, and how to understand the world around us. This is the perfect guide.