| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Trade in The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
What makes this set of philosophical exercises different from, and better than, other books of its kind is Law's inspired decision to adopt a variety of different styles. There are philosophical stories, thought experiments, illustrations, "thinking tools" designed to explain key ideas and, most interesting of all, is Law's use of dialogues. For instance in his chapter "Can a Machine Think" he relates an imaginary conversation between Kimberly Courahan and her state-of-the-art robot (Emit) in the year 2100.
Designed to replicate the outward behaviour of a human being down to the last detail (except for being more obedient and compliant) Emit responds to questions in much the same way as humans do. Ask him how he feels and he will say he has had a tough day, has a slight headache, is sorry that he broke that vase and so on. Is he thinking and feeling? Could a machine think? Where, if anywhere, can we locate the human/machine barrier? These questions are fully explored during the course of a deeply engaging, and very funny conversation between mistress Kimberley and her robot servant.
It's the dialogues supplemented by the philosophical stories, thought experiments and other diverting and educative strategies that make the book stand head and shoulders above others in the same genre. The topics range from designer babies, time-travel, consciousness, morality, relativism, the supernatural, the existence of God, the origins of the universe, paradoxes and many more. The chapters, ranging in difficulty from fairly easy to the more challenging, can be dipped into at random. Law himself describes the book as "a course in thinking philosophically". It is certainly that but it is Law's overall approach that makes it highly informative, constantly stimulating and, above all, great fun. --Larry Brown --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book!,
This review is from: The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking (Hardcover)
This is a lively and interesting book by one of the best introductory philosophy authors around. Stephen Law gently introduces the reader to a wide range of philosophical topics with wit and intelligence. This is not a dumbed down version of the subject, but a palatable presentation of the real thing. Highly recommended. An excellent read.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
original and authoritative,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking (Hardcover)
I'm a philosophy graduate and am amazed at how Law manages to get across cutting edge philosophical ideas in such an accessible and entertaining way. Ideal for someone who wants a quick introduction to the latest philosophical thinking on topics as diverse as time travel, designer babies and the origin of the universe.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thinking Made Simple,
By Ukhuman1st "Mike" (Gloucester, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking (Hardcover)
This book is a must-read for anyone starting down the road of wondering about the big issues of life - and also for those who think they know all the answers already. Stephen Law seems to have a particular gift for being able to cover all the key angles of a philosophical problem in a way that is both succinct and entertaining, dismissing with kind patience ideas which really do not stack up. Yet he is also quick to admit where difficulties still lie, providing a challenge for those who want to explore further. In short, he makes you think!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
