The Pocket Philosopher: A Handbook of Aphorisms - Hardcover

May, Simon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1900512807 ISBN 13: 9781900512800

Publisher: Metro Books, London, 1999

Synopsis

This collection of aphorisms (composed over many years by a noted philosopher) is an aid to crystallising your own thoughts - there are sectors on truth, love, ambition, religion, ageing, cruelty, friendship and all the other vital issues that we confront in life. Aphorisms can be a more enjoyable stimulus for thought than longer philosophical works - because of their variety, because of their compactness, because they invite different interpretations, and because they provide such clear targets - for agreement or disagreement. "The pocket philosopher" is aimed at anyone who wants to understand their life, as well as those interested in philosophy.

About this title

From the Publisher

Philosophy made sexy
‘Philosophy in the late 1990s is the intellectual equivalent of the Ralph Lauren combat trousers. Not to know your Hegel, your Hobbes, even your Wittgenstein, is to be banished in social Siberia’ Financial Times

‘Philosophy has become the stuff of airport lounges instead of the Sorbonne’ Kate Muir, The Times

Philosophy is sexy. It is chic to be cerebral. As Harpers & Queen put it: ‘I think therefore I am cool!’(‘Why Philosophy is Suddenly Cool’, April 1998). The trend is new, but the questions are old: What is the best life to lead? What is character? Do we talk too much? How to recognise evil? How to gain freedom, and what to do with it? How much pride is good? What are the many motives for gratitude?

Self-help manuals, with their ready-made answers, aren’t what this new fashion for popular philosophy is about. People want to be helped to think for themselves - to be provoked, rather than to be instructed. And they want to escape from the relentless practicality of modern life into the peace of timeless thought.

In this collection of snappy insights into the Big Questions, noted philosopher Simon May presents bite-sized ideas, or ‘aphorisms’ that manage to be both comprehensible (unlike most philosophy books) and highbrow (unlike most self-help books).

Dr May deftly jumps from subject to subject, throwing out one-liners that are sometimes humorous, sometimes serious, but always aimed at catching our minds off-guard. The uniqueness of this book lies in the range of subjects it covers, its accessibility, and its rich diet of thought - full of fresh ideas and free technical jargon. It will appeal to the increasing numbers of people who want to mull over the Big Questions in their own time, without feeling pushed into trite answers or hasty action.

To many who are hungry for love, poison tastes sweetest of all.

To be the perfect spouse would ruin any marriage.

Only the unreasonable expect others to be logical.

Undeserved compliments should always be returned.

‘This book combines two qualities which are rarely found together - it tells deep truths bluntly, yet it’s also therapeutic’ Dr Raj Persaud

Edition details

• Publisher: Metro Books, London
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1900512807
• ISBN 13: 9781900512800
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 108