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Philosophy Rocks!
Hilarious and informative, a brilliant new approach to philosophy introduces teens to Plato and existential thinking, addressing a wealth of provocative questions and the arguments that have overwhelmed philosophers throughout history. Original.
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
Paperback
First published April 1, 2002
3 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Law
71 books104 followersStephen Law is a philosopher who teaches at Heythrop College in the University of London. He also edits the journal THINK, a source of philosophy aimed at the general public, affiliated with The Royal Institute of Philosophy.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 19, 2019
3.5 stars.
Read for prepping Philosophy Cafe at the public library 2020.
What I liked about this book is that the philosophical questions it encourages readers to think about are divided into chapters, each grappling with a different question. Where do good and bad come from? Should I be a vegetarian? and other questions in this vein are posited. The writing is accessible without depending on professional jargon, and there is a helpful glossary of terms included. The book is illustrated with cartoon type illustrations which lighten the discussion. The "real world examples" could use some updating though.
Read for prepping Philosophy Cafe at the public library 2020.
What I liked about this book is that the philosophical questions it encourages readers to think about are divided into chapters, each grappling with a different question. Where do good and bad come from? Should I be a vegetarian? and other questions in this vein are posited. The writing is accessible without depending on professional jargon, and there is a helpful glossary of terms included. The book is illustrated with cartoon type illustrations which lighten the discussion. The "real world examples" could use some updating though.
December 25, 2025
This book is a solid introduction to what philosophy is. The author tackles difficult questions with fun imaginative stories and conversations, supported by little cartoon drawings. I enjoyed reading through this book but it only answers questions on the surface level and often does not go too much in depth. Also, the arguments presented were biased which isn’t bad but something to note. A solid 3.
September 21, 2018
Have you ever wanted to get "into philosophy", but were put off by the big words, big ideas, and mysterious names like Kant, Hume, of Wittgenstein? Well, this book puts all that into ordinary language and entertains along the way. It's a fun book, but not very deep.
September 7, 2016
Seminal – adj. (of a work, event, moment, or figure) strongly influencing later developments.
What inspired my middle school self to snatch this off the shelf in floor B1 of my local public library I can never know. No longer having access to his mental state, I can only project what might have been. This is not positive epistemology, people. Heraclitus would say he and I are entirely different people. And who exactly is the referent of this pronoun ‘I’? Let us assume the Richard writing this review, t = two thousand, six teen, and approximately two-thirds terrestrial revolutions around the sun after the birth of one Nazarethian Jew.
If it helps, other books which sat on that particular shelf that I also consumed (not literally, of course) included The Darwin Awards and Cecil Adams’ The Straight Dope. Yes, it seems that little pipsqueak had already possessed the penchants for, respectively, schadenfreude and skepticism. Fortunately I was able to check them before they grew into monsters; coercing ideas to their logical ultimata had not yet become instinct.
What is the meaning of my existence? Should I eat meat? Where am I? What is real? Find Out What It All Means! ...was the equivalent of clickbait back when the Internet had only three heads. I’m not quite sure if Little Richard cognized that Philosophy Rocks! was a pun, or knew what a pun was, or that it wasn’t a particularly good one, or that he was a bona fide rock star. But for the young fish, that bright red cover splattered with wormy erotemes might well have been the real damn thing – and so he bit.
Amongst other goodies in this veritable piñata:
- Plato’s allegory of the cave
- Spoiling C.S. Lewis’ The Last Battle
- Teleporter problem
- Virtual reality (Oculus is a thing now)
- Brain in a vat
- Occam’s razor
- Ethics of carnivorism
- Argumentum ad populum
- Heraclitus’ doctrine of change
- Wittgenstein on linguistic clarity
- Moral ontology
- Consciousness
- Determinism
- God’s existence
- Nihilism
Reader, my guess is you’re familiar with most of these ideas. If you’ve derived any pleasure from savoring them, I recommend gifting this to your half-selves and their cousins. Better than pet rocks, I promise. And if you aren’t, then this is a book for you.
As to what inspired me (at time t) to revisit this ancient tome? That remains an even bigger mystery than the questions posed by its cover.
What inspired my middle school self to snatch this off the shelf in floor B1 of my local public library I can never know. No longer having access to his mental state, I can only project what might have been. This is not positive epistemology, people. Heraclitus would say he and I are entirely different people. And who exactly is the referent of this pronoun ‘I’? Let us assume the Richard writing this review, t = two thousand, six teen, and approximately two-thirds terrestrial revolutions around the sun after the birth of one Nazarethian Jew.
If it helps, other books which sat on that particular shelf that I also consumed (not literally, of course) included The Darwin Awards and Cecil Adams’ The Straight Dope. Yes, it seems that little pipsqueak had already possessed the penchants for, respectively, schadenfreude and skepticism. Fortunately I was able to check them before they grew into monsters; coercing ideas to their logical ultimata had not yet become instinct.
What is the meaning of my existence? Should I eat meat? Where am I? What is real? Find Out What It All Means! ...was the equivalent of clickbait back when the Internet had only three heads. I’m not quite sure if Little Richard cognized that Philosophy Rocks! was a pun, or knew what a pun was, or that it wasn’t a particularly good one, or that he was a bona fide rock star. But for the young fish, that bright red cover splattered with wormy erotemes might well have been the real damn thing – and so he bit.
Amongst other goodies in this veritable piñata:
- Plato’s allegory of the cave
- Spoiling C.S. Lewis’ The Last Battle
- Teleporter problem
- Virtual reality (Oculus is a thing now)
- Brain in a vat
- Occam’s razor
- Ethics of carnivorism
- Argumentum ad populum
- Heraclitus’ doctrine of change
- Wittgenstein on linguistic clarity
- Moral ontology
- Consciousness
- Determinism
- God’s existence
- Nihilism
Reader, my guess is you’re familiar with most of these ideas. If you’ve derived any pleasure from savoring them, I recommend gifting this to your half-selves and their cousins. Better than pet rocks, I promise. And if you aren’t, then this is a book for you.
As to what inspired me (at time t) to revisit this ancient tome? That remains an even bigger mystery than the questions posed by its cover.
August 23, 2010
Similar to Philosophy for Teens, this title also utilizes questions as chapters. There are eight of them: What Is Real, Who Am I, How Do I Know the World Isn’t Virtual, Should I Eat Meat, Can I Jump in the Same River Twice, Where Do Right and Wrong Come From, What is the Mind and Does God Exist?
All of these are meaty subjects, and will help launch a teen off into the world of free-thinking. This title has many black-and-white illustrations scattered throughout the text to help emphasize something in the text, and the authors also make good use of examples. Examples, I believe, really help to drive home subjects that can be difficult to grasp; they put things in perspective and make them seem clearer.
The author seems to do a fine job of staying objective when presenting the answers to the chapter’s questions. The end of the book has a glossary of ‘philosophical jargon’. This book would be fine to read out of order, though as the other book full of questions, it feels better to read it from start to finish.
All of these are meaty subjects, and will help launch a teen off into the world of free-thinking. This title has many black-and-white illustrations scattered throughout the text to help emphasize something in the text, and the authors also make good use of examples. Examples, I believe, really help to drive home subjects that can be difficult to grasp; they put things in perspective and make them seem clearer.
The author seems to do a fine job of staying objective when presenting the answers to the chapter’s questions. The end of the book has a glossary of ‘philosophical jargon’. This book would be fine to read out of order, though as the other book full of questions, it feels better to read it from start to finish.
November 7, 2016
Reading the book “Philosophy Rocks” has made me think more about many different subjects. This book may be about Philosophy but it still seems to be very simplistic and understandable to almost anyone. I know this book taught me about new ideas about subjects I've never thought about
The book is divided in 8 questions which make up the chapters of the book. So it doesn't really matter whether you read the last chapter first or the second one last. I like how it is organized so it doesn't matter what chapter you read first.
In my History class we've been learning about philosophers of Europe before the 18th century and this book gave me a better understanding of how The philosophers came up with arguments and how the supported their new ideas. I find this topic to be kind of boring, but at times these ideas being introduced can be very intriguing.
Overall while reading the book I found it to be basic and could use more interesting topics to question and to make one think more than how much I thought about the ideas in the book while reading it.
The book is divided in 8 questions which make up the chapters of the book. So it doesn't really matter whether you read the last chapter first or the second one last. I like how it is organized so it doesn't matter what chapter you read first.
In my History class we've been learning about philosophers of Europe before the 18th century and this book gave me a better understanding of how The philosophers came up with arguments and how the supported their new ideas. I find this topic to be kind of boring, but at times these ideas being introduced can be very intriguing.
Overall while reading the book I found it to be basic and could use more interesting topics to question and to make one think more than how much I thought about the ideas in the book while reading it.
September 25, 2007
I really didn't know how to rate this book as its a book aimed at the young but still entertaining for adults.... so here goes a bit of rationalization:
Basically, this is a book meant for (approximately) Grade 7 + readers and the friendly and accessible writing is reflective of this. The author tackles eight of philosophy's big questions, from "What Is Real?" to "Does God Exist?" with stops along the way including "Right and Wrong" and "the Mind."
As many adults can't or won't make their way into philosophical tracts which are, more often than not, written for those already in the circle than for initiates, this book might be a welcome introduction to any that fit into this category.
Without too much watering down of the major philosophical concepts, the book manages to present a selection of major arguments in an entertaining and very readable way - whether the reader is a child or older.
Basically, this is a book meant for (approximately) Grade 7 + readers and the friendly and accessible writing is reflective of this. The author tackles eight of philosophy's big questions, from "What Is Real?" to "Does God Exist?" with stops along the way including "Right and Wrong" and "the Mind."
As many adults can't or won't make their way into philosophical tracts which are, more often than not, written for those already in the circle than for initiates, this book might be a welcome introduction to any that fit into this category.
Without too much watering down of the major philosophical concepts, the book manages to present a selection of major arguments in an entertaining and very readable way - whether the reader is a child or older.
January 24, 2012
This is geared to pre-teens and teens but I think it's a great read for anyone. It tackles some of the big questions of life in such a fun and enjoyable way and you also realize how practical philosophy really is.
If I could make this book mandatory reading for every pre-teen and teen, I would. It gives them a hint of the way every argument needs to be analyzed carefully from every angle. This is a lost art these days.
If I could make this book mandatory reading for every pre-teen and teen, I would. It gives them a hint of the way every argument needs to be analyzed carefully from every angle. This is a lost art these days.
May 31, 2014
Great intro to philosophy! However, before reading, one must be aware that the writer does insert many of his own opinions. One must remember to take the opinions of others with a grain of salt, and must remember to decide for themselves how they feel. Also, it appeared to me that some of the example arguments used were a bit ignorant, and some of the information didn't seem quite right.
July 31, 2014
I'm glad this was my first philosophy book. I like the way every chapter is titled as a question to think about. Simple and quick to read, this book uses funny yet thought-provoking stories to make arguments for/against the theories described. More importantly, this book lets you answer questions on your own without any authoritative claims.
January 21, 2016
read this when I was 12, and now I'm 15 and want to read it again... but my library doesn't have it. Philosophy is a great subject and I want to get more into it, reading this book again should help get me started when I get my hands on it.
November 11, 2009
An excellent intro to philosophy. Although really written for teenagers, this book tackles some of life's tough questions in a fun, thought provoking, open ended way. Excellent.
December 11, 2008
100 L Pretty good discussion of basic philosophy questions using lots of humor.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews