Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Get started
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
How Should We Live? summary
Great Ideas from the Past for Everyday Life
32 mins
Brief summary
How Should We Live? by Roman Krznaric explores the most essential ethical questions we face and invites us to think beyond our present day concerns to consider the impact of our choices on future generations.
Topics
Table of Contents
How Should We Live?
Summary of 12 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 12
The modern Romantic idea of a soul mate is impractical in reality.
Finding love these days can be pretty tricky. After days spent trawling through profiles on dating sites, we spend countless evenings on awkward and unsuccessful dates. And, in the end, we wind up right where we began: alone.
But why is it so hard to find that special someone?
Well, we might be too narrow-minded when it comes to love. We expect a single individual to satisfy all our emotional needs. But these emotional needs are complex and diverse – and usually far too numerous for one person to meet.
So we might want to take a tip from the ancient Greeks, who had a much better approach to love.
They believed that love took six distinguishable forms:
- Eros, the fiery, passionate yet dangerous love;
- Philia, the platonic love between friends and comrades;
- Ludus, the playfulness that is found among new lovers and children;
- Pragma, the deep understanding that grows over time between partners;
- Agape, the selfless, charitable love for our fellow humans;
- and Philautia, the love of the self, which could be either a positive acceptance or a detrimental self-obsession.
Rather than relying on one partner to satisfy all these needs, the ancient Greeks believed that each role could be fulfilled by different individuals. This allowed them to spread their emotional needs across a wide range of relationships, making it easier for them to find love.
But how did we get from this ancient Greek ideal to our present, rather messy, state? Unfortunately, over the centuries, the six Greek forms of love gradually merged together.
This merging began in the medieval literature of Arabia, which popularized the passion of eros between two lovers, and the joining of their souls. The idea spread to medieval Europe, where it was combined with the selflessness of agape and became cortezia, or courtly love. Chivalric culture expected knights to perform noble, selfless deeds in the name of passionate love.
In the sixteenth century, the Dutch made these passions central to marriage, which was previously just a contract of alliance, and, in the process, combined them with the philia and pragma that grew between spouses.
Finally, twentieth-century capitalism brought the narcissism of philautia, as love became tied to consumerism.
So, if we want to find true love, it’s time we undid over two thousand years of history and looked for various individuals to fill our many emotional needs.
Want to see all full key ideas from How Should We Live??
Key ideas in How Should We Live?
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is How Should We Live? about?
How Should We Live? (2013) gives a wide-lense view of why we Westerners tend to think the way we do. From love to work to death, it explains how our modern-day views evolved, and offers some age-old advice on how we might improve them.
How Should We Live? Review
How Should We Live? (2020) by Roman Krznaric is a thought-provoking exploration of how to live a meaningful and fulfilling life. Here's why this book is worth reading:
- With insightful perspectives on topics like empathy, work, and love, it challenges conventional wisdom and encourages readers to reconsider their choices.
- By incorporating historical examples of individuals who have lived purposefully, the book offers practical wisdom and inspiration for applying these insights to our own lives.
- Through its engaging storytelling and thought-provoking questions, the book ensures that readers stay engaged, never finding it dull or repetitive.
Best quote from How Should We Live?
Medieval science believed in five additional inner senses: fantasy, instinct, memory, imagination and common sense.
—Roman Krznaric
Who should read How Should We Live??
- People looking for a historical take on lifestyle advice
- Anyone interested in the roots of our cultural preconceptions
- General-knowledge buffs after a little extra history
Categories with How Should We Live?
Book summaries like How Should We Live?
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
37 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth
How Should We Live? FAQs
What is the main message of How Should We Live??
How Should We Live? explores different ways of living and suggests that a well-lived life is one that embraces meaningful connections and personal growth.
How long does it take to read How Should We Live??
The reading time for How Should We Live? varies based on individual reading speed. However, the Blinkist summary can be read in under 15 minutes.
Is How Should We Live? a good book? Is it worth reading?
How Should We Live? is a thought-provoking book that encourages self-reflection and inspires alternative ways of living. Well worth the read!
Who is the author of How Should We Live??
Roman Krznaric is the author of How Should We Live?.
What to read after How Should We Live??
If you're wondering what to read next after How Should We Live?, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- Life After Google by George Gilder
- Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
- Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday
- The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
- Together by Vivek H. Murthy
- The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
- Good Habits, Bad Habits by Wendy Wood
- Words Can Change Your Brain by Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman
- Agile Selling by Jill Konrath
- Powered by Happy by Beth Thomas