In Giving Life Meaning, Wilhelm Schmid shows how humans need meaning in order to live, and that they find it above all in the interpersonal sphere, in the establishment, maintenance, and protection of relationships.
»An immense potential for meaning and hence energy is to be found in that which people call love.«
The author starts out from the observation...
More and more people are in search of meaning. But why? And where might they look to find it?
In Giving Life Meaning, Wilhelm Schmid shows how humans need meaning in order to live, and that they find it above all in the interpersonal sphere, in the establishment, maintenance, and protection of relationships.
»An immense potential for meaning and hence energy is to be found in that which people call love.«
The author starts out from the observation that many people find meaning in love, and that when love falls apart, their lives appear meaningless. So why do we let everything depend on the success of one love? Wouldn’t it be better to have loves, plural?
Multiple possible loves and their potential for meaning form the core of this book: Love in the family and between friends, the love of animals and of nature, of art and culture, of life, of death, and of a possible hereafter. Schmid devotes particular attention to loving your enemies: is it possible to grant enmity a role in giving life meaning?
After Re-inventing Love this is the second part of a project with which the author seeks to establish a foundation for a comprehensive Art of Love. For the art of loving is the fundamental element of any art of living. This book makes clear just how diverse and unfathomable meaning can be. Wilhelm Schmid is not out to preach any ultimate truths, but rather to help individuals find their own truth as a means of leading a life full of love and meaning.
»Schmid’s books lead you through the valley of insight and up into the mountains where the vistas afford a refreshingly clear perspective – on ourselves and on our daily lives.« Deutschlandfunk
Persons
Wilhelm Schmid
Wilhelm Schmid was born in 1953 and lives in Berlin. For many years, he taught philosophy at the University of Erfurt, was a visiting professor in Riga, Latvia, and Tbilisi, Georgia, and worked as a »philosophical counsellor« at a hospital near Zurich, Switzerland. He is a popular guest speaker and has been giving lectures in China and South Korea since 2010. He was awarded the Meckatzer Prize for Philosophy in 2012 and the Egnér Prize in 2013. His works have been translated into 25 languages, and his bestselling book Gelassenheit has sold over 600,000 copies.
Wilhelm Schmid was born in 1953 and lives in Berlin. For many years, he taught philosophy at the University of Erfurt, was a...
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
The Search for Cohesion
Everyone in our society wants to be seen and understood, but very few want to see and understand – a glaring imbalance. Everyone claims to be »unique«, but society is not founded on self-realisation but on the creation of relationships.
In his new book, Wilhelm Schmid explores the question of what values society needs. What holds it (delicately) together? Does it need an...
Surviving Death
Spanish world rights (Espasa), Turkey (Iletisim)
On the Swing Set
Joie de vivre is an art that can be learned. Talent is helpful, but practice is crucial. This also includes practising restraint. So that we can draw breath more easily for new upswings...
Korea (Fika Book), Turkey (Iletisim)
Finding a Place to Call Home
More and more, people are on the search for a place to call home in a world that seems uncertain and within a life that changes faster than it can be understood. More than ever even those who normally have a comfortable home find themselves faced with the lack thereof. Home becomes a fleeting commodity in an era in which people and things are becoming global.
People themselves...
On the Power of Touch
We see, we hear, we smell, we taste. But what about the sense of touch? Yes, touch can be quite nice. It offers stimulation, encouragement, reassurance, connection with others. It strengthens the...
Turkey (Iletisim)
Self-Acceptance
In his new book, Wilhelm Schmid builds on the reflections of his bestseller What We Gain As We Grow Older and leads the way to genuine self-acceptance: The basis for equanimity is...
France (Piranha), Turkey (Iletisim)
Domestic Rights Sales: German Audiobook (DAV)
Giving And Receiving Gifts
Giving gifts is not as easy as it looks. People often ask themselves: What shall I give to whom and why? A few thoughts on the subject guarantee that giving can make both parties happy. The...
Turkey (Iletisim)
Understanding Life
Wilhelm Schmid, best-selling author of Happiness and What We Gain As We Grow Older, was given the opportunity to apply his ideas on founding a philosophical art of living over the course of ten years at a hospital near Zurich, where he discussed the following questions with the patients: What meaning do touches, habits, longings, beauty have? What is happiness? Does one’s own...
On the Joy of Being a Parent and Grandparent
Wilhelm Schmid, best-selling author of Happiness and What We Gain As We Grow Older, shows how much life with children can contribute to a meaningful existence. Furthermore, he offers suggestions as to how the children’s resilience, their ability to be self-assertive, can be nurtured.
On the Joy of Being a Parent and Grandparent consists...
Sexout
Netherlands (De Bezige Bij), Turkey (Iletisim)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Fazi)
Domestic Rights Sales: German Audiobook (DAV)
What We Gain as We Grow Older
English world rights (Upper Westside Philosophers), Russia (Directmedia), Portuguese rights (Penguin Random House/Objectiva), France (Piranha), Netherlands (De Bezige Bij), Denmark (Informations Forlag), Danish audio book rights (Lindhardt & Ringhof), Sweden (Lind & Co.), Norway (Gyldendal Norsk), Finland (Aula & Co.), Korea (Chaek Se Sang), Japan (Mikasa Shobo), Poland (W.A.B.), Czech Republic (Euromedia), Serbia (Laguna), Latvia (Zvaigzne), Turkey (Iletisim), Ukraine (Knihy XXI), India (Malayalam, Sahitya Pravarthaka), Israel (Modan)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Spanish world rights (Kairos), Catalan rights (Angle), Chinese complex rights (Emily Publishing Co.), Italy (Fazi), Slovenia (Narava)
Domestic Rights Sales: German Audiobook (DAV), German Book Club (Club Bertelsmann)
Unhappiness
English world rights (Upper West Side Philosophers), Netherlands (Ambo/Anthos), Turkey (Iletisim)
Domestic Rights Sales: German Audiobook (Komplett Media)
Love
Netherlands (Ambo/Anthos), Denmark (Informations Forlag), Danish Audiobook Rights (Lindhardt & Ringhof), Latvia (Zvaigzne), Turkey (Iletisim)
Re-inventing Love
Chinese simplex rights (Shanghai Translation Publishing House), Netherlands (Ambo/Anthos)
Happiness
Chinese simplex rights (Shanghai Translation Publishing), France (Autrement), Danish Audiobook Rights (Lindhardt & Ringhof), Sweden (Lind & Co.)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Spanish world rights (Pre-Textos), Italy (Fazi), Netherlands (Ambo|Anthos), Denmark (Informations Forlag), Finland (Ajatus), Korea (Bookstory), Estonia (Olion), Latvia (Zvaigzne ABC), Serbia (Laguna)
Domestic Rights Sales: German Audiobook (Lindhardt & Ringhof / Saga Egmont)
Beautiful Life?
The author's aim is not to bemoan this state...
Italy (Apogeo), Netherlands (Ambo|Anthos), Korea (Chaek Se Sang), Latvia (Zvaigzne), Georgia (Akolasia)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Serbia (Svetovi)
The Art of Balance
Italy (Fazi), Netherlands (Ambo/Anthos), Latvia (Zvaigzne Abc)
Domestic Rights Sales: German Audiobook (Lindhardt & Ringhof / Saga Egmont)
To Be Friends With Ourselves
The...
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Fazi), Netherlands (Ambo|Anthos)
Philosophie der Lebenskunst
Spanish world rights (Pre-Textos), Italy (Fazi), Netherlands (Ambo/Anthos)