A Student's Guide to Philosophy

by Ralph McInerny

A Student’s Guide to Philosophy examines these Who is a philosopher? Can philosophical thought be avoided? What have philosophers written over the ages? And why should we care? In this critical essay, these and other questions are posed and answered by one of America’s leading philosophers, Ralph McInerny of the University of Notre Dame. Schools of thought are examined with humor and verve, and the principal works of philosophers and scholars are recommended.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Education

75 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

Ralph Matthew McInerny was an American Catholic religious scholar and fiction writer, including mysteries and science fiction. Some of his fiction has appeared under the pseudonyms of Harry Austin, Matthew FitzRalph, Ernan Mackey, Edward Mackin, and Monica Quill. As a mystery writer he is best known as the creator of Father Dowling. He was Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Jacques Maritain Center, and Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame until his retirement in June 2009. He died of esophageal cancer on January 29, 2010.

Reviews

[J. Wootton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently, spangling the text with mini-biographies of major authors is a fixture of this series, but at least McInerny does an excellent job orienting students to the present state of the discipline, by way of a "how we got to now" tour of major contributions to the field, coherently synthesized. Written for non-specialists, aiming to inform and not afraid to entertain. Pretty well perfect example of what a book of this type should be... except for the disconnected footnotes.

[C. Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This brief book is part of a series called "ISI Guides to the Major Disciplines." Although it is labeled as a "student's guide," it is not written in an especially student-friendly style. It is more of a guide in the sense of pointing out some of the follies of modern philosophy than it is a guide in the sense of telling a student what philosophy is, why it matters, and how to do it. I enjoyed reading it, but I teach philosophy; I could not imagine giving this to a group of my students who have no familiarity with the basic lingo of philosophy. The bibliographical essay that concludes the book is more useful than the main text in some ways, since it is clearly written and points out to a student which books matter most to someone just getting a grasp on the discipline - with the caveat that it is now 20+ years old.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting start but looking forward to reading more into some topics now
it name drops philosphers and theories throught that - given the little on the topic I've learnt forced more research than reading
but overall enjoyed the experience

[Matt Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't bad, but Dr. McInerny's writing style isn't as pleasing as other writers in this series. It is an adequate guide to ancient philosophy, but not the best.

[Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief yet excellent introduction and guide to a classical approach to philosophy.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reading this book I was struck by the pro-Catholic nature of the author of the book, who forthrightly admitted he was a Thomist and whose defense of philosophy made it clear that this book is defending a Hellenistic view of Christianity.  While I stand a bit far removed from the author when it comes to matters of philosophy [1], this book was certainly an interesting and worthwhile one to read, to be sure, and it demonstrates that there is a lot to be gained from having a strong understanding of the history of philosophy.  Even as someone whose relationship with philosophy is more than a little bit ambivalent can recognize the fact that all of us are philosophers whether we know it or not, and that ancient philosophy, by beginning with what human beings knew in general, is a far better guide to emulate than contemporary philosophy with its endless attempts to be (post)modern.  The author engages in a winsome discussion of philosophy as a discipline and as a way of thinking and also provides as lot of suggestions for further reading, which make this book a very worthwhile guide to its (mostly young) readers.

At less than 100 pages, this book is definitely a short one.  Yet it is certainly a thoughtful and worthwhile one for all that.  The author begins with an introductory note that broads the span of philosophy beyond that which most people realize, before discussing such matters as the pursuit of wisdom.  He discusses how we come to insight and understanding as well as the role of common sense, as uncommon as it may be, in that endeavor.  He discusses the debate between Plato and Aristotle and their various acolytes through the ages, and discusses the confused certainties of philosophy and the way that sophistry has traditionally been confronted.  After this comes a look at philosophy in the age of science, the troubling results of the fact/value split in so much of modern philosophy, and the relationship of philosophy and religion.  After a short discussion of why the author is a Thomist there is a lengthy bibliographical essay that provides the reader with many books to read on philosophy as it relates to the ancient and contemporary world, all of which should make the wise and thoughtful reader of this book very knowledgeable about philosophy.

I find myself feeling deeply ambivalent about this guide and about several others I have read in this series, relating to the Catholic mindset of the authors.  To be sure, I consider conservative Catholics as worldview allies when it comes to many political and social matters, but I find myself deeply hostile to the approach of Catholicism regarding progressive revelation and nonbiblical magesterium.  As a result, this book is one that I consider worthwhile in terms of encourage the reader to find worthwhile sources about philosophy through the ages, but also find the book somewhat troubling in its desire to promote a Catholic mindset, which I am not as fond about.  Yet this ambivalence is still worthwhile, as one can consider it worthwhile to know about a worldview without feeling positively about it simply because it is so important to understanding the world in which we live and what led us to this point.  The author wisely argues that understanding history is important, although it is likely that he expects to be writing to those who have a higher view of his own perspective than I would, which I suppose is a common issue when it comes to authors of books.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...

[Raven Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is meant, as far as I have been made aware, to be used as an instruction book for philosophy students. philosophy being, in this case, being a study of morals, human thought or nature, along with reality and existence as a whole, can be a very challenging subject. Even with this in mind, I don't think this is a ¨Student´s Guide, not for newer students at least. There are many points where there are terms or phrases that I feel have little to no explanation. For example, on page 10 the text reads ¨There is a subtle progress being made such that every philosopher contributes malgré lui..¨ afterward there was no explanation, not that we could find at least what this meant or what it was. Despite this, if you have a good understanding of a few key terms in philosophy, It's a good pick, it's well written that it mentions mutable philosophers and types of philosophy in a way easy to digest rather than throwing everything at you at once. If you're interested in the topic in or out of school, and you're willing to google one or two phrases, I would recommend.

[Rubin Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Great Introduction to the Subject
of philosophy
this book is packed with short bios of the major influences, History and aspects of the art
including the differences between classical and modern philosophy with recommendations to other works for the beginner
I highly recommend this book

[Bibakid · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book subtly persuades the reader to be a "Thomist"...

[jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, but not the best book for a beginner. It definitely should be followed up with other works so you can understand what the philosophers teachings are.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent survey with good book recommendations, for a 60 page book its great.

[Luke Mohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly accessible introduction to philosophy. Covers the history of philosophy, so that one can understand the current state of philosophical studies (and in part, the state of society).

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good introduction to philosophy, though at times it is less of an introduction and more of a critique of modern philosophy. It also contains an in-depth bibliography with many valuable recommendations on how to proceed after finishing the book. I will be going through this book again in a few weeks to reflect on the important points.

[Marie]

I read this for my intro to Philosophy class, but I enjoyed it immensely.
Extremely interesting and informative.

[Jonathan]

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