Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Rating:
Summary: A very nice tour...
Review: ...with a very good tour guide. As the title suggests, it is a very short introduction. Prof. Craig gives an excellent introduction to the three big questions "What should I do?" (or how should I live my life?) "How do we know?"(very roughly, how do we draw conclusions? "What am I?" (again, very roughly, what is a person?) After dealing with these Prof. Craig then moves on to several other issues, all of which relate back to these questions.

Prof. Craig is a delightful guide, full of good humour and, for the most part, a fantastic explainer of very complex ideas; you'll have to read his description of Nietzsche's ideas to see what I mean. His annotated bibliography is definitely one of the best I have come across in this series.

Why four stars? I'd give him four and a half if I could. The only minor shortcomings of the book were that one or two of the explanations weren't all that clear (but then, it is a very short guide) and I found his treatment of C. S. Lewis bordering on contemptuous.

Those points aside, a fantastic book.


Rating:
Summary: Useful in the extreme.
Review: A wonderful, lucid, entertaining and informative guide. Craig takes the reader step-by-step through some of the principal works of ancient and modern philosophy, and provides us with an essential guide to the somewhat daunting task of deciphering and understanding a range of compelling thinkers and their works. With an engaging, friendly writing style (and an excellent bibliography to encourage us to continue our journey), this is an indispensable little volume.

Rating:
Summary: A lively little book for everyone.
Review: Its length obviously prohibits comprehensiveness, but this book is succinct and lively on the topics it does cover. Edward Craig does an admirable job of showing how some of even the most ancient philosophical questions are pertinent to a modern person's life. The writing style is accessible with little jargon. The bibliography is a fine starting point for further reading. A great read to augment a more thorough survey of Philosophy.