One Life to Lead

Samuel Scheffler’s book is a remarkable achievement. It engages philosophical difficulties that any reflective person can recognize and many people grapple with. It does so in a language and style that non-specialists can follow, while at the same time drawing on and engaging with contemporary philosophical literature and debates. As such, the book does academic ethical theory the service of bringing it back to life, both in the sense that it forces academic ethical theory to confront the reality of the phenomena it purports to explain and in the sense that it demonstrates its relevance to difficulties we encounter in living our lives. * Oded Na’aman, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem*One Life to Lead offers a set of profound and original reflections on the question of what it is to lead a distinctively human life. Scheffler explores the significance of our attachments-to individuals, communities, projects, and humanity itself-for our evolving understanding of our own past and future and of our location in a larger community of human individuals. The book is a powerful vindication of the capacity of philosophical thought to shed light on the human predicament.” - R. Jay Wallace, William and Trudy Ausfahl Chair in Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley

Samuel Scheffler is University Professor and Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University. He is the author of seven books, including Why Worry about Future Generations? (OUP, 2018), and Death and the Afterlife (OUP, 2013).