A philosopher’s guide to losing weight, and keeping it off, by embracing a whole new approach to life, by the author of The Philosopher’s Demise.

In this slim volume, a middle-aged philosopher takes on the weighty double challenge of comprehending an expanding universe while fighting an expanding waistline. Witty, thoughtful, and practical, this is a thinking person’s guide to the how—and why—of watching what you eat.

“I urge you to live at the peak of enjoyment of life,” Richard Watson writes. “Descartes said that the essence of the soul is self-consciousness. If you want to enjoy your life, pay attention to what you are doing. Control as much of your life as you can. Live in full consciousness. And don’t stop thinking for yourself.”

Here’s an erudite and fascinating combination of common sense, Cartesian philosophy, and the presumption that understanding the mysteries of weight loss and the universe are somehow compatible, even sympathetic, ambitions. If Descartes had written a treatise on losing weight to maintain discipline amidst life’s vicissitudes, it would have read much like this. Richard Watson wants you to lose weight, as he did, while gaining new wisdom about yourself—and what you eat.