Customer Reviews

Philosophy 1: A Guide through the Subject (Vol 1)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a graduate student I have taught newcomers to philosophy and I would not recommend this book to them. I agree with the other reviewers that the scope of the book is impressive. But the writing is unnecessarily complicated. Scott Sturgeon's attempt to explain issues in epistemology by use of the biconditional left me dumbfounded. It makes what can be quite a fun topic a dreadful chore and far more difficult to get one's head around than it need be. I found this to be a general flaw with the book. It may be that some people will enjoy the writing in this book but I doubt it. I fear that most people who turn to this book for an introduction to philosophy will be turned off the subject.

I should say that there are exceptions to what I have written above. The most notable one being Tim Crane who always puts a priority on clarity of exposition. But in general the ideas are more obscurely presented than is necessary. For those who are coming to philosophy for the first time I would recommend any of the following:

John Hospers, An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis.
Nigel Warburton, Philosophy: the basics.
Philosophy made simple, (sorry can't recall the authors).

Bottom line: if you are new to philosophy and are thinking of buying this book, then first of all you should read some of it to see if the writing is to your liking.

This is an excellent book for someone with a minimal background in philosophy. The essays are informative and thorough without falling into the usual trap of obfuscation. While the casual reader might find its contents slightly overwhelming, any philosophy major should have this in his or her reference library and anyone taking a philosophy course should not be afraid to consult this book. The detailed bibliographies following each section are indispensible. I highly recommend this text.

"Philosophy 1" is a good introductory survey text. While it is somewhat more technical than what the casual reader may want, my goal was to learn something about "real philosophy, not simplified philosophy." The book hit the mark on this account.

I was drawn to the text because of another (popular) book by A. C. Grayling. Each chapter of the text, however, is written by a different author. Consequently, the chapters vary in style and, to some extent, quality. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on methodology, the rationalists, the empiricists (by A. C. Grayling), and aesthetics.

It took some effort for this casual reader to get through the text, but it was well worth it.

This thorough introduction to the core areas of philosophy is written by some of the leading figures in their specialisms, and it is remarkable for its lucidity and comprehensiveness, and for the excellent bibliographies attached to each chapter. The volume, covering Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics, the Philosophy of Mind, History of Philosophy and other core subjects, is the first of two companion volumes: the second volume covers mopre advanced or specialised areas of philosophy, like Medieval Philosophy., Indian Philosophy, the Philosophy of Psychology, the Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Frege Russell and Wittgenstein, and much more. Both volumes are outstanding pedagogical collections, and their editor, AC Grayling of London University, has ensured that between them they provide what is perhaps the highest quality pacakge of introduction-to-philosophy literature available anywhere in the world today. I found it especially helpful, in my own studies and in guiding students, to have such full material on all the branches of philosophy available together in the two volumes, because it made for ease of cross-reference, and topics that were mentioned in certain of the chapters were fully explored in others. You could say that the two volumes together are a complete introduction to contemporary analytic philosophy, and there is nothing comparable to them for scope, depth, or clarity in the literature for students and teachers of philosophy now available. Dr Vere Ayer

Grayling, the editor, appears to be the successor of Scruton at Birkbeck College. I find him supremely fitted to put together such a tour d'horizon of contemporary philosophizing, albeit happily restricted to the analytic tradition. The articles are largely bereft of Continental mambo-jumbo, and refreshingly competent across the board; therefore, the two volumes may serve as a major reference work on any shelf, as well as an apt introduction and stimulation for serious college students.