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A review by jjweisman
30-Second Philosophies: The 50 most thought-provoking philosophies, each explained in half a minute by Julian Baggini, James Garvey, Jeremy Stangroom, Stephen Law, Ivan Hissey, Barry Loewer, Kati Balog
3.0
The anthologic nature of this book lets it down. A book like this might usually be seen as an "everyman" guide. Some entries are written to this level. Some are not - these are much harder to work at.
Philosophy is like that. Some ideas are simple, and some are harder to work with. Some are, justifiably, asked whether their density is anything more than obfuscation.
But the result in this book is something strange - too bumpy a ride for the everyman and often too facile for the amateur.
Sad, because the format is really great - 30-second ideas, shorter summaries, and probing questions for longer contemplation are bundled into an attractive, repeating format.
Philosophy is like that. Some ideas are simple, and some are harder to work with. Some are, justifiably, asked whether their density is anything more than obfuscation.
But the result in this book is something strange - too bumpy a ride for the everyman and often too facile for the amateur.
Sad, because the format is really great - 30-second ideas, shorter summaries, and probing questions for longer contemplation are bundled into an attractive, repeating format.