Degree in a Book: Philosophy

Everything You Need to Know to Master the Subject ... In One Book!

by Dr Peter Gibson

Filled with beautiful full color diagrams and illustrated throughout, Degree in a Philosophy is a perfect introduction for students and laypeople alike.

With flow charts for each chapter, definition boxes, easily digestible features on the history of philosophy and suggestions for further reading, it provides you with everything you need to understand the fundamental issues. Learning philosophy has never been easier.

Including ideas from Aristotle and Zeno to Descartes and Wittgenstein, it covers the whole range of western thought.

By the time you finish reading this book, you will be able to answer questions
• What is truth?
• What can I really know?
• How can I live a moral life?
• Do I have free will?

ABOUT THE Get the knowledge of a degree for the price of a book with Arcturus Publishing's A Degree in a Book series. Written by experts in their fields, these highly visual guides feature flow charts, infographics, handy timelines, information boxes, feature spreads and margin annotations, allowing readers to get to grips with complex subjects in no time.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Education, Research, Self Help, Audiobook, Ebooks

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2018

Reviews

[Bookish Trina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Degree in a Book: Philosophy is a well-developed book that was a pleasure to read. As a college instructor who teaches, among other things, the philosophy of ethics and morals as well as psychology, I found Degree in a Book: Philosophy well-written and easy to follow. Kudos to the author, Peter Gibson, for the prose and easy to follow manor of this subject matter, which is not easy to do considering the topic.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Synopsis from the Publisher/NetGalley.com
A perfect introduction for students and laypeople alike, A Degree in a Book: Philosophy provides you with all the concepts you need to understand the fundamental issues.

Filled with helpful diagrams, suggestions for further reading, and easily digestible features on the history of philosophy, this book makes learning the subject easier than ever. Including ideas from Aristotle and Zeno to Descartes and Wittgenstein, it covers the whole range of western thought.

By the time you finish reading this book, you will be able to answer questions like:
• What is truth?
• What can I really know?
• How can I live a moral life?
• Do I have free will?

[Raphael Lysander · Rating 1 out of 5]

أثناء قراءة كل فصل كنت اتاكد من ارقام الصفحات لأنني شعرت أنا هنالك نقص أو ضيعان غير منطقي.. يقفز من التنوير للنسوية ومن اليونان لنيتشه من دون أي منطقية أو تسلسل... مجرد قفز عبر المصطلحات الفلسفية الشهيرة ينزع من الفلسفة الهدف والمتعة الفكرية..
لا ينصح به للقادمين الجدد وهراء ساخر للعارفين

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 3 out of 5]

Philosophy has always interested me so this book was the ideal refresher but could just as well be a decent introduction to the topic for those with limited to no knowledge. Everything is written in an easy, accessible manner and any technical terms that are discussed are clearly defined, either in the text itself or as part of the glossary, to aid understanding. Some of the most important philosophers are profiled but only briefly so that the focus can remain on the ideas.

It does a good job of minimising the shortfalls, but of course, the nature of the book means that many different philosophical principles are explored with little depth. However, what that allows for is for the reader to choose which of the ideas they want to explore in more detail and make a purchase based on that. That being said, the structure of the book is really what lets it down. It's a little disjointed and the flow isn't that great. Overall, the information included is sound, but the way everything is organised makes it quite awkward to get through. I read the Kindle/eBook version, so the structure may well be better in physical copies. I strongly recommend sampling the book before purchasing as the structure will work for some but not so much for others.

Many thanks to Arcturus for an ARC.

[Susanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Painful. Dnf at 2/3-3/4 of the way through. I gave it a good try but I think the concepts were so glossed over that I don’t feel like I gained ANY knowledge of them, even peripherally. I was also hoping for more focus on the great thinkers and their contributions to the subject but these were mostly given a paragraph at the end of a chapter, or haphazardly mentioned thoughout the book, with no concise overview of their overall impact nor cohesive (even if brief) discussion of their theories.

I began to wonder if maybe I just don’t like or understand the field of philosophy very well, but I took a college level class on the subject and although I remember very little, I do remember getting a decent overview of the various schools of thought, which I have not gained from this book due to how it is organized.

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Degree in a Book: Philosophy covers a wide swath of philosophical ideas. It introduces those ideas in green boxes, and it does so in a concise manner. The book contains illustrations and text to enhance understanding.

Peter Gibson does an admirable job explaining all of these concepts.

My only problem with the book is its shape. It doesn't easily fit into the bag I currently use to shlep my reading material around.

I enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[James Firth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit to brief with too much of a focus on definitions

While this is billed as an overview of philosophy, the majority of it felt like arguments over definitions which I understand is an important to the field but isn’t focusing on the bigger questions that can’t easily be answered by physical science.

It also didn’t really give enough time to each argument, but i suppose that is natural given what it is attempting to do in so few pages

[Paulo Sunao Shintate Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro muito bom para neófitos em filosofia.

Cada capítulo inicia com um "mind map" a respeito do tópico abordado. Ao final do livro, um glossário de termos filosóficos e indicação de leituras para aprofundar-se nos assuntos tratados.

Linguagem simples e abordagem didática.

Vale a pena ler e reler!

[Laura Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect book for those who either want to start from scratch or build on existing knowledge in Philosophy. Its really easy to dip in and out as you feel and allow time for the new knowledge to settle.

[Adam James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as helpful as a resource for gifted and talented middle schoolers - but, to be fair, how many books on philosophy are truly concerned with the youngest of readers?

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Everything in 200 pages! Can you imagine how the scammers are trying to make it a 4 year curricula for University?

[Silah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening

This book will enlighten you, though it is short for such a wealth of knowledge in philosophical realm, but a great place for a start.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

good introduction to philosophy

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

198 - 2021

[Soundwave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, the "degree in a book" title is rather misleading. I'd say it's a beginners crash course for high school students.

[María]

dnf

[Hervirawan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kata2nya agak sulit dimengerti perlu diulang2 terus haha sekedar mengenal filsafat okelah

[Daniel Crouch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve gone through a lot of philosophy primers in the last few years—and maybe this says something about me—but this colorful, almost-children’s-level introduction to philosophy turned out to be the most expansive and systematic approach to the subject I’ve found.

[Cristie Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book! I found it to be full of information that is relevant. It was written in a way that you don't have to already know a lot about philosophy to understand it.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read. Well written and understandable even if you have not delved into this subject before. I requested this book as my son has taken GCSE Philosophy and is now studing it at A level. It is helping me greatly with our conversations round the dinner table!!!!!!!!

[Sharley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exactly a degree but certainly an intro and if you’re studying or interested then a good read, certainly not for a casual read. There is no great details but I would expect the book to be titled and introduction to philosophy or understanding philosophy.
I did like he book and took plenty of information away from it so I am pleased with this ARC