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Philosophy Bites #2
Philosophy Bites Back
Philosophy Bites Back is the second book to come out of the hugely successful podcast Philosophy Bites. It presents a selection of lively interviews with leading philosophers of our time, who discuss the ideas and works of some of the most important thinkers in history. From the ancient classics of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, to the groundbreaking modern thought of Wittgenstein, Rawls, and Derrida, this volume spans over two and a half millennia of western philosophy and illuminates its most fascinating ideas.
Philosophy Bites was set up in 2007 by David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton. It has had over 12 million downloads, and is listened to all over the world.
Philosophy Bites was set up in 2007 by David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton. It has had over 12 million downloads, and is listened to all over the world.
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 14, 2014
26 people are currently reading
258 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 3, 2020
ادموندز و واربرتن در «بفرمایید فلسفه»ی قبلی با فیلسوفان معاصر در مورد موضوعات فلسفی گفتوگو کردند و در این جلد در مورد فیلسوفان و اندیشمندان بزرگ. اینیکی هم همانقدر خواندنی و شیرین است. ترجمه بینقص است و چاپ نشر کرگدن هم دستنواز
March 14, 2016
A really clear and entertaining overview of a lot of philosophers, structured as a series of interviews (and actually originally a podcast, though I found the book much easier to digest).
Edmonds and Warburton have put some effort into making the chapters flow into each other while also keeping a roughly chronological order, which makes for a satisfying read: a name will come up in one chapter only for that person to be discussed extensively in the next. Warburton (Edmonds generally sticks to doing introductions in this volume) is a skilled interviewer and manages to keep the topics manageably constrained (surely not easy when talking to philsophers about philosophy!) and wrap up each interview neatly.
It's just introductory-level stuff, but I liked these because they're either everything I'm ever going to want to know about a philosopher (John Rawls, Jean-Paul Sartre) or they're a great introduction and overview for learning more (G. W. F. Hegel, John Stuart Mill).
Edmonds and Warburton have put some effort into making the chapters flow into each other while also keeping a roughly chronological order, which makes for a satisfying read: a name will come up in one chapter only for that person to be discussed extensively in the next. Warburton (Edmonds generally sticks to doing introductions in this volume) is a skilled interviewer and manages to keep the topics manageably constrained (surely not easy when talking to philsophers about philosophy!) and wrap up each interview neatly.
It's just introductory-level stuff, but I liked these because they're either everything I'm ever going to want to know about a philosopher (John Rawls, Jean-Paul Sartre) or they're a great introduction and overview for learning more (G. W. F. Hegel, John Stuart Mill).
March 11, 2013
The book is like a box of Belgian chocolates, delivering what it promises to do, bite-size samples as an introduction to some of the most vibrant and interesting thoughts throughout philosophical history. While not everything is equally exciting to everyone (e.g. Kant's metaphysics), I can't help but think that a discussion of Nietzsche's view on art or Socrates' take on love wouldn't leave the reader with some extra insights about life.
February 13, 2016
This book is the product of a podcast and it reads like it. The chapters are short dips into well-known philosophers, and while they're relatively engaging and lucid for the most part, there's not much depth in the treatment. Good for an introductory overview, but that's as far as it goes. Not bad if that's what you're looking for.
January 27, 2013
This an unbelievably good book. Crystal clear, deeply interesting, a page-turner devoured in less than two days. Highly stimulating questions from Ethics to Metaphysics, are addressed by some popular philosophers with wit, ingenious and lyricism.
November 11, 2024
really interesting way to explore different philosophies. not only are you getting a taste of the old, famous philosophers' thought systems and lives, but you're also getting to hear them from the perspectives of modern philosophers. each philosopher covered is a different interview with a different person, and the richness of their discussion translates well into writing. all the right questions are asked. a few of the interviews are lacking, but that's bound to happen with this kind of format
tldr very cool concept for a philosophy book/podcast and well executed
tldr very cool concept for a philosophy book/podcast and well executed
August 26, 2018
Snippets and Philosophical Cocktails
The book contains 27 edited transcripts of podcast interviews from the web site Philosophy Bites. Each of the interviewees have written at least one book on a classical European philosopher (the exceptions are the American pragmatists James, Dewey and Rorty ) and the interview covers one or two important aspects of the philosopher's ideas. As such by the end one knows a little of this and that and has a bare bones appreciation of each .
For someone like myself who has had only a couple of philosophy courses some aeons ago it makes for a rather nice roadmap. For example knowing that Derrida is about deconstructionism and the impossibility of forgiveness may not do justice to the entire sense of his work, but at least it's a beginning. Jonathan Wolff offers that the essential point of Rawls Theory of Justice is that social inequality is morally acceptable only as long as it is bounded by a requirement to maximize the benefits to those least well-off, an idea which has in recent years started to take hold. There are some nice insights on Nietzsche and his aesthetics of primal chaos as well as his disillusionment of Wagner, Mary Warnock advises us of which works by Sartre one should avoid and Clare Carlisle has piqued my interest in Kierkegard's Fear and Trembling.
The advantage of the book form is that you can annotate, scan, skim and process it more quickly. The advantages of the podcasts are that they are free, the selection is larger (there is also an earlier book) and that the expressiveness of the speakers gives the explorations a more nuanced and emotive emphasis on the substance of the talks. In either case the presentation is quite enjoyable and the talks can serve both as a refresher and as an introduction to the great thinkers of the West.
The book contains 27 edited transcripts of podcast interviews from the web site Philosophy Bites. Each of the interviewees have written at least one book on a classical European philosopher (the exceptions are the American pragmatists James, Dewey and Rorty ) and the interview covers one or two important aspects of the philosopher's ideas. As such by the end one knows a little of this and that and has a bare bones appreciation of each .
For someone like myself who has had only a couple of philosophy courses some aeons ago it makes for a rather nice roadmap. For example knowing that Derrida is about deconstructionism and the impossibility of forgiveness may not do justice to the entire sense of his work, but at least it's a beginning. Jonathan Wolff offers that the essential point of Rawls Theory of Justice is that social inequality is morally acceptable only as long as it is bounded by a requirement to maximize the benefits to those least well-off, an idea which has in recent years started to take hold. There are some nice insights on Nietzsche and his aesthetics of primal chaos as well as his disillusionment of Wagner, Mary Warnock advises us of which works by Sartre one should avoid and Clare Carlisle has piqued my interest in Kierkegard's Fear and Trembling.
The advantage of the book form is that you can annotate, scan, skim and process it more quickly. The advantages of the podcasts are that they are free, the selection is larger (there is also an earlier book) and that the expressiveness of the speakers gives the explorations a more nuanced and emotive emphasis on the substance of the talks. In either case the presentation is quite enjoyable and the talks can serve both as a refresher and as an introduction to the great thinkers of the West.
September 23, 2013
A delight to read and it encouraged me to read further into several philosophers, a few of which I’d never heard of before. In this way it does exactly what it says on the tin really – an overview of some major philosophers and some inspiration for further reading. Occasionally the meaning gets bogged down in philosophical terms and the lack of index to this book really annoyed me. Will definitely read the other one in the series though.
February 6, 2015
A nice introduction to some philosophers I'd heard of, but didn't know much about. The chapters vary in quality and comprehensibility (particularly the chapters on the classics are bad), but overall it's good and challenging.
Still wrapping my mind around Derrida's view that need not intrinsically be non-contradictory...
Still wrapping my mind around Derrida's view that need not intrinsically be non-contradictory...
May 19, 2013
This is a must-have read for those who are not familiar, have never liked, or just want more philosophy in their lives. This book covers twenty-seven different philosophic topics from history’s most beloved ...read more http://www.musingwithcrayolakym.com/3...
May 19, 2013
Collection of interviews with current philosophers talking about major philosophers. While I prefer the previous book and podcasts wherein people discuss their own work (and contemporary issues), these were good introductions. The interview skills are high and each entry is informative and concise.
August 22, 2013
I'm in the process of writing a book review for this publication with Metapsychology. Watch this space.
January 12, 2017
This is an interesting discussion of major philosophers and their defining ideas (e.g. Aristotle: ethics, Kant: metaphysics). Enjoyable reading.
January 29, 2018
I loved this book for a overview of all the greats, it’s a quick guide to philosophers and starters kit to do more reading on their favorites
December 10, 2020
ترجمه خوب و جلد بیربط
December 22, 2021
Warburton and Edmonds are doing such a great service to make philosophy accessible to the layman. This collection is a series of transcripts from their popular podcast. This collection covers the popular ideas of a bunch of philosophers. We have Socrates, Hume, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Wittegenstein, Montaigne and other characters' ideas explored in a succinct way.
April 1, 2023
جلد دوم کتاب بفرمایید فلسفه جالب و مفید ، از این کتاب لذت بردم و به نظرم در کل برای مطالعه خوبه و میشه گفت یک دور نما و یک سری اطلاعات لازم رو داره
«بفرمائید فلسفه! ۲؛ تاریخ فلسفه به روایت فیلسوفان معاصر» را از طاقچه دریافت کنید
https://taaghche.com/book/57232
«بفرمائید فلسفه! ۲؛ تاریخ فلسفه به روایت فیلسوفان معاصر» را از طاقچه دریافت کنید
https://taaghche.com/book/57232
November 13, 2019
Bu adamin kitaplarini seviyorum. Maalesef bircok filozofun eserlerini okurken anlayamiyorsunuz ama bu tur kitaplar sayesinde temel fikirlerini ogrenebiliyorsunuz.
April 15, 2024
I’d never heard of this podcast before but it’s a phenomenal introduction to a wide variety of philosophical theories. I’ll have to listen to the whole back catalogue now.
July 20, 2025
▍勇敢牽涉到對恐懼與信心的適當指引；節制則牽涉到對身體衝動的適當指引
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews