Why We Think the Things We Think: Philosophy in a Nutshell

by Alain Stephen

Have you ever found yourself alone with your thoughts? Have you ever been asked if the glass is half full or half empty? Do you wonder what true happiness is or how to attain it? Or maybe nothing really matters if everything is just an illusion or a dream?These ideas are some of the central questions of philosophical enquiry that have engaged, troubled and exasperated some of the greatest minds throughout the history of human civilization, provoking argument and debate in an attempt to broaden the horizons of human thought.Author Alain Stephen seeks to explore some of these key questions by tracing their origins in the writings of prominent thinkers through the ages, from the colonnades of ancient Greece to the intellectual salons of twentieth-century France, and show how these ideas and concepts have developed over time.Why We Think the Things We Think provides plenty of food for thought for both the amateur philosopher and enlightened thinker to digest.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

193 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 8, 2015

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing.
Took me longer to read because my brain continually went elsewhere. Having studied philosophy, I usually love these types of philosophy in a nutshell books as they act as refreshers, add information and I didn't study philosophy further than my A levels so would struggle with more in depth books. However, I wonder if this author even understood what he was talking about, the theories weren't explained well and some terms I felt needed defining weren't, as well some questions just weren't really answered ( I know that in philosophy it is difficult to come to a definite answer) but it often felt that the chapters went off topic and were not clearly structured.
Personally I feel that if someone read this as an introduction to philosophy, they would sadly either dislike the subject or just not understand which would be very sad for the subject!
If you want to read a great book as an intro into philosophy I would recommend 'The Philosophy Gym by Stephen Law'.

[Arina Sukach · Rating 3 out of 5]

philosophy was one of the subjects i studied in the university but i had this book at home so i decided to read it and refresh my knowledge.

it consists of such chapters as “is beauty in the eye of the beholder?”, “what is art?”, “what is happiness?”, “if there are gods, why do they allow suffering?” etc. where author of the book gathered the most popular thoughts of famous philosophers on different subjects.

some phrases i liked:

“Beauty could be related to the senses - the sights, sounds and smells that provoke pleasure.” (Socrates)

“It is impossible to find an answer which someday will not be found to be wrong.” ( Richard Feynman)

“Art is more than just pretty pictures or pleasing arrangements of sounds and words. Art is the expression of human ideas and emotions, and, moreover, the medium through which these expressions are communicated between people.” (Tolstoy)

“My imagination makes me human and makes me a fool; it gives me all the world and exiles me from it.” (Ursula Le Guin)

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.” (Mahatma Gandhi)

“The facts of nature are what they are, but we can only view them through the spectacles of our mind.” (Stephen Jay Gould)

[Kip Hugueley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Along with my last review I could not find the questions I am supposed to answer so I will just write a general review.

My Grandmother bought me this book for Christmas this year and I didn't really have any interest in reading it until my mom brought it up a few weeks back. It quickly got my attention because of it's basic yet advanced explanation of why everyone thinks the same things sometimes. Each of the chapter or every few pages it brings up a new thought or idea that seemed like it was tailored for me but really it is what everyone thinks. I sometimes thinks that it was dumbed down for a more general audience and that is why it gets a three star rating, it was also a very quick read which could be both a good thing and a bad thing depending on your interested. Overall it was a very good book and it interested me a lot.

[Kayley Hartley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the concept of the book and certain chapters were more interesting than others, got a bit bored mid way through but glad I persevered and completed it.

[Erin Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really is philosophy In a nutshell. If you enjoy philosophy but lack the brain power to fully comprehend every concept and ways of thinking then this'll help you out!

[Zweimal_M · Rating 3 out of 5]

In „Philosophie mal einfach“ legt Alain Stephen ein paar zentrale Themen der Philosophie dar und dass, in sehr verständlicher und schlichter Sprache.

Nach einer kurzen Einleitung die einen groben Überblick über die Schwerpunkte der Philosophie im allgemeinen gibt, widmet sich der Autor weiteren acht Kapiteln: es geht um Glück und Liebe, um Ethik und Moral, um Politik und Religion und um Sprache und Wissenschaft.

Die einzelnen Kapitel sind kurz und bündig, aber dennoch sehr informativ. Man erfährt etwas über die einzelnen Theorien und Argumente und über die Geschichte und die ‚wichtigsten‘ Personen, die für diese Theorien relevant sind.
Alain Stephen erklärt dabei alles sehr simpel, sodass das Buch für jeden verständlich sein sollte.

Zudem sind die Texte schön aufgebaut und ab und zu findet sich darin ein schönes Zitat oder eine Anekdote wieder.
Was mir auch gut gefallen hat, war, dass die Themen unabhängig voneinander sind. Man kann jedes Kapitel dann lesen, wenn man Lust darauf hat. Daher habe ich mir für jedes Thema Zeit genommen um im Anschluss darüber nachdenken zu können.

Für mich war es ein interessantes und informatives Buch, dass ich allen Einsteiger:innen empfehle, die sich für Philosophie interessieren und einen groben Überblick über ein paar wichtige Sachverhalte der Philosophie erhalten möchten.

[Wei Ming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro, nothing too deep tho

[Raelene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to re read this in the summer or next year when kids are out of house.

[Natasha Conn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was fab. Succinct and informative. It didn't over use jargon but didn't simplify too much, either. It was a great start to learning about philosophy.

[Harry Laban ♫︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat introduction to philosophy.

It provides analysis on all the big questions (of course, answering them is relatively impossible), introduces and explains the ideas of all of the important thinkers from various periods of time, shows different ideas and their evolution through history and explains the key concepts and branches of philosophy, and does it concisely enough that it doesn't become boring. Each chapter is introduced with a question, like: "Do we have a soul?" "What is happiness?" "What is bad faith?" and "What is freedom?".

The answers to each question aren't massively in-depth, but how could they be? The "answers" to the questions are bite-sized, and if you wanted deeper explanations, then there are basically thousands of books on each question.

Although, I do feel like sometimes the different answers to certain questions are kinda narrow. Like, Alain Stephen will only reference a name or two when talking about something. But hey, the whole thing's down to interpretation, so make your own conclusions. What the hell do I know?

[CAPA Literature · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ll take this brief overview of philosophy to indicate that it is an area of academia that is not for me. I was rather naive as to what philosophy actually entailed before picking up this intro, and after reading it through I can’t say it drew me into it at all. With philosophy apparently being nothing more than a collection of unanswerable questions that we all seem to ponder at some point in life, I’ll stick to my scientific books that at least attempt to provide me with some answers, whether or not they may be proven wrong in the future. If you are curious about philosophy and all it entails maybe give this thing a glance, otherwise I’d say don’t waste your time. Or perhaps that is too stoic of me to say....

[Charlotte Affleck · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book very hard to keep up with very short chapters on each topic which was written with accounts from philosophers from the past and present and has tried to be explained. I found the terminology very hard as well and found it difficult to follow along. Maybe if the topic chapters were longer it would have been easier to understand. Maybe it's just me but i find I need it dumbed down for me to fully understand the book. This book is not one for reading all in one go with I have found out but just to flick through when interested from time to time.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The order of the chapter is so all over the place that it's about as enganging as reading a dictionary, as it doesn't feel like the chapters tie into one another that much (at least MOST of the references are to past, not future, chapters).

The book is simplistic and not really engaging. It makes philosophy seem about "he said, she said", as it barely presents any arguments from the philosophers it mentions.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chemistry.

Biology.

Neurology.

With all the progress in all these fields and many more, people still get a philology major who can quote by heart other ignoramuses about "why we think". And the guy is a loser even in the ranks of the witch doctors, his previous book was on Grammar.

Saddening.

[Hammad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book serves as a stepping stone for beginners, providing a relatively easy read that introduces key concepts. While there were instances where I had to resort to Google for further clarification on certain terms, I appreciated the overall value this book brought to the table as an introductory guide.

[Andrew Andynson · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Why We Think the Way We Think, readers are treated to a compelling exploration of human cognition. Stephen's analysis sheds light on the intricate workings of the mind, providing valuable insights into the factors that shape our thought processes and answering classic dilemmas encountered throughout time.

[Carla Quizon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Presented as an exchange of ideas from different philosophers (contemporaries or not). Don’t expect to have concrete answers to the questions posited at every chapter, after all, there’s no absolute truth if we borrow from Nietzsche’s argument.

The book is a good overview to Philosophy, discussing fundamental ideas.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introductory book on philosophy for beginners. The key philosophical concepts are being introduced through interesting big questions, of which thoughts and arguments are provided and explained in a manner that encourages the readers to think critically.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up as a complete beginner in philosophy due to the blurb stating “refreshingly jargon-free”. Surprisingly, the book was absolutely crammed with jargon and was not accessible at all as an introduction to the subject.

[Jadzia · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a beginner it explains as simply as it can the most debated philosophical questions throughout time and shortens them so if you find a certain philosophy or theory interesting you could find out more detail if you wanted

[Katarzyna Nowak · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5, dosłownie są to podstawy filozofii, odpowiednie dla osób, które nigdy z filozofią nie miały do czynienia. Zabrakło mi pogłębienia kilku tematów i zakończenia, przez książkę przebrnęłam błyskawicznie. Niektóre fragmenty skłaniały do zatrzymania się i ich przemyślenia.

[Lauryn]

i only marked this finished bc I spent a lot of sept - dec studying philosophy fuck philosophy i only read like half of this book but it was p good

[Koray Karabekiroğlu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a good summary about phylosophia. But, nothing original.

[excalibur1974 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given this book as a gift. I guess it’s a decent introduction to philosophy, but it just didn’t interest me.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a sightseeing tour around key questions in philosophy. A great starting point for further exploration.

[Avishay Kadouri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book. The author share a lot of information about philosophy and different approaches to some questions of life.

[chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

what... massive mind fuck.

[Edmond Rizkallah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My philosophy bible

[Cameron Honour · Rating 3 out of 5]

read on and off, was okie

[Joshua Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wanted an intro to philosophy but difficult read and not well explained, imo.