Practically Profound: Putting Philosophy to Work in Everyday Life [Paperback]

James H. Hall (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0742543277 | ISBN-13: 978-0742543270 | Publication Date: February 25, 2005

Do you think that philosophy is an activity for old men in sandals with long white beards? Or people who sit under trees and wait to be struck on the head by apples? If so, then you owe it to yourself to explore the insights of this book. In conversational yet artful prose, James H. Hall reveals the many ways that you can actually enjoy and use philosophy in the course of your everyday experience. Doing philosophy involves critically examining key concepts, presuppositions and implications that are in play across the entire range of human inquiry. Practically Profound introduces the enterprise in three basic areas: knowledge and belief (epistemology), human nature (ontology) and the good life (ethics). Emphasizing experience-based arguments, the book demonstrates techniques that readers of all ages can use to enhance their own understanding of themselves and their world. This book is ideally suited to any introductory course in philosophy that takes a problems-based approach, as well as to general readers interested in putting philosophy to work in their everyday lives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An entertaining and enlightening text for students and general readers alike. (James Rachels )

About the Author

James H. Hall is James Thomas Professor of Philosophy at The University of Richmond, Virginia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (February 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742543277
• ISBN-13: 978-0742543270
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,501,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Requires "Dogged engagement", March 10, 2008

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Gary Sprandel (Frankfort, Kentucky) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Practically Profound: Putting Philosophy to Work in Everyday Life (Paperback)

This book was tough for casual reading without the support of a class or instructor (I used it to accompany Dr Halls "Tools of Thinking" teaching company class).
The major sections include "belief", "knowledge", "human nature" and "human conduct". In "beliefs", he provides some basis for evaluating our beliefs, "truth theories" and evidence with the underlying principle that reliable and true beliefs are preferred. The chapters on evidence were well outlined, discussion experience, reason, authority, intuition, and faith. In the knowledge chapters it was hard to follow his "cognitive neighborhood". Hall concludes that "Paradigms" shifts are not always revolutionary, and readers of Thomas Kuhn' The structure of Scientific Revolution" would be left with a different perspective. The section on human nature seems to take a hopeful balance between determinism and free will, and finds no satisfaction in imago dei (man in Gods image). The chapters on moral conduct conclude with a very utilitarian view "maximize happiness over grief", but tempered with fair play (Rowles) with respect for the individual. Perhaps this section was most fascinating, because it took me beyond what I had presupposed about utilitarianism.

This is a difficult book, and not as practical as I had hoped, but as Professor Hall says "Those dogged enough to read this book should have acquired some skill at spotting ambiguity ... and a taste for arguments and reasons over fervor and rhetoric". In this election year, that is a good practical skill to have.