Rating: 
Summary: Common Sense Approach
Review: As a teacher of religion and philosophy in a community college, I highly recommend this book. The overall approach is a topical one rather than a chronological one. His success as a teacher witnesses to the value of this approach. Perhaps the best feature of the book is his adherence to a common sense view of philosophy. He devises a "Principle of Belief Conservation" that in effect is the position taken by almost all students of philosophy and most teachers as well after they leave a philosophy class. What it amounts to is the logical position that your deepest beliefs about Reality should remain in force unless and until some philosophic argument convinces you otherwise. By this standard, most idealistic and materialistic arguments fail to convince. One negative remark: too bad the title of the book probably deters its useage as a college text.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Subjective
Review: Although the book wasn't all that bad (it did have a lot of useful information), I was hoping for a factual and objective look at different philosophic questions. This book had way too much of the author's opinions.
Rating: 
Summary: Intolerable and Biased
Review: This book seems to have been written with an agenda. The author trivializes or even ignores important ideas and thinkers. He lacks any sort of intellectual honesty and advocates only those beliefs which are pleasant. If you want to actually learn about philosophy purchse The Problems of Philosophy and A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell rather than this dreadful mass market paperback which literaly made me sick to my stomach.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent gift
Review: Tom Morris' Philosophy for Dummies is a book I wish I had thirty years ago. I took one course in philosophy, hated it, and have regretted never taking another course ever since.Morris'excellent overview of philosophy ranks up there with the best that Mortimer Adler has produced. And he is by far the best at making complex philosophical ideas easy to understand. Morris' book does the same. Philosophy for Dummies is essentially a college intro philosophy course in a user friendly format. When I saw it in the book store, I bought a copy for my teenage son. He grouses about reading "philosophy" but when he sees that the book helps him to understand what others are thinking, he appreciates it in a new way. This is a book that every high school and college student you know should have. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: Great Expectations: Great Disappointment
Review: If you come to this book thinking that the author is going to be talking to you as a philosophy-novice, you will be disappointed. He is not talking to "beginners." The author sets his material in a reader-friendly context: cartoons, visuals, short paragraphs, but his writing is dense, his progression of thought is not obvious and his use of jargon is inexcusable in a text that is supposed to make philosophy accessible to non-philosophers. You might enjoy this book if you have a background in philosophy--but even then, you might find his treatment of topics very dull.
Rating:
Summary: Philosophy For Cattle
Review: The "Argument From Desire" is the most feeble defense of theism that I have ever encountered. And yet Thomas Morris presents it as if it were an important cornerstone of theistic thought - awarding it with one of those little "important idea" markers they use in the Dummies book series. Meanwhile, he gives atheism and its arguments no more than a cursory, heavily biased glance. Let me be clear. I am an atheist. My viewpoint could be wrong, of course. But the LEAST I expect from an introductory book on philosophy is an HONEST presentation of ALL points of view - addressing views the author disagrees with fairly, and admitting to the limitations of arguments on their own side where necessary. If you want your introduction to philosophy in the form of a biased indoctrination to Christian theism, then this is the book for you. On the other hand, if you prefer to hear all sides and form your own conclusions, you had best look elsewhere.
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Summary: This Dummy's for Philosophy (for dummies, that is)
Review: The first thing I noticed about the book (aside from the usual, hideous yellow 'Dummies' bookcover) is the very detailed table of contents. One can just scan the contents and see, generally, where the author is going with his ideas. Flipping to the back reveals a very well-furnished index, one of the better ones I've seen outside of a college textbook. Morris takes the dry, tedious musings of philosophers and transforms them into a vibrant and refreshing collection of informal discourses on questions that concern us all. He discusses various questions of philosophy such as: Can we really know anything? What is the good in life? Are we really free? Are we just bodies or do we have souls? Is there life after death? Does God exist? Does life have meaning? These, of course, are not questions only philosophers ask but which all people ponder. Throughout he actually gives his opinion on various matters rather than feign impartiality, as is often done in other introductory philosophy books. He makes clear that he is a theistic dualist, but he marshalls the best arguments against his own views and allows the reader to make up her own mind. The book is peppered with quotes from philosophers throughout the ages (there's hardly a page that doesn't have at least one quote), as well as a few philosophizing non-philosophers. For example, Morris quotes Woody Allen: "If it turns out that there is a God, I don't think he's evil. The worst thing you can say about him is that, basically, he's an underachiever." On another page there are quotes from a diverse group: Zeno, Chrysippus, Cleanthes, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Emerson, & Thoreau. For those who think that philosophy for dummies is the ultimate oxymoron, Morris writes, "Socrates thought that, when it comes to Ultimate Questions, we all start off as dummies. But if we are humbly aware of how little we actually know, then we can really begin to learn." The old Negro College Fund ads once proclaimed: "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." So, read this book and use yours.
Rating:
Summary: ...but What is the Answer to the Question...
Review: The author discusses and explains the perennial question of philosophy from the point of view of an intelligent layman. It is issues based and doesn't attempt any historical perspective.The best thing about this book is that the author provides his answers to these perennial questions. He doesn't try the antiseptic "present each view as equally valid" approach. Instead, he tells us where he is comming from and why. I like this approach because, as a reader, his perspective serves as a reference point. Weather one accepts his view or not Tom does a good job of explaning why he believes what he does and what considerations are important. He also provides the oposing viewpoint. Philosophy for Dummies will not teach you the systems or ideas of the great philosophers. However, if your goal is to understand the issues and formulate your answers, this book is one of the best!
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Summary: The Real Thing
Review: Some philosophers may be offended that their subject has been included in this series, thinking it is too serious of too profound to be made accessible to the "Dummies" of the world. Fortunately, Tom Morris knows the difference between being serious and being somber, and the difference between being profound and being obscure. He has written a book which covers the serious stuff of philosophy but has done so in a way which is downright fun to read! This book does not shrink from the classic, and difficult, problems of philosophy such as the mind-body problem, the nature of freedom and its relation to determinism, the problem of evil, and the nature of morality. But all of this material is written in an engaging style which clearly lays out the issues involved and why they matter to us. Moreover, Morris takes on the really big questions which have traditionally motivated the whole philosophical enterprise: the existence of God, the meaning of life, and life after death. Morris discusses these existentially gripping issues in a clear and evenhanded manner which reminds us why these questions are at the very heart of our humanity. This book is not intended for professional philosophers, but as one who makes his living teaching the subject, I would heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to know what the fuss is all about which has generated the two thousand plus year old debate we call philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: Philosophy that tastes better than chicken soup!
Review: As graduate student who studies philosophy, I have readnumeroustexts, both primary and secondary, from Pre-Socratic topostmodern. Morris' Philosophy for Dummies is the best compendium of introductory philosophy available. My copy is already dog-eared, and I consult it daily for messages, wisdom, and inspiration (It just surpassed Bartlett's Book of Famous Quotations as my "most-frequently-referenced-bedside-guide-to-inspiration"!). No one is better than Morris at demonstrating the practical benefits of philosophical inquiry and thinking (perhaps Aristotle, but Morris is clearer, more concise, and much funnier!). So, whether you are a student in Phil 101, an executive who wants to improve her company, a grandpa with a longing to read, or a scholar of philosophy, you will enjoy Morris' ideas. Morris is no dummy, and neither are you if you read this book!
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