The author analyzes the historical decline of mataphysics in Western thought. The result has been nihilism, pessimism, atheism and the preeminence of existence over being, with life as meaningless. Brague clarifies concepts and searches for inconsistencies and discovers that the logic of suicide is opposed to the love of life, he distinguishes between 'loving to live' and 'loving life'. The existence of man forces us to reconsider a good part of the orientations of modern thought. Human life, in its most elemental and biological aspect, assures the biological existence of the human species, reveals the need for metaphysics, with a call to the present world "for every man, the anchors are in the sky. It is on high that we must look for what saves us from shipwreck". A fundamental discourse, although difficult, where the author surprises the reader on each page.