Philosophy - Theories and Great Thinkers

by David Papineau

Philosophy combines first-class scholarship with thought-provoking color illustration to bring key concepts of philosophy to life, showing not only how these ideas originated and evolved, but also why they continue to have relevance. In addition, there are assessments of many of the Western world's great philosophers, stimulating coverage of 21st-century issues related to advances in science and technology, and modern summaries of ongoing debates, such as does free will really exist? Wide-ranging and highly readable, Philosophy is a classic work or reference for all those interested in the world of ideas.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

David Papineau ( born 1947) is a British academic philosopher, born in Como, Italy.[1] He works as Professor of Philosophy of Science at King's College London and the City University of New York Graduate Center having previously taught for several years at Cambridge University where he was a fellow of Robinson College.

Papineau was born in Italy and grew up in Trinidad, England and South Africa.[citation needed] He received a BSc in mathematics from the University of Natal and a BA and PhD in philosophy from the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Ian Hacking.

He has worked in metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophies of science, mind, and mathematics. His overall stance is naturalist and realist. He is one of the originators of the teleosemantic theory of mental representation, a solution to the problem of intentionality which derives the intentional content of our beliefs from their biological purpose. He is also a defender of the a posteriori physicalist solution to the mind-body problem

Papineau was elected President of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science for 1993–5, of the Mind Association for 2009–10 and of the Aristotelian Society for 2013-4

His latest book Knowing the Score (2017) is written for a general readership, and looks at a number of ways in which sporting issues cast light on long-standing philosophical problems.

Papineau lives in London with his wife, Rose Wild

Reviews

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this might be helpful for teaching my students philosophy but after reading it I'm not convinced. Not only are some of the most important concepts not explained well, but the book also seems to be all over the place quite often and I think it would be confusing for "philosophy newbies".

Besides that, the German edition that I read is full of typos and grammatical mistakes and also features quite a few incorrectly translated phrases and sentences - quite disappointing!

[Robbertus · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent book to get a feel for most of the important philosophical theories, but I find it a bit lackluster and surface level. I also found a hint of bias which is not bad in it of it self, but it is never explicitly stated and/or proper discussed, but maybe I see something that isn't there.

[somerventures · Rating 3 out of 5]

a generous rating considering the book was paradoxically surface level yet not appropriate for someone without a background in basic tenants of philosophy. that being said, the thematic organization was beneficial, seeing as many philosophers wrote on many subjects