Philosophy: A Beginner's Guide to the Ideas of 100 Great Thinkers

by Jeremy Harwood

Succinct biographies of the 100 most important philosophers, their key ideas, and most notable works   From philosophy's founding fathers, such as Thales, Socrates, and Plato, to great minds of the postmodern era, such as Sartre, Ayer, and Feyerabend, this essential guide distills the thoughts of the world's most influential minds and explains their answers to some of philosophy's key questions. Is there a Supreme Being? Who am I? What is truth? Do we have free will? Why do bad things happen? How should we live? Is death the end of everything? What is the meaning of life? Arranged from the ancient world to the present day, each philosopher's notable works and pronouncements are encapsulated in a series of succinct, easy-to-read biographies, accompanied by illustrations, at-a-glance fact panels, and quotations, making this the ideal beginner's guide to a fascinating but often daunting subject.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, History, Reference

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2010

Reviews

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very brief introductions to key philosophers throughout history to the present...

[Cassandra Kay Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

The synopsis of philosophers was too short to actually gather anything about the nature of their work but as a quick reference to some of their more notable written works, was worth keeping around.

[محمد الهاشمي · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simplified, cohesive and right to the point. This is a very good starter for interested people from any other academic background. I had to wonder what were the measures for harwood's picks of the philosophers from this era.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the philosophy book I keep on the back of my toilet.

[Matty Lapointe-Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a list of philosophers having their concepts described in two pages or less. Which is exactly what it sells itself as, so I feel bad giving this book only 3 stars. It is definitely I'll hang on to to refer to should I get in the mood to read more on a particular philosopher/theory, but I'm thinking maybe a "Philosophy for Dummies" book would've had a little more to wrap my head around.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro into the philosophy heavy hitters. I didn't know anything about this subject so if something was left out, I would not know. Having said that I felt it was very complete without being cumbersome to read or too confusing.

[Marcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the format of this book. The philosophers were laid out chronologically with one to two pages devoted to each. This is not for someone looking for in depth analysis, but provides a nice overview.

[Shannon]

Just reading bits and pieces here and there.

[Denise Ramon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it is a great, quick reference book. It is an easy read and non-threatening to the novice philosopher.

[Andrea]

Look more at Epicurus' works