From the Publisher
"The most succinct and accessible overview of philosophy I have come across, and perfect for anyone who wants to dip their toe into the waters of philosophy without drowning in intimidating prose." — Matt Haig, Washington Post
“This scintillating pop-philosophy survey brushes off the cobwebs and gives philosophy compelling immediacy…Neophytes and scholars alike will find in this superb primer proof that philosophy belongs at the center of life.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Ferry's openness, energy, and charm as a teacher burst through on every page. However difficult the questions he poses, his eagerness to find answers, to justify philosophy as a way of life, is infectious." — Wall Street Journal
“A fine introduction to philosophy and its fundamental relevance to living a meaningful life—for everyone from the man in the Acropolis to the man in the street.” — Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, New York Times bestselling authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar
“For everyone from the man in the street to the man in the Acropolis—a fine introduction to philosophy and its fundamental relevance to living a meaningful life.” — Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, New York Times bestselling authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar
“This is a vital book. Luc Ferry rehabilitates the ancient question, ‘What is the best way of life?’ as though our lives depended on it. . . . The reader will find her own experience clarified, and her horizon enlarged.” — Matthew B. Crawford, New York Times bestselling author of Shop Class as Soulcraft
“This superb primer proves that philosophy belongs at the center of life.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A philosophical survival kit, in which the reader will find brilliant ideas to help them think better and live better.” — L'EXPRESS
“No dry academic, Ferry restores to philosophy a compelling urgency.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Inspired . . . Ferry enriches his discussion in a manner that speaks well to educated lay readers.” — Library Journal
“One of the best books that has come across my desk over the last year. . . . Readers who don’t know much about philosophy will find this book accessible; and those who do will find its approach fresh and stimulating.” — First Things
“An engaging, accessible work... strong evidence for an important conception of philosophy’s enduring relevance.” — Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy
“Lucid and accessible … Ferry defends human dignity against post-modern doubt … a serious thinker” — ROBERT ROYAL, First Things
Wall Street Journal
"Ferry's openness, energy, and charm as a teacher burst through on every page. However difficult the questions he poses, his eagerness to find answers, to justify philosophy as a way of life, is infectious."
Booklist (starred review)
No dry academic, Ferry restores to philosophy a compelling urgency.
Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein
A fine introduction to philosophy and its fundamental relevance to living a meaningful life—for everyone from the man in the Acropolis to the man in the street.
L'EXPRESS
A philosophical survival kit, in which the reader will find brilliant ideas to help them think better and live better.
Matt Haig
"The most succinct and accessible overview of philosophy I have come across, and perfect for anyone who wants to dip their toe into the waters of philosophy without drowning in intimidating prose."
Matthew B. Crawford
This is a vital book. Luc Ferry rehabilitates the ancient question, ‘What is the best way of life?’ as though our lives depended on it. . . . The reader will find her own experience clarified, and her horizon enlarged.
First Things
One of the best books that has come across my desk over the last year. . . . Readers who don’t know much about philosophy will find this book accessible; and those who do will find its approach fresh and stimulating.
Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy
An engaging, accessible work... strong evidence for an important conception of philosophy’s enduring relevance.
ROBERT ROYAL
Lucid and accessible … Ferry defends human dignity against post-modern doubt … a serious thinker
Wall Street Journal
"Ferry's openness, energy, and charm as a teacher burst through on every page. However difficult the questions he poses, his eagerness to find answers, to justify philosophy as a way of life, is infectious."
MATTHEW B. CRAWFORD
This is a vital book. Luc Ferry rehabilitates the ancient question, ‘What is the best way of life?’ as though our lives depended on it. ... The reader will find her own experience clarified, and her horizon enlarged.
THOMAS CATHCART and DANIEL KLEIN
For everyone from the man in the street to the man in the Acropolis—A fine introduction to philosophy and its fundamental relevance to living a meaningful life.
Robert Royal
"Lucid and accessible … Ferry defends human dignity against post-modern doubt … a serious thinker"
Booklist
"No dry academic, Ferry restores to philosophy a compelling urgency."
L'Express
"A philosophical survival kit, in which the reader will find brilliant ideas to help them think better and live better."
Kirkus Reviews
The award-winning French philosopher briefly summarizes the major philosophical ideas since Ancient Greece and explains why he has opted for contemporary humanism. Ferry (Philosophy/The Sorbonne; Learning to Live: A User's Manual, 2010, etc.) writes that some dinner guests recently challenged him to create a philosophy course for children and adults, something presumably accessible to both. If this book is the result, Hogwartians may be the only children capable of comprehension. But many college-educated Muggles will doubtless find it useful, too. The author begins with perhaps the most difficult question (What is philosophy?) and offers a three-dimensional answer: salvation (not in the religious sense), theory and morals and ethics (terms he uses interchangeably). The author then moves on to his historical tour of philosophical ideas, focusing on the first superstars--Plato, Aristotle et al. He examines how Christianity was able to supplant the Greeks (the religion's vastly appealing notion of the afterlife) before moving on to humanism, a movement prompted by the discoveries and thought of Copernicus, Newton, Descartes and Galileo. Kant and Rousseau earn high marks here (though not the highest). Next comes Nietzsche. The author acknowledges, more than once, how that philosopher's ideas, unfortunately, appealed to the Nazis, but Ferry mostly succeeds in separating the thoughts from the deeds. The author views Heidegger as the most important post-Nietzschean, focusing sharply on that philosopher's views of technology and materialism and how they threaten the possibility of a more reflective, philosophical population. Ferry tries to lighten the tone of the narrative with literature (Poe makes an appearance, as does V.S. Naipaul) and popular culture (allusions to digital music). Ferry is an atheist and suggests throughout that religion is irrelevant. A focused history, neither simple nor simplistic, that--no surprise--shows the history of philosophy moving inexorably toward the author's current beliefs.
