Customer Reviews

Philosophy: Principles and Problems

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This is not a review of this book since there already is a review here whether I agree with it or not. However, I would like to bring to anyone's attention who may want to buy this book that this book is merely a reprint of the author's "An Intelligent Person's Guide to Philosophy" under a different title. If publishers are going to reprint under a different title, they should make that clear so readers do not buy a book thinking it is different from something they already have.

Roger Scruton is a controversial British philosopher who has specialized in aesthetics and ethics and written several books on philosophy. He has contributed to the subject both in its deepest theorizing and in its pertinence to everyday human affairs.
This book presents philosophy in a lively and engrossing manner without obscure jargon or willful pedantry. The chapters discuss the relation of the mind to the world, human nature, music, and more. The book is not about proving an argument, necessarily, but about showing how philosophy is not a hermetically sealed diversion of a few academics but a real and important matter for all humans.
Socrates told Glaucon that they were discussing the right conduct of life and not something of passing or diversionary importance. This is Scruton's admirable attempt to prove Socrates right and bring philosophy to people who who may be inclined to view philosophy as an excuse for bad behavior or a stupid game.
In this book the reader will find an exciting account of what it means to be human, to be conscious, to experience life, and to have freedom.
Recommended for all.

Roger Scruton is an engaging writer and philosopher from England. In this reprinted version of his earlier "Intelligent Person's Guide to Philosophy", he poses much serious thought about issues philosophical. These thoughts range from the nature of truth to the meaning of history. Scruton weaves his own commentary through his discussions of the great philosophers and in doing so, provides excellent counterpoints to Kant, Hegel, and others. A major theme that runs through the book is the subject-object dichomtomy present in much of philosophy throughout the ages. Also, this reviewer found Scruton's rebuttal to both modernity and postmodernity in the chapter on History to be very applicable to the world at large today.


Overall, this is a recommended read for the student of philosophy. However, if one attempts this book as a beginner, it will be highly confusing due to the fact that Scruton's style presupposes prior philosophical exposure.