Scan barcode
jk0323's review against another edition
5.0
A perfect introduction to philosophy. Does a great job cross referencing similar ideas and showing how ideas developed and changed with time. Great reference to keep at home
minzhu's review against another edition
5.0
skskkKskKksks This book is saving me in my philosophy course at school, thank you
mang0water's review against another edition
4.0
so clear and well laid out, although it doesnt go into much depth, this book gives such a good overview of how philosophical thought has changed over time
deadly_nightshade_'s review against another edition
5.0
Wow, this is the best semi-comprehensive philosophy book I've ever read. It includes all the prerequisites you need to know and nothing more. The explanations are so amazingly cogent, I could cry. I would buy this for every 13 year old and force them to read it A Clockwork Orange style.
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 thought there was no good counterargument to "I think, therefore I am", but Kant's got a pretty great one. Every time I read a section of this book, I feel like a new room is created in my brain...it's just such a great feeling. I really recommend this book.
I disagree with people who say philosophy is useless. Philosophy is supposed to help you determine how you want to live your life. 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. 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.
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 thought there was no good counterargument to "I think, therefore I am", but Kant's got a pretty great one. Every time I read a section of this book, I feel like a new room is created in my brain...it's just such a great feeling. I really recommend this book.
I disagree with people who say philosophy is useless. Philosophy is supposed to help you determine how you want to live your life. 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. 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.
erin_boyington's review against another edition
3.0
A brief, readable introduction to the thinkers and ideas that have shaped the world.
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. 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).
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. 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. I like how the book made connections between related thinkers, showing the way knowledge is built and refined by successive generations. 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.
Provocative statements like "Philosophy and religion are not incompatible", "Imagination decides everything", "Mind has no gender", and "Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom" grabbed my curiosity and led me to read at random. You could definitely absorb a few pages and sit wondering for a long time - which is exactly what an introduction to philosophy should help you do.
For more armchair philosophizing, you could try out some thought experiments from The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten by Julian Baggani or read A Little History of Philosophy by Nigel Warburton for a different overview of a fascinating subject.
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. 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).
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. 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. I like how the book made connections between related thinkers, showing the way knowledge is built and refined by successive generations. 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.
Provocative statements like "Philosophy and religion are not incompatible", "Imagination decides everything", "Mind has no gender", and "Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom" grabbed my curiosity and led me to read at random. You could definitely absorb a few pages and sit wondering for a long time - which is exactly what an introduction to philosophy should help you do.
For more armchair philosophizing, you could try out some thought experiments from The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten by Julian Baggani or read A Little History of Philosophy by Nigel Warburton for a different overview of a fascinating subject.