A Beginner's Guide to Philosophy

by Dominique Janicaud

Overview

The ideal introduction history of western philosophy: An illuminating discourse on the major thinkers, from Plato to Descartes to Nietzsche.

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, Nietzche, Kant, and Hegel.

At the end of this poignant yet practical intellectual journey, Dominique Janicaud at last addresses the problems that have occupied thinkers through the ages: the existence of God, the meaning of life, human nature, and the question of freedom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605980782
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	02/15/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Dominique Janicaud, a renowned French philosopher and Heidegger specialist, taught at the University of Nice. He died of a heart attack after swimming in the Mediterranean in 2002.

Table of Contents

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

Editorial Reviews

Janicaud opens up his subject in the most immediate way I have ever seen. (The Daily Telegraph)

It's elegance of expression and exposition will appeal also to more mature seekers after enlightenment who are gently, subtly, led from Socrates to Nietzche. Janicaud equips us to face down the conformist pressures of modern life. (The Times [London])

From the Publisher