Who are we? How should we live? These queries are universal and eternal, and so James Miller introduces 12 great philosophers who dedicated their lives to answering these questions. From Plato, who risked his reputation to tutor a tyrant, to Seneca, the philosopher of temperance who accumulated one of the greatest fortunes in Rome, each had a unique approach to examining (and living) life. Profiling such figures as Diogenes, Augustine, Montaigne, Descartes, Rousseau, Kant, and Emerson, this collection is a fascinating insight into the ideals that have guided us for centuries, and those who have fought passionately to live up to them.