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The Examined Life: Readings from Western Philosophers from Plato to Kant

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This book presents a solid collection of 35 excerpts from important Western philosophers ranging from as early as Plato to as modern as Feyerabend. However, it is not where the value of this book lies. The contribution of the book is that the editor categorized those maginificent works into six disciplines, and arranged an introductory essay in front of each section. All the essays are well-written and provide the reader with an examination of the importance of and the relationship between each work. They are really the compass in the labyrinth of Western philosophy.

A small flaw of the book is that the editor failed to add the years of the birth and death of each philosopher. But this is not a very serious problem to a good book.

It has been said that the unexamined life is not worth living, with this said it is crucial that as much evidence as possible be gathered to enable a person to possess a more holistic view of life and of values. The book The Examined Life provides a through introduction to many facets of philosophy, both classical and modern, and provides ample information for the individual reader to begin examiming his own life and the state of his soul. From Plato's scathing and revolutionary thoughts on democracy and its pitfalls, to Kant's pursuit of wisdom and reason, this book offers thoughts and ideals still relevant in today's society.

The title of this new book on philosophy, T'he Examined Life: Readings from Western Philosophy from Plato to Kant' by Stanley Rosen, calls to mind that basic underpinning and justification for philosophy: the unexamined life is not worth living.

This book is divided into six main parts, which reflect the traditional subdivisions of philosophy: social and political philosophy, philosophy of religion, philosophy of art and culture, metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of science. Each section is introduced by a philosopher who has made a study of that particular branch; the source texts reflect a small but typical collection in each field from major philosophers which reflect a cross-section of philosophical development.

Rosen states, 'This is not a dictionary or an encyclopedia but an attempt to give a fair portrait of the aforementioned variety in a way that encourages the reader to philosophise, not to look up famous names or definitions of technical terms. Facts about philosophy are worthless, except to the philosopher. And we are all philosophers by nature.'

Below is a list of Chapters and the contents of each

Part One: Social and Political Philosophy
Introduction by Paul Rahe
Selections from
Plato, Symposium
Plato, Gorgias
Plato, Republic
Aristotle, Politics
Machiavelli, The Prince
Hobbes, Leviathan
Rousseau, First and Second Discourses

Part Two: Philosophy of Religion
Introduction by William Desmond
Selections from
Augustine, Confessions
Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed
Pascal, Pensees
Hegel, Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion
Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling

Part Three: Philosophy of Art and Culture
Introduction by Robert Pippin
Selections from
Plato, Republic
Aristotle, Poetics
Schiller, On the Aesthetic Education of Man
Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy
Dewey, Art as Experience
Adorno, Aesthetic Theory

Part Four: Metaphysics
Introduction by Richard Velkley
Selections from
Aristotle, Metaphysics
Descartes, Meditations
Hegel, Lectures on the History of Philosophy
Leibniz, Reflections on the Common Concept of Justice
Kant, Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics
Wittgenstein, The Blue and Brown Books

Part Five: Epistemology
Introduction by Jaakko Hintikka
Selections from
Plato, Meno
Aristotle, Posterior Analytics
Descartes, Meditations
Hume, Abstract on a Treatise of Human Nature

Part Six: Philosophy of Science
Introduction by Gian-Carlo Rota & Jeffrey Thomas Crants
Selections from
Feyerabend, Against Method
Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Husserl, The Crisis of European Sciences
Ayala, 'The Concept of Biological Progress'
Poincare, Science and the Scientist
Poincare, Science and Hypothesis
Simpson, Logic and Mathematics

You will notice among the authors ancient masters and modern scholars; Plato and Aristotle figure prominently in most every chapter as a starting point, which reflects their prominence in philosophical discussion throughout history. Going through the list, those who are philosophically trained may quickly notice names missing (we all have our favourite philosophers) but given the intent of the volume, I feel that a fairly good representative sampling of ideas has been selected.

This is not light reading by any means, but as 600 pages, is in fact a brief yet fairly comprehensive introduction to philosophy. The translations are accessible; some are recent and some are older, more standard translations. If you were to have just one philosophy book, this might well be it.

If you enjoy philosophy, this book is doubtless an excellent resource, including excerpts of the works of many famous philosophers from the last 3000 years or so.

It is NOT, however, a useful introductory work that is comprehensible to the novice interested in gaining an insight into the wisdom of the ages; the selections were made with the intention of giving a broad variety of thoughts, rather than on choosing the most basic, accessible philosophic concepts. Therefore, much of what is contained in this book is, to one not already schooled in the jargon of philosophy, pretty near impenetrable, and much of what isn't impenetrable seems pretty pointless to someone not fascinated by the subject.

There were a few excerpts that were both readable and interesting; the section from Ayala's "The Concept of Biological Progress" was one, as to a lesser extent were both of the excerpts of Poincare's works, and a few others. But by and large, this book is very slow going for anyone not well-versed in the subject already; do NOT consider it a primer.

This cogent compendium of well-chosen readings can be read by the novice or the scholar, useful as it is for reflection and cogitation. The readings are handily arranged into six major sections: social and political philosophy, philosophy of religion; philosophy of art and culture; metaphysics; epistemology;and philosophy of science. Each section has a brief introduction; and in a few cases, a summary essay. Excerpts from selected works of various philosophers--classic and otherwise--give a well-rounded fullness to the major topics and concepts being examined. A bibiliography of primary source material and a full index enhance retrievability options. This will surely stimulate even the most inert of minds.

This cogent compendium of well-chosen readings can be read by the novice or the scholar, useful as it is for reflection and cogitation. The readings are handily arranged into six major sections: social and political philosophy, philosophy of religion; philosophy of art and culture; metaphysics; epistemology;and philosophy of science. Each section has a brief introduction; and in a few cases, a summary essay. Excerpts from selected works of various philosophers--classic and otherwise--give a well-rounded fullness to the major topics and concepts being examined. A bibiliography of primary source material and a full index enhance retrievability options. This will surely stimulate even the most inert of minds.

Purpose: I bought this book for my father who happens to read only the bible and has no interest in philosophy. If your dad hasn't been interested in philosophy up to now, don't bother. And don't buy it for yourself, either.

Content: It's awfully thick. I appreciated Pascal, whom i've never come across until now, but the rest is either meaningless or commonsensical.