The Meaning of Things: Applying Philosophy to Life, published in the U.S. as Meditations for the Humanist: Ethics for a Secular Age, is a book by A. C. Grayling. First published in 2001, the work offers popular treatments of philosophical reasoning, weaving together ideas from various writers and traditions. It consists of short essays on a variety of subjects which, although deeply rooted in philosophy, are everyday phenomena encountered, recognized, and understood by everyone. The brief essays in the volume were originally published as installments in Grayling's "The Last Word" column in The Guardian.

Contents

Part I: Virtues and Attributes Moralising — Tolerance — Mercy — Civility — Compromise — Fear — Courage — Defeat — Sorrow — Death — Hope — Perseverance — Prudence — Frankness — Lying — Perjury — Betrayal — Loyalty — Blame — Punishment — Delusion — Love — Happiness Part II: Foes and Fallacies Nationalism — Racism — Speciesism — Hate — Revenge — Intemperance — Depression — Christianity — Sin — Repentance — Faith — Miracles — Prophecy — Virginity — Paganism — Blasphemy — Obscenity — Poverty — Capitalism Part III: Amenities and Goods Reason — Education — Excellence — Ambition — Acting — Art — Health — Leisure — Pace — Reading — Memory — History — Leadership — Travel — Privacy — Family — Age — Gifts — Trifles

Quotations

Editions

The 2001 hardcover edition of The Meaning of Things was published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. A paperback edition was published in 2002 by Phoenix, an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group. The American edition hardcover edition was published by Oxford University Press in 2002. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, also an imprint of Orion Publishing Group, published a paperback edition in 2002 and a Kindle edition in 2011.