Julian Baggini is probably best known as the founding editor of the highly successful Philosophers' Magazine, and contributor to broadsheets like the Guardian. He has impeccable credentials in the task of making ideas accessible to a broader readership, and doing it in a way that engages the audience without either patronising them or diluting the ideas to a very watery consistency. In his latest book he sets out with great enthusiasm on the quest for the meaning of life, and manages to be informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining in the process. As he embarks on this most tricky of topics, Baggini starts by aiming to reassure his readers. He states the approach will be 'deflationary'; his aim is to break down the mythical possible single answer to the question of the meaning of life into smaller and less mysterious questions, so that the questions might become, if not answerable, at least more manageable. As a subject area, philosophy still suffers from an image problem sometimes, whether as austere, magisterial or downright difficult, so this reassurance seems entirely appropriate. Equally, the possibility of finding a single answer to the question about life needs to be debunked so that the fine texture of the debates can be explored, and this Baggini does with a deft touch.

In the opening chapters Baggini manages to pack in references to Frankenstein's monster, the Westerns of Sergio Leone, the history and purpose of Post–it notes, the Dallas Cowboys, Marlon Brando and Monty Python. While this may make the book sound light–hearted (and at times it is very witty) the references are always germane and are never overplayed, so that they open up debates to a broader audience without trivialising the issues. It is particularly pleasing that the text is not loaded down with philosophical names to perplex (or try to impress) the beginner, so the reader can focus on the reasoning and the arguments themselves. The book takes a refreshingly personal approach, which avoids the dull rehearsal of established philosophers' positions or a revisited 'history of western thinking'. If the reader should seek more information on the key texts behind the discussions there is a very helpful guide to further reading by chapter at the back, but the main part of the book offers an encounter with a vigorous mind at work, puzzling through the issues in a trenchantly argued but subtly reasoned way.

Having raised doubts about the possibility of finding purpose for human life in either the distant past (in the origins of the universe), or in long term future goals, Baggini turns to the transcendental realm to consider whether we should seek to ground our quest in God or possibly some sort of afterlife. But in each case his exploration of these frameworks for meaning suggests that the search is still not at an end — the quest for a life that can be meaningful in the here and now, not in some other realm, is still unanswered. Baggini goes on to offer six candidates for the job: helping others, serving humanity, being happy, being successful, enjoying each day as if it were your last, and freeing your mind. Each in itself will not, Baggini argues, provide the ultimate answer, but a reflective approach will steer us thoughtfully through our ongoing existence.

The conclusion suggests that questions about the meaningfulness of life should be asked in hopefulness, not despair, and the author urges us to take comfort in the smaller questions that we can address, as we focus on the immediacy of lived existence. In the end, Hume's advice about the relationship between philosophy and ordinary life becomes the motif for this book — we need to keep some sense of proportion, as philosophical questioning should not become too deeply disturbing, but it cannot be merely therapeutic either. The value of wondering about life is not diminished thereby, but the big quest may amount to "confronting the fragility, unpredictability and contingency of life and doing the best we can with it". This deceptively simple recipe leaves an open ending — for the individual in question to do whatever they can to make it work for them, using all the ingredients of the preceding journey, and perhaps this subtle little book as well.

What's it all about is available from Amazon (UK)