Customer Reviews

The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

+++++

This easy-to-read book by philosophy lecturer, editor, and author Dr. Stephen Law presents to the reader "25 short adventures in thinking." In other words, this book is a short course in "thinking philosophically." Each of the twenty-five chapters or essays addresses a different philosophical question, "explaining key positions and arguments along the way."

What are the philosophical questions and topics discussed? Below, I will divide the essays into categories and give the question or topic addressed. (Note the order of the essays presented here is different from that in the book):

(1) Logic

(i) Eight everyday reasoning errors. (An error in reasoning is called a fallacy.)
(ii) Seven paradoxes in reasoning. (Presented are plausible arguments leading to seemingly implausible conclusions.)

(2) Morality

(i) Is gay sex morally permissible?
(ii) Can we have morality without God and religion?
(iii) Is it morally acceptable to design children genetically?
(iv) Is it right to sacrifice the life of one conjoined twin to save the other?
(v) Is it morally acceptable to eat meat?
(vi) Is the rightness or wrongness of an act based on our emotional reactions to the act?

(3) God

(i) Does God exist?
(ii) Is creationism scientific?
(iii) Miracles and the supernatural.
(iv) Where did the universe come from?

(4) Consciousness

(i) Could a machine think?
(ii) Are you just a brain in a vat?
(iii) Is consciousness something impossible for science to explain?
(iv) What's essential as far as being you is concerned?
(v) How do you know that there are other minds?

(5) Expectations

(i) Why expect the sun to rise tomorrow?
(ii) Should we ever expect to be punished?

(6) Truth

(i) Is there such a thing as the absolute truth to any question?
(ii) Are mathematics and its truths ultimately made by us?

(7) Puzzles

(i) What is meaning, exactly?
(ii) What is knowledge?
(iii) Is time travel possible?
(iv) What is art, exactly?

These essays can be read in any order desired. In other words, you don't have to read the essays in the order indicated in the table of contents. Their level of difficulty is indicated at the beginning of each essay. Suggestions for further reading (including internet sites) can be found at the end of each essay.

This book also incorporates a variety of styles. There are dialogues, philosophical stories and thought experiments, illustrations (many of which I felt were not necessary), and sections called "thinking tools" to explain key philosophical ideas. (These thinking tool sections, are, in my opinion, a major highlight of this book.)

Be aware that these essays are not the definitive answers to the questions posed above but only reflect Law's views. If you find yourself disagreeing with the author's views in any essay (as I did), then that's good and is a "healthy sign." It means that Law has done his job of stimulating your thinking. Remember this is not an "answer" book but is a "thinking" book.

I also felt that the brief introduction that has the sections "What is Philosophy," "Applying Philosophy to Life," and "Other Reasons to Think Philosophically" was excellent. Be sure to read these sections first.

I felt an absolute beginner to philosophy might have trouble with this book. This is because major argumentative terms like premise, conclusion, counterargument, etc. are not defined at the beginning but are defined as you get further into the book. A brief glossary would have alleviated this problem.

As well, the logic essay on "Eight everyday reasoning errors" should, I feel, be the first essay in this book. (Instead it is essay number 24). In this way, the reader can get practice in trying to determine whether any of the essays presented have these errors. My recommendation is to read this essay first after reading the above introductory sections.

In one essay, Law's conclusion is that "what creationists practise isn't good science-it's bunk." I felt this conclusion as stated was too harsh and may offend some.

Law uses some knowledge gained from science in some of his essays. Yet he does not reference his sources. I thought this was a major oversight.

Finally, this book is not just an introductory text. It can be effectively read by those who have some prior philosophy background (like myself).

In conclusion, for a good and stimulating intellectual workout, this is the book to read!!

(first published 2003; acknowledgements; introduction; how to use this book; 25 chapters; main narrative 285 pages; index)

+++++

A book like this one isn't about the conclusions that are reached in its discussions. It is about the thought process used to guide those discussions. We all can use help sharpening our thinking and nothing but good can come of it.

Stephen Law presents 25 interesting and accessible philosophy questions and tackles them primarily in the form of dialogs between two people on opposite sides of the issue. Typically one uses a rational, reasoned approach while the other takes an approach based on a softer footing and is inevitably trumped. Often, Law's conclusions are obvious from the outset, but a few times I found my own beliefs challenged and really had to take a step back and reconsider my own position.

If you are interested in honing your own thinking and like open discussions of topics, you will truly enjoy this book and be a better thinker when you finish it.

Law deserves all those puffs from academics. This is easily the best introduction to philosophy on the market. It's by someone who knows the subject inside out (Law edits the Royal Institute of Philosophy's new journal THINK). It's ideal for those new to philosophy yet, weirdly, many of the chapters also manage to take you to the cutting edge. I'm doing a Masters in philosophy and I still got a lot from it. "Could a machine think?" is the best thing I've read on the subject.

This book is going to stir up a lot of feeling in many readers - Law doesn't mind saying what he thinks, and what he says will outrage many (like homophobes - see below), but that's part of the fun of it. For anyone with an open mind who enjoys having their preconceptions challenged it's a total blast. I've noticed this is fast becoming a cult book among philosophy students.

The others reviewers (January 9th and 14th 2004) nailed it right on the head. I could have written the first review myself.

I too go back to this book every spare time I get. It is simple and yet quite thorough in its examination of each question's arguments. The author may be biased on some points but, due to the fact that it's so apparent, I think it only added some spice to the content. It pushed my intellect to go further and try to see WHY I disagreed with him and HOW I would retort to his arguments. And THAT's exactly the point of philosophy: open the mind, cultivate curiosity and make up you own decisions.

Another book that is often referenced in this book is "Philosophy: the basics" by Nigel Warburton. It complements this one wonderfully. It's less of a pleasure read but it's also unbiased and VERY thorough for a small book. After reading these 2 small books, I had deep conversations and ended up feeling like a great philosopher myself!

Since then, I've been unable to stop reading philosophy books!
Have a good read.

If you are fascinated by "big questions" like: Is time travel possible? Where did the universe come from? Could a machine think? and Should we allow designer babies? then you'll find The Philosophy Gym endlessly fascinating. Each short snappy chapter introduces one of these great philosophical conundrums, and gives you the key arguments and concepts through amusing dialogues, entertaining little stories and weird and wonderful thought-experiments. The chapters can be dipped into in any order. It's highly readable, yet also genuinely educational. Judging by the quality of the reviews he gets from academics (some of which are on the back cover) Law knows his stuff. True, he let's rip against the young-Earth creationists, and some religious people will probably dismiss him as "biased" (he's pretty clearly an atheist). But I have to say he seems pretty fair and even handed to me. Whatever your views on life, the universe and everything, you'll find this a hugely stimulating and challenging book, and great fun too.

I just recently discovered an interest in philosophical thought, and I found myself overwhelmed by all the resources available to me. I had no idea where to start when I stumbled across The Philosophy Gym. Nothing could have been more appropriate. It dives right into all the hot topics and gave me some foundational knowledge about how to approach those issues from a logical standpoint. It introduces the reader to basic philosophical terminology as well as several of the great historical philosophers and their famous arguments. Each topic is brilliantly presented in nice bite-sized chunks with suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter. I couldn't be more pleased with this intro to philosophy.

I have to admit, I was expecting a book with a title like "The Philosophy Gym" to be somewhat facile, if not downright silly. I only bought it because my wife found it highly recommended by The Christian Science Monitor and a few of the chapter titles in the table of contents looked interesting. But don't let the glib title throw you! Stephen Law has managed to distill a wide variety of classic, age-old philosophical paradoxes into a neat, fun, easy-to-read, hard-to-put-down volume that will entertain you for hours, and challenge and enlighten you long after you finish it. Whatever beliefs you hold on religion, vegitarianism, knowledge and morality to name just a few, prepare to question and requestion them; no one and no belief is imune. You will be torn between storing this book on your "favorites" shelf or loaning it out to all your friends (depending upon your personal level of generosity; my copy is nestled snuggly in my bookshelf, my memory suffers more than my generosity these days and I expect I'll need it for reference now and again).

I find myself very much in agreement with the Editorial Review printed on this page in that this book is interesting and thought-provoking but does not always treat everything as even-handedly as it might. Though it is obvious that all philosophers will have their opinions, when writing introductions to arguments it is best to present both sides fairly. Law's dialogues invariably end with the side he does not agree with admitting they are wrong, and he can misrepresent the quality of argument on the side he opposes.

Despite this, this is a good introduction and certainly is very accessible and highly engaging (I found myself wanting to read it whenever I had a spare moment). It also opens your eyes to arguments you may not have considered, and contains a lot of scientific material that is interesting with regard to philosophy. However just occasionally I found myself in profound disagreement with Law - such as his chapter on Designer Babies, which he essentially seems to have no qualms about. He says in his introduction that disagreement with him is a healthy sign but there is a line between his stating his own opinions in the context of the argument and infusing the very argument itself with his opinions so that it becomes biased. By no means am I a creationist, so I had no problem with the chapter decrying creationism, but I could see that it wasn't exactly unopinionated (though his exposition of the tactics of creationists was interesting, if hardly the whole story).

My overall reccomendation is that this book is worth buying, but you must always keep in mind that Law is opinionated and there are often just as strong cases against him that are either not printed, or printed in a negative light. It will, as it claims, stretch your mind in new directions - just be wary of taking Law's opinion as the last word on each subject.

This is a delightful fun book for people who like intellectual puzzles. Law offers his readers twenty five chapters addressing questions such as "What's wrong with gay sex?" "Is time travel possible?" Does God exist?" "The strange case of the rational dentist." "Is creationism scientific?" and "How to spot eight everyday reasoning errors."

Each chapter stands alone. Most, but not all, are very easy to read. They average about ten to a dozen pages. They are filled with entertaining stories in every chapter.

For example, in Killing Mary to save Jodie, Law asks, "can we kill one innocent person to save another" even though the Ten Commandments forbids murder. He tells the story of two girls born connected to one another. One is strong and the other is weak, and the weaker one has only a rudimentary brain. If the doctors separate the two girls, the weaker one will die. If they did not separate them both will die. The girls' parents who are religious Catholics refuse to allow the doctors to operate. The doctors go to court and receive permission to, in essence, murder the weaker girl.

Law discusses how the doctors' and court's view reflects the philosophy of Utilitarianism: when faced with a moral question, the right thing to do is the one that maximizes happiness. But, continues Law, this is not simple.

Take the case of two men. One is without doubt going to die. Nothing can help him. But he may last for a month or two. The second man needs a heart or he will die. The only available heart is in the sick dying man. Is it morally right to kill the sick innocent man who will die in a month or two to save the life of the other man? Should we argue, "If we do not kill the innocent man, both men will die"?

This is just one of many interesting and thought-provoking questions that Law raises in this one chapter.

This book does an great job of making the practice of philosophy useful in our live. Highly accessible even for those without formal training in the methods of philosophy.