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How to be a Failure and Still Live Well

A Philosophy
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( 37 ratings, 6 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
How to be a Failure and Still Live Well by Professor Beverley Clack explores the concept of failure through philosophical and psychological lenses, challenging the societal obsession with success. Clack offers a reflective examination of how embracing failure can lead to a more meaningful and fulfilling life, encouraging readers to reconsider conventional notions of achievement and well-being.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This insightful book may appeal to you if you're interested in exploring the philosophical and psychological aspects of failure. It offers a refreshing perspective by examining the role of failure in our lives and suggests how embracing it can lead to personal growth and well-being. Ideal for those intrigued by deep, reflective analysis of life's challenges and victories.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In consumer economies, success has increasingly been defined in terms of material attainment and the achievement of status. This model of ‘the good life’ and its formulas for success ignore the haunting possibility that one may not succeed and as a result be deemed ‘a failure’.

How to be a Failure and Still Live Well explores that often neglected theme of failure, not just as the opposite of achievement, but also, and more importantly, how it has been conflated with loss: that which haunts all transient, mortal human experience.

Understanding loss as a form of failure affects our ability to cope with the everyday losses that permeate existence as a result of the natural processes of ageing, death, and decay. Engaging with loss and thinking about what it inevitability means for our lives and commitments, allows different values to emerge than those connected to success as attainment.

Relationships, spontaneity, and generosity are explored as qualities that arise from taking seriously our vulnerability and that form the basis for richer accounts of what it might mean to ‘live well’.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

How to be a Failure and Still Live Well by Professor Beverley Clack receives praise for challenging the dominant narrative of success in contemporary culture. It is lauded for blending philosophy with personal experiences to highlight the importance of failure in shaping identities and relationships. Reviewers appreciate its thought-provoking take on how engaging with failure can lead to a meaningful and fulfilling life, noting its philosophical depth and exploration of various disciplines.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350030695

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 23 January 2020

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 126.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 280g

Pages: 264

About the Author

Beverley Clack is Professor in the Philosophy of Religion at Oxford Brookes University. Her publications include: Interrogating the Neoliberal Lifecycle: The Limits of Success, co-edited with Michele Paule (2019); Philosophy of Religion: A Critical Introduction, co-authored with Brian R Clack (3rd edition 2019); Freud on the Couch (2013); Feminist Philosophy of Religion: Critical Readings, co-edited with Pamela Sue Anderson (2004); Sex and Death: A Reappraisal of Human Mortality (2002); and Misogyny in the Western Philosophical Tradition (1999). From 2012-16 she was City Councillor for St Clements Ward in Oxford, and from 2016-2018 she was a member of the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum. She is a member of the Methodist Church’s Faith and Order Committee, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

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