The Philosophy Book for Beginners: A Brief Introduction to Great Thinkers and Big Ideas

by Sharon Kaye

Explore big questions and understand complex philosophy

Who are you? What is truly real? Is there such a thing as free will? If you have ever considered questions like these, that’s philosophy. The Philosophy Book for Beginners breaks down the core concepts of both Eastern and Western philosophy in clear language that explains the most important people and ideas. You’ll develop an understanding of the basic ideas and see your understanding of the world expand—no dense, academic texts required.

The major branches—Explore the central questions of metaphysics, epistemology, logic, and axiology as you see how they changed over time.A wide range of thinkers—Discover the diverse perspectives of philosophers, from Socrates in the fifth century BCE to modern-day thinkers like Martha Nussbaum.Thought experiments—Each chapter focuses on a topic, like existentialism, stoicism, or radical faith, and ends with a related thought experiment for you to ponder.

Gain a solid understanding of philosophy, with a book that makes it easy to grasp and relevant to the world today.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2021

About the author

Sharon M. Kaye, PhD, is a professor of philosophy at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. She’s also the author of Big Thinkers and Ideas: An Introduction to Eastern and Western Philosophy for Kids.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

During my college philosophy class, I found philosophy tedious and borderline futile. Through further readings over the years, I eventually rejected the futility I had once assigned, but continued to lack interest in the subject. However, recent world events further implicated the value of utilizing ideas throughout centuries and places to better understand the world and human behavior, so I recently decided to delve further into the subject. This book does a fantastic job overviewing various philosophic ideas, information about who held what opinions, offering intriguing thought exercises, as well as providing further readings in specified areas of interest. Well written and enjoyable.

[Gigi ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good choice for someone wanting to dabble in the subject for fun. I was curious to challenge my own perspective on philosophy and I think this book does a good job of giving a basic explanation to the different philosophy and their theories.

I still don’t like the subject as I find philosophy as a whole very annoying 😂 but glad I read it!

[Joe Bruno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen, I was looking for an undergraduate level text on philosophy. I settled for this and am not disappointed. I would call this an outline of Philosophy in broad strokes. The larger trends of philosophy are discussed and it is an excellent beginning place to get some very basic understanding of Philosophy and some of the larger themes that philosophy deals with.

To be clear, this is very much an introduction to Philosophy. Kaye has written a number of High School level textbooks and this is not too far removed from that level. But it is comprehensive and written very clearly in short concise sections. I could have read this in an evening but I spaced it out and read each chapter twice. I am looking for future subjects to study and this book defines many philosophies and philosophers in a way that can help determine my future study.

I would think this is too elementary for most people but it did serve my purpose. It was like 7 bucks on Amazon so I bought it. I will read it again in a month or so and then pass it on somewhere.

[Linda Galella · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this book says it all.

It’s for BEGINNERS and it’s a brief intro to the Philosophers who are well known throughout history and the philosophies they espoused. They are grouped by subject with a very brief intro by author, Sharon Kaye, PhD. IMO, the best audience for this book is 10-12 grade.

Each philosopher is only given 8-10 brief paragraphs. It’s well written, easy to understand and each chapter ends with a THOUGHT EXPERIMENT. In the TE, a well know philosophical conundrum is presented with two POV’s from Thinkers presented in that chapter and the reader being asked what they think about it. Great opportunities for conversation if parents participate in reading along with their students.

All things considered, a cursory look at philosophy with limited references and resources 📚

[Ananya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional. A journey from the first roots of wisdom to elaborate art and culture, this book feels like a jolt of hope that would open a whole new door of life for anyone who reads it. And it's mind-blowing for me to think that this was just... A blurb of philosophy. Every human should read to comprehend the big WHY of life. Will definitely go back to this several moments in my life to come.

[Rashid Alanzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

summer of big ideas

This book summarize the philosophical ideas in an easy way to grasp ;however , philosophical ideas are contradicting and confusing.
As started book for philosophy I recommend this book

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to philosophy.

Easy to read and absorb.

Contains thought experiments to practice ideologies.

[Nikki Weeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

easy to read

This book was easy to read for a beginner looking into philosophy, it covers many people from different eras, men and women, and opposing opinions and perspectives!

[Jan C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wound up buying a paperback version because it's very deep. I want to know about philosophy but find myself going VERY slowly through this subject.

[Rebekah Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great overview of a variety of thinkers and the basics of philosophy. I found two philosophers whose work I will read next.