Brief Guide to Ideas, A (Paperback)

by William Raeper (Author), Linda Edwards (Author) "Philosophy is about ideas-ideas about the world, ideas about people and ideas about how to live..." (more)
Key Phrases: Jesus Christ, Roman Catholic, Church Fathers (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A popular introduction to the history of Western religion and philosophy, this volume contains information on all familiar names in the fields as well as more obscure contributors to the broad scope of intellectual pursuit.

From the Back Cover
Philosophy -- dry and remote? Think again. It's as relevant as tonight's news, as immediate as the choices you make in a career. If you want to interact wisely with the world you live in, you need to understand the ideas that shape its commerce, launch its humanitarian efforts, trigger its wars, and profoundly impact the way you yourself approach God, life, and relationships. Postmodernism, Platonism, Humanism, Existentialism, Feminism, Rationalism, Fundamentalism, New Age . . . They're more than just terms. They're structures of thought you encounter constantly. This book gives you a fundamental grasp of what they are and how they influence your dealings with the world . . . and its dealings with you. You'll gain essential insights into over 40 of the world's major thinkers. Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Descartes, Kant, Locke, Marx, Nietsche, Freud, Wittgenstein . . . A Brief Guide to Ideas introduces to you these and many more of the great philosophers. You'll develop a working knowledge of numerous key ideas and movements. And you'll learn how philosophers and religions through the ages have grappled with critical questions that influence your life today.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Lion Hudson; Revised edition edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310227747
• ISBN-13: 978-0310227748
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,074,836 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very poor book, February 10, 2004

By	Frank (Stockton CA) - See all my reviews

This book lost all credibility when I read the authors' attack on fundamentalism. I am a former fundamentalist, so I might be expected to have an apostate's bias against fundamentalism, but these authors are not only inaccurate but almost comically biased. The authors claim that the fundamentalists' belief in the truth of the Bible is "borders on idolatry," that fundamentalists are "often parasitic" and define themselves not by belief in their scriptures or truth, but by their opposition to "other approaches." Instead of examining the mainstream Christian fundamentalist beliefs, the authors simply define all fundamentists as having "a totally closed world view," and damn all fundamentalists by guilt through supposed association with the Ayatollah Khomeini, David Koresh and the Taliban.
Lastly, the title is misleading, especially when sold in secular stores, as mine was. The title would more accurately be, _A Liberal Christian Response to Philosophy_, instead of the current title.

5.0 out of 5 stars level headed reading, September 18, 2006

By	David Stump - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

this is a pretty good medium beginners level intro to several philosophical thinkers and concepts spanning the ages. A good place to start sampling thought. There may be one or two places in the book where the analysis/presentation of a particular thought is slightly askew, but not too much to detract from what is overall pretty much on the level.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A step up from the "for Dummies" books, September 2, 2005

By	Alan Broomhead (Boston, MA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been reading books on philosophy for years, and I enjoyed this one for its broad sweep and readability. Yes, the topics are handled very briefly, but there is something to think about in every short chapter. It is a definite step up from the "for Dummies" books. The questions in the back are also a helpful addition for checking comprehension of the concepts and in helping the reader form his or her own view.

My only argument with the book is that it does seem to be written from a Christian standpoint. I disagree, for example, with the authors' attempt to make faith respectable: "When you step onto a bus, it is an act of faith...When you share a secret with a friend, you have faith they will not let you down." An alternative philosophical view would be to differentiate between faith (belief which is not founded on evidence), and trust (belief which is founded on evidence, the evidence of one's previous experience). I trust that the bus will take me to where I want to go (because it has taken me there many times before). I trust that my friend won't reveal the secret (because my friend has been reliable in the past). Trust is something that can be broken (the bus route may change, my friend may let me down), whereas faith tends to hold up no matter what. It's because the authors have a Christian agenda that they don't make this distinction, and try to depict faith as a reasonable position. It's unfortunate this isn't made clear in the blurb.

On the other hand, this has given me much to react to, and has made the book an enjoyable read.