Words of Wisdom: Philosophy's Most Important Quotations and Their Meaning

by Gareth Southwell

Words of Wisdom brings together 360 of Philosophy's most famous quotations, explaining their meaning and telling the stories behind them. Western philosophy may be said to have begun in ancient Greece, where, inscribed in his temple at Delphi, the words of the god Apollo commanded those who sought wisdom to first 'know thyself'. With the author's usual humour and clarity of style, the whole 2,500 year history of philosophy is laid bare. Each quote is set in the context of its cultural background, author biography and general outlook; trends are highlighted, links established, and influences traced, all in a way that is entertaining, thought-provoking, and even fun. Words of Wisdom is the perfect book for those who always wanted to ask what philosophy was about, but were afraid they might not understand the answer.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

Gareth Southwell is a writer, illustrator and philosopher who lives in South Wales in the UK. He has a PhD in death, which has been read by exactly four people (including himself). His first novel MUNKi is just a thinly fictionalised version of this, with most of the boring bits taken out and replaced with robots and people swearing in Welsh. Sign up to his monthly email list for news, views, and free stories from the MUNKi universe. For more information on his sci-fi and philosophy writing, or his book cover and design work, please visit garethsouthwell.com .

Reviews

[Amal Arrumaih · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having been always both perplexed and intimidated by philosophy, I gasped of happiness upon seeing this book. The titles has appealed to my fantasies of getting hold of what philosophy is all about. As the simpleton I am, I thought It was the answer to my prayers to find a book that would familiarise and explain philosophy to my undereducated mind. However, I was vastly disappointed. Here are my reasons.

The format of the book was that each page contained a philosophical quotation and an explanation for it. However, some of the quotations felt as if they were out of context, a context that you really needed in order to understand them. This, apart from the difficulty of the subject at hand has made many of the quotations even foggier. You would think, as I have, that the explanation underneath would solve this problem and perhaps explain the context of the quotation alongside it's meaning. You would be wrong! The explanations were strange say the least. They didn't seem to even relate to the quote they were explaining but the author's drunken rambles of what each quote has made him think of when reading it. I soon gave up on the explanations and read the quotations on their own.

Please do not mistake those two stars as a sort of mild praise for the author. They are only for some of the quotations in the book that stood out to me, since the book is all about them anyway.

If you happen to stumble upon this book, please do not waist your money on it. The quotations on the philosophy page here on Goodreads far supersedes this book.

[Aaron Kuo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bbbbeeeesssssttttttt Bbbbbooooooookkkk Eeeevvvveeeerrrr!!!!

[Richard Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating journey through the history of philosophy through the medium of quotes from philosophers, though the term 'philosopher' is very wide and sometimes somewhat tongue in cheek. It is fascinating to chart how philosophy's focus has narrowed, as disciplines like physics, biology & mathematics - once considered part of its purview - have become removed from its considerations.

[Karin Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horizon expanding

I chose to give this book 5 stars because it did make me think about deep philosophical questions in a non_threatening way. It opened the way to discuss certain topics with friends and consider different interpretations. All in all, a satisfying and eye opening book.

[Walter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compendium van belangrijke citaten, ideeën en theorieën van beroemde filosofen en denkers over een periode van de vijfde eeuw voor Christus tot heden. De keuze is soms voor betwisting vatbaar - ook wat onze eigen tijd betreft - maar dat kan moeilijk anders als je zo'n grote periode wil beslaan. Hoewel: slechts één pagina voor Kierkegaard en vijf voor William James, dat kan geen toeval zijn.
De citaten worden niet tegenover het globale werk van de filosoof gezet en dat is niet het enige mankement van dit boek. Ergerlijk is het pedante betweterige toontje dat Southwell vaak aanslaat - of is dat humor? - alsof hij met enkele pennenstreken kan weerleggen waar sommige denkers een leven over gedaan hebben. Wie daar geen bezwaar tegen heeft, krijgt een compact naslagwerk en kan op zoek gaan naar de originele citaten.

[Ruia Dahoud · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well first of all this book was a strong proof to me that philosophy isn't really my thing. I continued reading it even though I didn't understand most of its phrases, until I reached page 225 and then I decided: enough is enough, yeah I waited till I finnished more than 60 % of it to leave it. I really feel sorry for the fact that I had to stop reading a book because of not being able to like it or digest it by any means, but in order to account for that, I'm gonna offer it for sale or to be sawpped with a type of book that I like so that another person will get to make use of it...

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a crash course in philosophy. Each page has a quotation and an explanation of the ideas behind it, the events surrounding the quote, or a glimpse of the life of the author of the quote. Southwell did an excellent job boiling things down to a page -though occasionally I wished for a bit more. I read it in small doses with a few pages one day and three to five more the next. By the end however, many of the concept and ideas built on each other and it seemed to speed up. I do wish there had been a few more quotes from Eastern philosophy. I would recommend it however. Four stars.

[Cams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this as a Christmas present in 2008 and it's taken me that long to get through it. That's not because the book is boring or rubbish, but because it's a dip-in-and-out kind of book. Some of it really knocked my socks off, to discover certain things that I've always thought about were actually philosophy! It's a good primer and the interpretations of the quotes are well written and clear.

[Diogo Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to be in the mind of the most influential, and famous, philosophers of all time, then this is the book for you. Behind every quotation there's an explanation, provided by the author, who even gets to a point to make us wonder and think about what it means. Sometimes you agree and other times you don't! In conclusion it's a good book to increase your general culture!

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impressive distillation from the boundless repository of human wisdom, restricted not only to pure philosophy but also literature and other arts and sciences - the best guidebook possible for a difficult journey

[Redcardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

not a book to read overnight...each entry is engaging and thought provoking, short but filling, a danish pastry and coffee type snack. delicious but couldn't eat too many in one sitting!

[Wan Atiee · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really love this book! all quote that i never know before have in this book.

[Princess Ann]

good