Suffering Philosophy

“Suffering has seldom been recognized, much less theorized by social scientists. Yet it points to a crucial dimension of what drives human beings. By rereading a canon of critical theory from Adorno to Honneth, Benno Herzog presents us with an innovative and eminently readable account of the nexus of suffering, invisibility and critique.” —Johannes Angermuller, Professor of Discourse, Languages and Applied Linguistics, Open University, UK

Suffering, in one form or another, is present in all of our lives. But why do we suffer? On one reading, this is a question about the causes of physical and emotional suffering. On another, it is a question about whether suffering has a point or purpose or value. In this groundbreaking book, Michael Brady argues that suffering is vital for the development of virtue, and hence for us to live happy or flourishing lives.