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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Philosophy has a reputation for being obscure, highfaluting, and not terribly practical or useful. However, if one is not easily dismayed by these misconceptions then it's possible to learn a lot about the world and our conceptions of it from studying some of the most interesting philosophical questions. This well designed and well-written short introduction aims to present some of the most thought-provoking ideas from the rich history of philosophy. Whether you have never read any philosophical work or are a seasoned armchair philosopher, you will find many interesting pieces of information within the covers of this book. It provides a brief reference for 50 philosophical concepts or idea. These are explained in short 300 word sections, with an accompanying illustrations and several even shorter references. The topics covered include: Frege's puzzle, Hume's problem of induction, the brain in a vat, Pascal's wager, Plato's cave, and many more. The explanations are very lucid and intuitive, and they only require some good old common sense for the full understanding. The illustrations are done in a mock fifties style and they convey a slight panache for self-irony. The book is printed on a high-quality glossy paper and can almost function as a coffee table book. It makes a nice little reference or can be used as a thoughtful gift.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In his Foreword Stephen Law shows how exposure to philosophy can be valuable in everyday life. In the UK in particular philosophy is not given the place in the curriculum that it deserves. Now we have trasnferable skills but they do not capture the full range of philosophical argument. Many people are put off philosophy and think of it as pretentious waffle but Wittgenstein said that with philosophy you can say things plainly and simply (He did not take his own advice).
So this book is a refreshing change as the key ideas are summed up in a single page that is supposed to take 30 seconds to read. While it takes a bit longer than this especially to understand what they mean these are very good "potted versions" of the great ideas.
The articles themselves are written by a series of authors and so there is some variation in their quality and accessibility. So it starts badly with some algebra in Syllogisms which comes from nowhere and is off-putting but keep going. For me the articles by Kati Balog are the best and the clearest and I hope that she goes on to write more books.
In general if you need to know what the big ideas are this is a good place to start.
So this book is a refreshing change as the key ideas are summed up in a single page that is supposed to take 30 seconds to read. While it takes a bit longer than this especially to understand what they mean these are very good "potted versions" of the great ideas.
The articles themselves are written by a series of authors and so there is some variation in their quality and accessibility. So it starts badly with some algebra in Syllogisms which comes from nowhere and is off-putting but keep going. For me the articles by Kati Balog are the best and the clearest and I hope that she goes on to write more books.
In general if you need to know what the big ideas are this is a good place to start.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Great, and probably the best in the series of 30 second books. Good choice if you are considering philosophy as an A Level or topic and want a quick overview of what it's about.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not quite perfect!
Arrived quickly. Had a sticker on back saying 'new book'. As it was a gift I tried to remove it. Some of the paper cover came off too. Shame about that! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kathie
Nice idea, but quickly redundant
Interesting idea (great thoughts summarised into a single page - or paragraph), but quickly outlives its usefulness (just Google the stuff!).
Published 11 months ago by ijhodgson
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