An Intelligent Person's Guide to Philosophy (Intelligent Person's Guide Series) - Softcover

Scruton, Roger

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0715627899 ISBN 13: 9780715627891

Publisher: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd, 1997

Synopsis

This is a personal view of philosophy from a renowned critic and thinker. In it, Roger Scruton focuses on the ideas and arguments which have attracted him to the subject and which have engaged his attention. He attempts to show how philosophy is relevant not just to intellectual questions, but to life in the modern world. Philosophy - the "love of wisdom" - can be approached in two ways: by doing it, or by studying how it has been done. The second way is familiar to university students, who find themselves confronted by the largest body of literature ever devoted to a single subject. This book follows a more ancient pattern. It attempts to teach philosophy by doing it. Although the author refers to the great philosophers, and in particular to Kant and Wittgenstein, who have been the greatest influence on his thinking, he gives no reliable guide to their arguments. The book makes no attempt to give either a history or a survey of the subject. Instead, it offers itself as a guide to the reader who is prepared to make a personal venture into philosophy. Its aim is to bring philosophy to life.

About this title

Review

'This is a marvellous book which gives back to philosophy the sweep and depth it once had before linguistic analysis reduced it to a study of words and their meaning. Scruton is unafraid to take on the big topics... with imagination and verve.' Jonathan Sacks, Financial Times

About the Author

Roger Scruton is the author of a number of books, including Modern Philosophy and A Short History of Philosophy. Formerly Professor of Aesthetics at Birkbeck College, London University, and a visiting professor at Boston University, he lives in Wiltshire, England.

Edition details

• Publisher: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0715627899
• ISBN 13: 9780715627891
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 168