Philosophy begins with questions about the nature of reality and how we should live. These were the concerns of Socrates, who spent his days in the ancient Athenian marketplace asking awkward questions, disconcerting the people he met by showing them how little they genuinely understood. This engaging book introduces the great thinkers in Western philosophy and explores their most compelling ideas about the world and how best to live in it. In forty brief chapters, Nigel Warburton guides us on a chronological tour of the major ideas in the history of philosophy. He provides interesting and often quirky stories of the lives and deaths of thought-provoking philosophers from Socrates, who chose to die by hemlock poisoning rather than live on without the freedom to think for himself, to Peter Singer, who asks the disquieting philosophical and ethical questions that haunt our own times. Warburton not only makes philosophy accessible, he offers inspiration to think, argue, reason, and ask in the tradition of Socrates. "A Little History of Philosophy" presents the grand sweep of humanity's search for philosophical understanding and invites all to join in the discussion.
About the Author
Nigel Warburton is senior lecturer in philosophy, The Open University. He is the author of several popular introductions to philosophy and is the interviewer on the Philosophy Bites podcast. He lives in Oxford.
Reviews
"This book is a little classic, invaluable for the man or woman in the street who would like to know more about philosophy. . . . [It] suggests that philosophy is 'not harsh and crabbed, as dull fools suppose', but a thoroughly enjoyable way to stretch your mind."--Merryn Williams, "Oxford Times"--Merryn Williams"Oxford Times" (10/06/2011)
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Reviews
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This book is clearly intended to trade on the popularity of E.H. Gombrich's "A Little History of the World".
Warburton is impressively thorough for such a short book. One might gripe that he really only covers western philosophy or that he neglects the role of language, logic, and philosophy of mathematics in 20th century anglophone philosophy, but those are very minor points. This is not intended to be a deep, philosophical treatise. It's a survey for the curious, and it does _really_ well for that.
One reviewer offers a blinkered hissy fit over Warburton's coverage of arguments for the "existence of god" and Bertrand Russell. That thread of thought is _minimal_ in western philosophy, of interest largely to religious fanatics who can't bear the idea that anyone doesn't take their dogma as an article of faith. Take it how you like, that reviewer's points about the book utterly miss the point.
If you're curious about philosophy and particularly if you know a young person who might get a kick out of philosophical thinking, this is a fine book.
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