The Heart of Things: Applying Philosophy to the 21st Century

by A.C. Grayling

Everyone wishes to live a life that is satisfying and fulfilling, in which there is achievement, pleasure, and respect. One of the fundamentals to living such a life is to reflect on the choices we make. In this new collection, A.C. Grayling invites the reader into a conversation with ideas. From personal questions about happiness and the quality of life to wider public concerns, such as war and democracy, these essays provide a springboard to thought and the exploration of what is best about the human heart and mind.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Essays

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Anthony Clifford "A. C." Grayling is a British philosopher. In 2011 he founded and became the first Master of New College of the Humanities, an independent undergraduate college in London. Until June 2011, he was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London, where he taught from 1991. He is also a supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford.

He is a director and contributor at Prospect Magazine, as well as a Vice President of the British Humanist Association. His main academic interests lie in epistemology, metaphysics and philosophical logic. He has described himself as "a man of the left" and is associated in Britain with the new atheism movement, and is sometimes described as the 'Fifth Horseman of New Atheism'. He appears in the British media discussing philosophy.

Reviews

[Sarah]

Essentially a series of long blog posts in which Grayling thinks some not-very-original thoughts on not-very-original subjects.


Oooooh my first bad review in ages!

[Linda]

Whenever I have heard this author speak at literature festivals I have always been impressed by his ability to make complex philosophical ideas accessible and thought-provoking and this "trademark" approach made this book a relatively easy, but highly stimulating, read. His essays and books always make me think, make me consider other points of view and, if they don't always teach me something new, they always encourage me to see something in a different way. The world needs to listen more to the gentle liberalism espoused by Grayling!

[Neale Carter]

Chapters are short and accessable. This book does what it says it does provides insightful thoughts of various subjects, this is amongst a group of books by A.C Grayling I often come back to, good reference books people might not agree with all of the Authors points but that doesn't make it any less insightful.

[Annie]

The chapters are short and accessible making it an easy read on a variety of philosophical topics but it's not particularly objective and comes across as the authors musings and opinions without much evidence to back up. Perhaps therein lies the nature of philosophy however.

[Rainier Moreno-Lacalle]

Inspiring

[Sarah Le]

Gave up - occasionally thought provoking but lots of references assume knowledge so instead of learning I just felt more and more stupid.

[Pedro Pérez Motilla]

Leído durante el otoño de 2023.

Genial colección de ensayos de un tipo que, si no es evidente ya, me ha servido a ratos como referente, a ratos como profesor, otros como bálsamo, y siempre como voz amiga.

[Skye Dolby]

my silly little attention span’s favourite book ever<3333

[Lyna Galliara]

I bought this after being impressed by the contents page and good reviews. I thought there would be an objective discussion about the different topics- what philosophers have said and how these thoughts have affected the way we live. No - just the author's vague ponderings. He assumes that the readers agree with lots of his thoughts. Really annoying and weird. The last chapter was bizarrely about Bertrand Russell's book 'History of Western Philosophy' - almost as if it was an apology for this book and a recommendation for a better book. Terrible. Even the section on 'People' which seems hard to go wrong with was written in a very dull manner. First time I've read this author - doubt I'll read him again.

[Tom]

There's some interesting ideas here and there but I do get the impression that he has just taken a quick look at some ideas, made his point and then not really bothered to look any deeper into them. One point taken as an example would be the way he refers to Clausewitz and his works, it really was a bit lacking on subject depth and comprehension, I only say this since I have studied this subject but it does make me wonder on what other issues he has only taken a perfunctory glance. Still there are some good arguments which make you think and that has brought it up a star for me.

[Colin]

Another brilliant collection of essays from A.C. Grayling, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite thinkers of all time (despite a tendency towards rather rabid atheism). A triumph of humanistic thought!

[Irene]

He covers quite a few interesting topics so it was enjoyable to read and did make me think about people, life and society just a little bit more. Also, as a side note, his essays are most helpful for GAMSAT section 2 aahahahahahaha.

[Jilany]

wishread1

[Paul]

short pragmatic essays on a myriad of topics both personal and public

[HadiDee]

I enjoyed Grayling's musings in The Meaning of Things and was looking forward to making my way through this book but it felt a little tossed together.

[Chy-Nathaniella]

Love it!

[Bethany]

Why did he finish the book with that chapter on Russell?

[Ann Tonks]

Everyone should read the work of this wonderful philospher.

[Lorraine]

I love AC Grayling's books. they always make me think.