Art and the Form of Life takes a classic theme-philosophy as the art of living-and gives it a contemporary twist. The book examines a series of watershed moments in artistic practice alongside philosophers' most enduring questions about the way we live. Coupling Tino Sehgal with Wittgenstein, cave art with Foucault, Stanley Kubrick with Nietzsche, and the Bauhaus with Walter Benjamin, the book animates the idea that life is literally ours to make. It reflects on universal themes that connect the long histories of art and philosophy, and it does so using a contemporary approach. Drawing on great philosophical works, it argues that life practiced as an art form affords an experience of meaning, in the sense that it is engaging, creative, and participatory. It thus effects a fundamental renewal of experience.

Since its inception, philosophy has struggled to perfect individual understanding through discussion and dialogue based in personal, poetic, or dramatic investigation. The positions of such philosophers as Socrates, Spinoza, Rousseau, Nietzsche, Foucault, and Derrida differ in almost every respect, yet these thinkers all share a common method of practicing philosophy -- not as a detached, intellectual discipline, but as a worldly art.

What is the love that turns into knowledge and how is the knowledge we seek already a form of love? Reading key texts from Socrates to Derrida, this book addresses the fundamental tension between love and knowledge that informs the history of Western philosophy. LoveKnowledge returns to the long tradition of philosophy as an exercise not only of the mind but also of the soul, asking whether philosophy can shape and inform our lives and communities.

Since its inception, philosophy has been more than an abstract search for truth or body of knowledge. It perfects one's understanding by means of discussion and dialogue and personal, poetic, or dramatic investigation. Philosophers such as Socrates, Spinoza, Rousseau, Nietzsche, Foucault, and Derrida differ in almost every respect, yet they share a common method of "practicing" philosophy -- not as a detached, intellectual discipline, but as a worldly art.

Reading key philosophical texts from classical Greece to the present day, Roy Brand explores the fundamental role of passion, desire, and love in the development of western philosophy. He then examines the character of knowledge love has created. "LoveKnowledge" returns to the long tradition of philosophy as an exercise not only of the mind but also of the soul, asking whether philosophy can shape and inform our lives and communities. Each chapter focuses on a major philosopher's seminal work and central motivation, opening with a brief biography encouraging readers to compare the philosopher's life and worldview. "Popular philosophy" in the best sense, "LoveKnowledge" proves the vitality and relevance of the discipline's most important questions and perplexing texts. Steering clear of jargon without oversimplifying the narrative, the volume draws readers into the active and emotional dimensions of knowledge production.