Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
  • List Price: $11.95
  • Save: $3.32 (28%)
FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Philosophy: A Very Short ... has been added to your Cart
Want it Sunday, Oct. 30? Order within and choose Two-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Ship to:
Select a shipping address:
To see addresses, please
or
Please enter a valid US zip code.
or
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.
Used: Good | Details
Sold by Clean Earth Books
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Support Your Planet. Buy CLEAN EARTH BOOKS. Shipping orders swiftly since 2008. A great value for the avid reader! GOOD can range from a well cared for book in great condition to average with signs of slight wear. Overall, All text in great shape! Comes with our 100% Money Back Guarantee. Our customer service can't be beat! Tracking included on all orders.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and .

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon .

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 3 images

Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction Paperback – May 16, 2002

by
Edward Craig (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Edward Craig Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Edward Craig (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 25 customer reviews
See all 9 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Kindle
"Please retry"
$6.01
— —
Paperback
"Please retry"
$8.63
$3.56 $2.83
Audible, Abridged
"Please retry"
$0.00
Free with your Audible trial
Audio CD, Abridged, Audiobook
"Please retry"
—
$128.90 $19.99
Learn more about the top issues of this year's presidential race with these books sponsored by Wiley.
Election Year.
Learn more about the top issues of this year's presidential race with these books sponsored by Wiley.Learn more.
$8.63 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
click to open popover

Frequently Bought Together

  • Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
  • +
  • The Great Theologians: A Brief Guide
Total price: $25.29
Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
  1. Logic: A Very Short Introduction
    Graham Priest
    3.8 out of 5 stars 60
    Paperback
    $7.84 Prime
  2. Metaphysics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
    Stephen Mumford
    4.5 out of 5 stars 24
    Paperback
    $8.99 Prime
  3. The Great Theologians: A Brief Guide
    Gerald R. McDermott
    4.8 out of 5 stars 14
    Paperback
    $16.66 Prime
  4. Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
    Jennifer Nagel
    4.5 out of 5 stars 12
    Paperback
    $10.26 Prime
  5. Ethics: A Very Short Introduction
    Simon Blackburn
    3.6 out of 5 stars 11
    Paperback
    $9.45 Prime
  6. Art History: A Very Short Introduction
    Dana Arnold
    3.8 out of 5 stars 9
    Paperback
    $8.36 Prime

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Read more

Review

Read more
See all Editorial Reviews
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
New York Times best sellers
Browse the New York Times best sellers in popular categories like Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Books and more. See more

Product Details

  • Paperback: 144 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1st edition (May 16, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0192854216
  • ISBN-13: 978-0192854216
  • Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.3 x 4.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsAn unusual introduction to philosophy
By Peter Reeve on August 19, 2005
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Introductory philosophical texts tend to adopt one of two possible approaches: Either they give a chronological account of famous thinkers and schools, or they examine a set of topics - ethics, free will, nature of mind, etc. Craig opts for something different and rather interesting. The first three chapters are intended to be read in tandem with the works they summarize, namely Plato's "Crito", Hume's "On Miracles" and the Buddhist "King Milanda's Chariot". How many readers will actually do that is doubtful but it is an interesting idea that introduces the reader to three very different areas of philosophy.

We then, somewhat more traditionally, have summary introductions to some philosophical themes and 'isms'. Next, Craig presents reviews of a very personal selection of philosophical classics. 'Idiosyncratic' may be a better word than 'personal' as it includes Darwin's "The Origin of Species" which would not normally feature in such a list.

Finally, we have a description of philosophy as a discipline, asking what purposes and interests it serves.

There's a lot of good things to say about this little book. It is a well-written, lively and authoritative introduction. Craig references the Hindu tradition as well as the Western and gives plenty of encouragement and advice for further study.
Comment 77 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsUseful in the extreme.
By A Customer on June 30, 2003
Format: Paperback
A wonderful, lucid, entertaining and informative guide. Craig takes the reader step-by-step through some of the principal works of ancient and modern philosophy, and provides us with an essential guide to the somewhat daunting task of deciphering and understanding a range of compelling thinkers and their works. With an engaging, friendly writing style (and an excellent bibliography to encourage us to continue our journey), this is an indispensable little volume.
Comment 27 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
3.0 out of 5 starsFun but unstructured
By C. MOZEE-BAUM on February 1, 2006
Format: Paperback
This is one of the more entertaining and reader-friendly books on philosophy I've read, and in terms of style it goes down more smoothly than even most other Very Short Introductions.

However, it's difficult to see the precise value or usefulness of this book. Obviously, you can't give a comprehensive overview of a subject as vast as Philosophy in a 130 page book. Still, the organization of this volume seems somewhat haphazard and meandering.

Edward Craig is certainly an expert on the subject, and the chapters do explore various facets of philosophy, such as predominant philosophical questions and key philosophers and philosophical texts. But the choice of topics seems a bit too subjective, and the manner in which things are explored lends itself more to entertainment than actual acquisition of knowledge.

I recommend this to anybody who has an interest in philosophy but knows literally next to nothing about it; for anyone else, the content is a bit too shallow to be really useful, though it's still an entertaining read.
1 Comment 44 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsA very nice tour...
By Odd Bodd on January 15, 2005
Format: Paperback
...with a very good tour guide. As the title suggests, it is a very short introduction. Prof. Craig gives an excellent introduction to the three big questions "What should I do?" (or how should I live my life?) "How do we know?"(very roughly, how do we draw conclusions? "What am I?" (again, very roughly, what is a person?) After dealing with these Prof. Craig then moves on to several other issues, all of which relate back to these questions.

Prof. Craig is a delightful guide, full of good humour and, for the most part, a fantastic explainer of very complex ideas; you'll have to read his description of Nietzsche's ideas to see what I mean. His annotated bibliography is definitely one of the best I have come across in this series.

Why four stars? I'd give him four and a half if I could. The only minor shortcomings of the book were that one or two of the explanations weren't all that clear (but then, it is a very short guide) and I found his treatment of C. S. Lewis bordering on contemptuous.

Those points aside, a fantastic book.
Comment 15 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsWe Are All Philosophers
By @hoponacomet on May 17, 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
There are many things I am not good at. I’ve gone to a few activities at Painting with a Twist but my portraits are, well, pretty terrible. I can grill a steak but beware if you eat anything I’ve cooked more complicated than a slab of beef. I love baseball and I used to be pretty decent at it but at no point in time have I been a very strong batter.

Now that I’ve tooted by own humble-horn let me add to the above list the broad topic of philosophy. I love epistemology and logic but I don’t much care for metaphysics and ethics. It’s probably because I’m not very good at working through all the philosophical positions that surround metaphysics and ethics. But Edward Craig won’t let me off the hook on any aspect of philosophy. If I or anyone else were to claim that philosophy is useless then I or “they will be talking about the ineffectuality of certain types of thought, or of human beings’ incapacity to deal with certain types of question. And then instead of rejecting philosophy [I or] they will have become another voice within it” (2). We are all philosophers of one sort or another.

For people like me who have only read a handful of philosophical works, Craig’s contribution to the VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION series is helpful in most regards. Before I get to those helpful items, let me just mention one problem I had with the volume.

Craig is a Brit and he writes like one. I’m an American and though I’ve read plenty of Shakespeare, grew up reading the King James Bible, and love British television shows like “Good Neighbors,” “The Vicar of Dibley,” and “Keeping Up Appearances,” I found the prose of PHILOSOPHY: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION a bit wonky at times. When you read it, be prepared to re-read some sentences so you are clear on what he is discussing.Read more ›
Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsPhilosophy educates us about the questions

Craig’s object is to briefly explain the project of philosophy and examine a few of the problems to which philosophy has addressed itself. Read more

Published 7 months ago by HH
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Students loved it

Published 11 months ago by Billie Love
5.0 out of 5 starsFine service!

Very gracious and accommodating in response to an inadvertent glitch. Well done!

Published 12 months ago by Paul Copan
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Quest for Wisdom

Edward Craig book in the VSI series delivers what it promises, a glimpse in the main subjects of philosophy. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Marcus
5.0 out of 5 starsSolid framework and overview of some philosophic classics and ideas

Edward Craig's short introduction was recommended in my Masters syllabus, prior to starting the course, for those looking to establish a basic understanding of what philosophy is,... Read more

Published 21 months ago by James
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

I love philosophy.

Published 22 months ago by Terrence W.
3.0 out of 5 starsWhile the author covered a great breadth of philosophers in this very...

While the author covered a great breadth of philosophers in this very short introduction, I found his style of writing somewhat clumsy and often difficult to get through for... Read more

Published on October 27, 2014 by Aaron White
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

great

Published on October 17, 2014 by Patrick
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Good

Published on October 1, 2014 by Jose
5.0 out of 5 starsA highly readable primer on a complex and mutable subject

For novices, attempting to grasp overall understanding of the scope of philosophical inquiry, Craig's explanation is straight forward and raises the curiosity of inquirng minds.

Published on August 6, 2013 by Larry and Yvonne

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway
This item: Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
Set up a giveaway

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.