For non-human animals, life can be wretched or happy, but there is nothing much they can do about how it turns out. For human beings, by contrast, at least those who are fortunate enough to have the material resources to free them from the daily struggle for existence, there is the opportunity to reflect on how life should be lived. Among the educated citizens of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, many found it natural to turn to philosophy for guidance; as for the philosophers themselves, though few were prepared to offer instant solutions, most saw it as a main part of the purpose of philosophizing to reach a view on how to achieve fulfilment in life. In the centuries that followed, philosophical systems became steadily more complex and elaborate, but their authors held fast to the old aspiration of philosophy to help humans lead happy and worthwhile lives.

Nowadays, things are very different. A good many academic philosophers, for much of our own century, have strenuously resisted the idea that philosophy can help us with how to live. And while others, particularly in more recent times, have addressed questions about happiness and well-being, for the most part they have shrunk from offering direct guidance on these matters to their fellow citizens. This generalization, like most, is subject to notable exceptions; but it remains true that the bulk of philosophical work on ethics is now addressed to those within the specialist confines of the academy.