Essential Philosophy: Everything You Need to Understand the World's Greatest Thinkers

by James Mannion

An easy to read basic understanding of the different peoples and strains of philosophy. Actually put together better than the "Philosophy for Dummies" I'm also reading. It reads easier and the author's writing style is more appealing. My only issue was that he states the Greek and Russian Orthodox church "grew and thrived without any input from the papacy in Rome", yet he doesn't mention anything of the Great Schism, which is what divided Christianity into the Western Roman and the Eastern Orthodox faiths. That may be my fault, though, in reading the sentence in a way he didn't intend, for it is true that after the Schism the East was independent from the West and its pope. All in all it was an enjoyable, quick read. It gives a decent overview and arranges the information in a way where certain facts are restated here and there, which helps with retention. A great book for someone not too familiar with philosophy, although one that can be enjoyed by those who already are.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy to read basic understanding of the different peoples and strains of philosophy. Actually put together better than the "Philosophy for Dummies" I'm also reading. It reads easier and the author'...s writing style is more appealing.

My only issue was that he states the Greek and Russian Orthodox church "grew and thrived without any input from the papacy in Rome", yet he doesn't mention anything of the Great Schism, which is what divided Christianity into the Western Roman and the Eastern Orthodox faiths. That may be my fault, though, in reading the sentence in a way he didn't intend, for it is true that after the Schism the East was independent from the West and its pope.

All in all it was an enjoyable, quick read. It gives a decent overview and arranges the information in a way where certain facts are restated here and there, which helps with retention. A great book for someone not too familiar with philosophy, although one that can be enjoyed by those who already are.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a very enjoyable read. It gives a good overview of philosophy from the 7th century b.c. to the 20th century.The book contains European, Eastern, African, and Native American philosophys. The book focuses mainly on European philosophy.

I would recomend this to those who are interested in learning about philosophy. It has certainly sparked my interest in learning more on the subject.

[lyndsay ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philosophy 101 for those of us who are interested but intimidated. Fun and easy to read (and easy to understand)! Essential is the key word - a must-have for even the greenest thinkers with questions about life.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good.

[Ed Oakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent start into Philosophy, written with wit and style