A small marvel, A Beginner's Guide to Philosophy provides an instructive and delightful introduction to philosophy. Despite its brevity, this beginner's guide covers a vast range of authors and topics. The reader will find discussions of ancient and modern philosophy, beginning with the pre-Socratic thinkers, before moving on to Plato and Aristotle. The narrative then proceeds to an elegant survey of modern philosophers: Descartes, Nietzsche, Kant, and Hegel. Dominique Janicaud finally comes to the problems that have occupied thinkers through the ages: the existence of God, the meaning of life, human nature, and the question of freedom.
Foreword v
1 Philosophy and what it's not 1
2 Beware of gurus 4
3 Nothing if not critical 7
4 A portmanteau word 10
5 Philosophy with a capital 'P'? 13
6 Trying it out... 15
7 Socrates and Hippias intervene 18
8 Difficult or simple? 21
9 The gallery of great minds I: some philosophical stars of antiquity 25
10 The gallery of great minds II: some modern stars 29
11 History or analysis? 33
12 Why? 36
13 What is man? 40
14 What is freedom of action? 44
15 Moral freedom, political freedom 47
16 The question of God 51
17 So what about religion? 54
18 What does happiness have to do with it? 57
19 Which desire? Consciousness and the unconscious 61
20 Technology and life 65
21 Good, evil and beyod? 69
22 The elevating effects of art 72
23 Nietzsche the unclassifiable 76
24 What society, which state? 80
25 Too many question? 84
26 How to approach the authors 88
27 Why not a science? 92
28 Justice and truth 96
29 Which kind of love? 99
30 A few seeds of wisdom 102
Further reading 105
Index 107
Overview
A small marvel, A Beginner's Guide to Philosophy provides an instructive and delightful introduction to philosophy. Despite its brevity, this beginner's guide covers a vast range of authors and topics. The reader will find discussions of ancient and modern philosophy, beginning with the pre-Socratic thinkers, before moving on to Plato and Aristotle. The narrative then proceeds to an elegant survey of modern philosophers: Descartes, Nietzsche, Kant, and Hegel. Dominique Janicaud finally comes to the problems that ...