Philosophy: the Basics (Paperback)

Other introductions to philosophy are usually of two sorts. One provides you with a fairly superficial account of the main ideas of the most famous philosophers, and the other consists of a philosopher presenting his or her own views in such a way that they're accessible to those without prior knowledge of philosophy. Books of both these sorts have value to those coming to philosophy for the first time, but neither gives an accurate picture of what it's like to study philosophy. Those of the first sort suggest that the study of philosophy is part of the study of the history of ideas, and this isn't the case. Philosophers are concerned with the work of great historical figures in their field. But they're concerned with this work as a repository of ideas and insights that are worthy of being defended today, and not only as evidence of historical trends in the study of their subject. And books of the second sort often fail to provide one with a sense of the range of arguments and positions available on any philosophical topic. The writers of these books are usually more interested in introducing the reader to their own views than in introducing the reader to philosophical thinking, and they're knowledgeable enough to know where the weaknesses in their views are and how to hide them (or at least avoid topics that are likely to bring these weaknesses to the reader's attention). Moreover, works of this sort tend to suggest that philosophy is a body of widely accepted views about certain subjects, and that is very misleading.

Basically, the study of philosophy is the study of arguments, and this is a book about the sorts of arguments philosophers study. But what sorts of arguments are philosophers interested in? For the most part, they're interested in arguments people have given on topics where it's not clear we have the ability to settle disputes by scientific means. That is, philosophy tries to help us understand the world just by thinking about it. Or, at least, philosophy asks and responds to questions that are so general and abstract that it's not clear we can discover answers to them by going out into the world and observing something or conducting an experiment. (For better of worse, questions about what, exactly, philosophers study and what methods they should employ are questions that it seems only philosophy itself is suited to answer. And while philosophers tend to agree about which questions they should be thinking about, they disagree about just why those are the right questions and how one can go about answering them (if they think there are such answers).) What sorts of questions are these? Warburton focuses on the following: Does God exist? What is the nature of right and wrong? Can we know anything about the world outside our minds? How is the mind related to the body? What reasons, if any, do we have for thinking that science provides us with a true account of the physical world?

Warburton's book discusses some of the most important and influential arguments philosophers have developed on these subjects along with the most important and influential objections to those arguments. The book's structure is actually rather simple: Warburton introduces a topic; he presents an argument for some important view on that topic; he then presents some objections to that argument; this is followed by the introduction of a new view that develops in response to those objections; he then presents arguments for this second views; then objections to this second view; and so on.

What is especially exciting about this book is that everything extraneous is removed from its presentation of the ideas under consideration. It's one hundred and fifty pages of really interesting ideas (and other really interesting ideas formed in response to those ideas) presented as clearly and succinctly as possible, and it's extensive enough in its coverage to give you some sense of the range of possible that are available to people thinking about these questions. In less than an hour with this book, you can get an introduction to the most significant arguments philosophers have developed concerning, say, the existence of God. The book gives you just enough information to whet your appetite for more and to prepare you for study of these issues in more detail. Furthermore, and importantly, the book aims to introduce the reader to many of the major areas of philosophy, including including metaphysics, epistemology (the theory of knowledge), ethics, and political philosophy.

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for an introduction to philosophy.

What is philosophy? Can we prove that God exists? What is right and what is wrong? Is the world really like we think it is? What makes up science? How do body and mind differ from each other? Can we define art?

Haven't you ever contemplated some or all of these questions? Yes, you certainly have. And so have I. These are basic questions we are all eager to find answers to, after all. And these are the basic problems of philosophy, too. Philosophy--a subject that I have always been interested in, but never found the time to study thouroughly. There are so many great philosophers and they all wrote so big and important books. Where should I begin? Whom should I read first? Should I begin with the Greek philosophers of the antiquity, or just jump into Heidegger right away? Won't they confuse me? Will I be able to decide who is right? Ok, philosophers wrote a lot of highly interesting things during the centuries. But what's the outcome? Are we cleverer now than the old Greeks were? How do today's philosophers think about all those big questions I mentioned? I asked myself these questions and it seemed to me that I needed a guide to philosophy badly.

And then I incidentally stumbled on Nigel Warburton's book, Philosophy: The Basics. I just glimpsed the table of contents and I immediately knew that this was the book I had been looking for. It's short and concise. It's clear and often entertaining, avoiding highly technical language. It deals with most of the important questions of philosophy. Its chapters are organized around specific subjects, such as God, right and wrong, the outside world, the scientific method, mind, and art. Each chapter presents all the important philosophical positions and viewpoints (the various '-ism's) concerning its subject, briefly summarizing the main arguments of every school of thought, including the counter-arguments, critiques and refutations given in reply to arguments of other schools. All opinions and arguments presented in the book are valid today, and they are presented without bias. No idea is set forth without telling the reader about its weak points and main critiques. It is up to you, the reader, to decide which view is the right one for you--or invent your own special opinion!

That is actually the major advantage of this book: it makes you think! I guarantee you won't get away with reading this book without learning to think on your own, and enjoying it! Having been supplied with all the major ideas and viewpoints about the most basic questions of philosophy, you will feel the urge to formulate your own personal opinion. I have succeeded with this, and I have also learned how to support my opinions with good arguments!

After having read this book, you will feel informed about all the major schools in philosophy, concerning the subjects covered in the book. However, you won't be able to associate the schools with the names of well-known, great philosophers. That is a point where Warburton's book may fall short of your expectations. It is not a book about the history of philosophy and it is not a book that presents the great philosophers. It describes various philosophical ideas but it rarely tells you which philosophers are the originators of them. You won't find a word about Socrates, St. August, Descartes, Hegel, Heidegger or Wittgenstein in it--though it presents some of their ideas. So when you have read this book, the next step would certainly be to find a book about the history of philosophy--and I'm sure you will be interested enough to do that! To this end, Warburton's book has a list of recommended literature for further study, starting with Bryan Magee's 'The Great Philosophers'.

I heartily recommend Warburton's book to anyone. While it is basically a book about philosophy and philosophical thinking for beginners, I'm sure that advanced learners of philosophy can also use it well. There are hardly any books that give such concise and unbiased summaries of the essential arguments and critiques in the various branches of philosophy. You could use Warburton's book when preparing for your next philosophy exam...

Andras Szilagyi