The usual suspects from Western philosophy are most represented, but thinkers from all over the world, from various religious and philosophical traditions, are also included. I like how the book made connections between related thinkers, showing the way knowledge is built and refined by successive generations. The ideas are highly simplified but clear enough to be understood, and there are lists of key works for those who want to delve deeper. This book provides a quick and dirty overview of philosophy for those who want nodding acquaintance with the big names and ideas, or those who want to brush up. There are also sidebars with quotations, charts outlining a thinker's logic, "see also" page references to related thinkers in the book, and boxes that put each person into his or her contextual background (telling us who influenced whom). The profiles are organized by date, bookended by brief intros to each historical era each person gets 1-3 pages describing major ideas and an abbreviated biography. And God forbid people gain some logic and learn to argue with the goal of finding truth, not with the goal of proving that they are right at all costs.Ī brief, readable introduction to the thinkers and ideas that have shaped the world. Philosophy can literally alter the lens through which you view the world, and it has the potential to have a greater impact on your life than any other subject. Philosophy is supposed to help you determine how you want to live your life. I disagree with people who say philosophy is useless. Every time I read a section of this book, I feel like a new room is created in my 's just such a great feeling. I thought there was no good counterargument to "I think, therefore I am", but Kant's got a pretty great one. The downside is that it's not as detailed as I would like (not in the sense that the author leaves things out as he explains certain concepts, he just doesn't touch on every work of all of the philosophers, he usually explains the philosophers' most famous works) and it does leave out a couple of philosophers (Frege-there's only about 1/8 of a page about him). I would buy this for every 13 year old and force them to read it A Clockwork Orange style. The explanations are so amazingly cogent, I could cry. It includes all the prerequisites you need to know and nothing more. Wow, this is the best semi-comprehensive philosophy book I've ever read. I'm almost tempted to give it 5 stars for its excellent organization and lucidity. In fact, with its clever illustrations and well-written summaries, it is actually a pretty useful book to have, not only as a handy introduction for students but good as a fast reference/refresher for those situations in which one's memory has gone a bit rusty on any of the topics.ĮTA: After reading a lot of non-fiction this year, I've realized that this book is actually extremely well-laid out, clear, and instructional for its target group which I would assume to be anybody wanting an introduction to philosophy. But it's not to say that this is not inherently a useful and well-constructed book. Personally I would perhaps have preferred less illustrations and more meat on each philosopher's work. Makes for a nice coffee table volume (pity about the ugly cover, since the illustrations inside are quite nice) - perfect for a waiting room where anyone interested can while away their time leafing through.Īs I said, also very good for teens just starting to venture into the field, as well as for those totally unacquainted with the discipline of philosophy, since ideas are broken down into easy-to-digest diagrams. A very nice aspect of the book, is that it's not exclusively centred on Western thought, like so many anthologies on thinkers through the ages tend to be. It gives only a few paragraphs on each thinker.Īdmittedly it does give a very nice introduction into each 'group' of thinkers, or rather, each period in history, from a global perspective. Although pretty wide in scope, this book is basic in depth. It gives a comprehensive overview of global philosophical thought over the ages. A nice illustrated introduction to the idea of philosophy for students/young people/the still-to be-initiated into the rigors of the philosophical tradition.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |