Philosophy : the basics

by Nigel Warburton

Paper Book, 1992

Status

Available

Call number

CC 1000 W254

Publication

London : Routledge, 1992.

Description

'Philosophy: The Basics deservedly remains the most recommended introduction to philosophy on the market. Warburton is patient, accurate and, above all, clear. There is no better short introduction to philosophy.' - Stephen Law, author of The Philosophy Gym Philosophy: The Basics gently eases the reader into the world of philosophy. Each chapter considers a key area of philosophy, explaining and exploring the basic ideas and themes including: Can you prove God exists? How do we know right from wrong? What are the limits of free speech? Do you know how science works? Is your mind different from your body? Can younbsp;define art? How should we treat non-human animals? For the fifth edition of this best-selling book, Nigel Warburton has added an entirelynbsp;new chapter on animals, revised others and brought the further reading sections up to date. If you've ever asked 'what is philosophy?', or wondered whether the world is really the way you think it is, this is the book for you.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member NaggedMan

While this is certainly useful as an introduction to philosophy, for me it only served to confirm my view (based on other reading of philosophy texts) that while learning about philosophy may be, as some claim, a way to learn how to think critically, it's generally a waste of time and effort. The

fact that Warburton starts with 'God', focusing on efforts to prove that God, a god, or any gods do or do not exist, illustrates this waste. Philosophers have been going at this question for fifteen hundred years and may perhaps persist for another fifteen hundred, regardless of the fairly obvious fact that such a thing is not - almost by definition - open to proof either way.
Ditto "the problem of evil", also not open to resolution. And so on.
In each of his chapters, Warburton presents a selection of different philosophical approaches to a topic and, for each approach, sets out a number of 'criticisms' (by philosophers) outlining ways in which each approach can be shown to be an insufficient route to any conclusion. Each chapter ends with a 'Conclusion', but only a conclusion to the chapter, not in any way a resolution of the question discussed. An example: "As in all areas of philosophy there is no guarantee that clear argument will provide convincing answers to the difficult questions, but it does improve the chances of this happening." On all the evidence, such a chance is diminishingly small.
Seems to me that philosophy is simply a debating society - lots of fun for the participants, very little value outside the debate. Nothing wrong with debating societies of course, but why are my taxes used to pay teachers and professors and students to enjoy these debates? The evidence from the UK parliament and government is that reading 'PPE' (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) leaves the graduate unable to make sound decisions but makes sure their PPE graduate friends will help them to join the decision-making process . . . .

Show Less

4 more

LibraryThing member doggie38

This book covers some of the main areas of philosophical thinking. The author briefly explains the different thoughts of philosophers and presents the pro and cons of each one.

This is a very brief introduction into the subject that will give the reader a basic knowledge of how philosophy works. An

excellent book for a beginner.

Show Less

LibraryThing member HazelD

A very clearly written book - not a crusty academic text. It's an excellent book for enticing people into philosophy, I think - people will read this and then, potentially, become hooked. Highly recommended.

LibraryThing member TakeItOrLeaveIt

another one that complimented my intro to philosophy course senior year of HS. this sets up the basics of philosophy, just as the title suggests and Warburton is set on you learning it right. just as my teacher was. worth a read.

LibraryThing member yamiyoghurt

Full of sweeping generalizations. Hardly a good illustration of philosophy in action.

Fewer