Philosophy For Beginners

USBORNE For Beginners #5

by Rachel Firth, Nick Radford (Illustrator)

Philosophy is a way of thinking about just about anything. It asks big questions from nature of reality to what beauty is. Using lively examples and thought experiments, this book provides an accessible introduction to a wide range of philosophical questions and invites the reader think about things in ways they may not have done before. Cartoons, comic strips and diagrams offer simple explanations of big ideas. Suitable for adults and children alike – a brilliant resource for anyone looking to learn about philosophy. Explores big questions in philosophy including the nature of morality, do we have free will, whether knowledge is really possible and how we can justify government.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy

128 pages, Hardcover

Published August 5, 2020

About the author

Rachel spent 11 years studying and teaching philosophy at the universities of London and Oxford before joining Usborne. Since then she has written books on subjects ranging from knights, to food, to philosophy, as well as retelling folk stories, and writing children's versions of numerous novels.

Reviews

[Nunu Maha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book receives a 4.9 !

I was always interested in philosophy but never actually knew what it was. Now I can actually say that I know what philosophy is, and also give great examples of philosophy that will make people lose their minds. Speaking of losing minds—I have lost my mind—I scratched my head a lot and got lots of bad headaches reading this but that means that i’m actually learning, right? It felt as if a new part of my brain was forming, like I was gaining skills or something.

So the reason I reduced 0.1 points is because I got bad headaches, but, other than that the book was pretty interesting.

Learned lots of news things. Totally recommend!

[ARC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise enough to get into the topic and not pull your hair out over it!!

[Ardyth]

My goal with this purchase was a read aloud to use as an intro to philosophy with our son (9yo, P4 aka 4th grade aka Form IIB). I failed to notice the important Usborne brand.

For us, this is too choppy and visually all over the place. I imagine the chaotic/visually stimulating (depending on personal preferences) design is perfect for some families, which is why Usborne and DK are making bank. But it's always a big fail around here.

From the book-as-an-object perspective: the print quality is not great. The handfeel of the paper is okay, but the muted colors of the design are not just muted in print but actually rather splotchy -- and there is a *lot* of color on every page. So the overall aesthetic is... well, poor. A disservice to the artist, and I say that even though I didn't much love the illustration style itself... but that's personal taste; I'm sure another parent or responsible adult will like it very much, and may even feel this style shifts philosophy from an intimidating topic to an approachable one.

On the philosophy-with-kids theme, I also purchased Big Thinkers and Big Ideas: An Introduction to Eastern and Western Philosophy for Kids and Big Ideas for Curious Minds: An Introduction to Philosophy, before settling on the latter. These three cover more or less the same topics, but each has distinct presentation style and voice. It's pretty great to have this many options! But I'd suggest looking at all of them before choosing.

[Alexis Barrera oranday]

Está muy divertido y fácil. Lo empecé porque me quedé atorado con Bertnand Russel y necesitaba algo más light para empezar.

Me hubiera gustado que cada tema viniera con su máximo exponente. (Al final sí vienen).

[Wilf Vall · Rating 3 out of 5]

ass for beginners

[Petra J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before reading this book I thought philosophy was a subject only for the most elevated.

After reading this, I realised philosophy is actually annoying (for me), like the smaller sibling kind of annoying who asks why? to everything you say.

I gotta say, though, it is very well structured, yet the real-life examples are not as good as in Economics For Beginners, from the same series.

Overall, a 3/5.

[Ken Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice introduction to the vast universe of philosophy! All along the way reading this book, I've questioned myself whether I'm really suitable for studying philosophy, particularly when I'm not exactly a fan of arguments. However, as the book suggests, scratching the head should be the correct way of reading it. I'll have to make up my mind for the articulation soon, and I think that this book has given me a little insight into what that means.

Oh boy, writing a review is no easy task, is it?

[Shantanu Duttagupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book, could've been better though.

[Even Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was soo fun to read. It makes you really think about your ideals and morals in some chapters and confuses (in a good way) you in another.

[Connor Massey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super digestible, and extremely informative. A fantastic read for anyone wanting to understand or begin reading philosophy

[Daniel Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic introduction to philosophy that every child should read. A-level content with far greater clarity.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at the different areas of philosophy in a clear and simple way. Definitely good as a starter. I enjoyed it and want to follow up with some more in depth books soon.

[lucy♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’m so smart now. basically, just call me socrates 2.0

[Shira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I really don’t remember how I came to be in possession of it, but I was feeling in a very peculiar reading mood, it was a Sunday evening so I had to wait until the next day to take out a book from my school library, but I had a perfectly free evening and all I wanted to do was read. So somehow I came upon this little gem. Short and sweet, with charming illustrations, it nonetheless kept me interested and thinking on my toes throughout. I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it as a nonthreatening introduction to philosophy!

[Emma Mullins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for secondary school library. Donated by BookTrust. Title slightly different on our copy: Philosophy for Beginners but author/ cover/ content same. Accessible phrasing and inclusive illustrations

[Indira · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to understand but philosphy is pretty hard

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly concise & enjoyable introduction to philosophy and thought exploring