Philosophy: A Beginner's Guide

Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications)

by Peter Cave

Philosophy, the “love of wisdom”, is the product of our endless fascination and curiosity about the world – the child of wonder. Through it, we seek to answer the most fundamental of How do we know what we know? Does God exist? What is beauty? How should we live our lives? What am I?

In this exhilarating tour, Peter Cave navigates all the main topics of philosophy with verve and clarity. Using witty and whimsical examples, including stoical sofas and Reg, the “regular” human, who just happens to carry his brain in a rucksack, Cave provides a welcome antidote to the dry textbook while covering everything from political philosophy to points of logic. Interspersed with helpful textboxes and underlining the enduring relevance of philosophy to us all, there is no better introduction for the aspiring sage.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Peter Cave lectures in philosophy for The Open University and New York University (London). He frequently contributes to philosophy magazines and journals, lectures around the world, and has scripted and presented philosophy programmes for the BBC. He is the author of eight books on philosophy, including Humanism: A Beginner’s Guide and the bestselling Can a Robot be Human?: 33 Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles.

Reviews

[QueenShellybean]

This is a brilliant introductory book to the subject. It's not too lengthy, or complex, yet it seems to enlighten the reader on the beginnings of philosophy in an easy to digest way. I finally feel ready to move on from introductory books to the next stage, I just wish I knew what the next stage is!
I highly recommend this to anybody new to philosophy.

[Diane Fordham]

Well, I made it to page 67 and then had to call it a day. I have to acknowledge though that this may have more to do with my unsuitability as a philosophy student than any particular issue with this book. For that reason I have graded this as 2 stars and wish other readers well with there journey.

[Parsa Dayani]

نحوه نگارش کتاب که در بعضی فصول که با یک داستان شروع میشد و بعد جواب میداد به مسئله و بعدش میگفت این جواب فلان مکتبه و اون جواب برای فلان مکتبه روشی بشدت جذاب بود. ولی دیتایی که کتاب میداد نسبت به حجمش خب منطقی نبود از اونجایی که کتاب سرگرمی هم نبود یکم waste of time بود. در مجموع کتاب خوبی بود.