- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Scribner; New edition edition (6 Oct 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743231805
- ISBN-13: 978-0743231800
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 648,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Oliver Sacks
Brilliantly written, devastatingly honest, often very funny, and tells a personal story as fascinating as the philosophical one. Engrossing
Stephen Pinker
McGinn is an ingenious philosopher who thinks like a laser and writes like a dream
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Literary Genius,
This review is from: The Making of a Philosopher (Paperback)
Colin McGinn is a master at getting his point across whether you’re philosophically enlightened or not. McGinn has a gift for both clarity of thought and expressing these thoughts.I often find philosophy books disorientating but I just couldn't put this book down. This book is a philosophical autobiography, traversing his voyage through philosophy and how he arrived at his own philosophical opinions, he often sidesteps away from conceptual thought and lightens the mood with witty anecdotes and I think he strikes a healthy balance. I found this a comforting, light relief from the occasionally weighty philosophical concept. He knows when to push an idea, how to push it, how much to push it, and just as your on the verge of being swamped under overwhelming weight of it all.....he backs off and fills you in on some of his youthful undertakings. Literary Genius! a truly unique book. A 'must read' for anybody approaching philosophy for the first time or anybody willing to test the water of philosophy. If like me you find philosophy enthralling and inpirational but all too often get bogged down by heavy philosophical texts, then this is the book for you.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Philosophy Packs a Punch,
By BioDiplomacy "Iain" (London SE26, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Making of a Philosopher (Paperback)
Towards the end (p. 222) of this head-banging autobiography, the author explains his reputation as a tough reviewer of other books. I'd love to imitate him, but cannot avoid giving him five stars, for five reasons. First, I literally read this book at one sitting - OK lying down on my bed, for four hours 5 minutes, not even one trip to the loo. Most credit for page-turnability must go to the writing; but some also to fine contributions by the editorial and design teams. Second, accuracy. He describes so well the Oxford I knew, like him, as an Oxford B. Phil (Philosophy) student a few years earlier and from a non-Oxbridge background. Third, doggedness. This "Wilde Reader in Mental Philosophy at the precocious age of thirty-three" failed his 11-plus. His greatest intellectual achievement was learning Italian from scratch. Fourth, stimulation. This is not a crash-course in philosophy. However, I found enough said sufficiently clearly on metaphysics - oddly, a word never mentioned - and on moral philosophy to stir my own flaccid philosophical loins. Fifth, anecdotal warmth. I enjoyed the accounts of philosophers behaving generously or pettily. It's a book that humanizes philosophy.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Magnificent incite to the World of Philosophy,
This review is from: The Making of a Philosopher (Paperback)
I came across this book having read an article on him in a newspaper. I bought it, and have never been so interested by a book. It is truly thought provoking.I am a complete novice when it comes to philosophy. The joy of this book is that it takes you through many philosophical topics: the mind and the brain, linguistic philosophy and the existence of God, whilst not getting too heavy! The philosophical discussions are dispersed with light biographical recollections to easethe brain after a bit of serious thought. I would recomend this book to anyone with even a minor interest in philosophy, regardless of their previous philosophical experience!
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