The Meaning of Life in The Independent

16th September 2006

We've all heard of the taxi driver who tells passengers: "I 'ad that Bertrand Russell in the back of my cab. I said to him: ''Ere, Lord Russell, you're a clever man — what's it all about then?' And, do you know? He couldn't tell me." If you're after enlightenment, try The Meaning of Life, a book expanded from an article in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, "What Eminent People Have Said About the Meaning of Life", and featuring contributions from the good ("You must be the change you wish to see in the world", Gandhi), the worthy ("The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and dreaming dreams, but in active charity and willing service", Longfellow) and the glum ("The meaning of life is that it stops", Kafka). My favourite is Jerry Seinfeld's breezy metaphor: "The ride is the thing. The most you can hope for at the end of life is that your hair's messed, you're out of breath and you didn't throw up."

John Walsh