The Year of Living Philosophically

By Robert Grossmith

Bored with his job and tired of singledom, dictionary editor (dic ed for short) Dave Gardner decides to spend the next 12 months living according to the tenets of 12 different philosophies, one each month, chosen at random from a Dictionary of Philosophy. His purpose is to see whether any of these philosophical systems will improve his blighted existence and aid him in his pursuit of the girl of his dreams.

The experiment backfires of course. The lunchtime disco he arranges at work during his Hedonist month is a fiasco and the pain-control experiments he undertakes during his Stoic month go horribly wrong. Each month finds him deeper in trouble, progressively alienating the people around him and eventually costing him his job.

Nor does his love life fare any better. He's besotted with Sophie but knows he's far too lowly and insignificant to attract her. Besides, she's engaged to the dodgy, and mysteriously wealthy, Dominic. Dave suspects Dom of nefarious activities and turns detective in order to expose him, with disastrous results. So strong is Dave's infatuation with Sophie that he barely notices the attention he's receiving from another colleague, the new secretary Jo.

Can he turn his life around before another New Year's Eve finds him lonely and still single? Or do the gods of philosophy have other plans in store that he couldn't even have dreamed of? Written in diary form, the novel tackles big philosophical questions with a light playful touch. Dave's philosophical lodestars are not Hume, Kant and Nietzsche but The Simpsons, Monty Python and Morrissey. So if you've always wanted to know about the history of Western philosophy but thought there weren't enough jokes in Sophie's World, this may be just the book for you.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1913289729
• ISBN13: 9781913289720
• Release Date: January 2020
• Publisher: Michael Terence Publishing
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"