Product Description

This is a book about the big questions in life: knowledge, consciousness, fate, God, truth, goodness, justice. It is for anyone who believes there are big questions out there, but does not know how to approach them. Think sets out to explain what they are and why they are important. Simon Blackburn begins by putting forward a convincing case for the study of philosophy and goes on to give the reader a sense of how the great historical figures such as Descartes, Hume, Kant, and Wittgenstein have approached its central themes. Each chapter explains a major issue, and gives the reader a self-contained guide through the problems that philosophers have studied. The large scope of topics covered range from scepticism, the self, mond and body, and freedom to ethics and the arguments surrounding the existence of God. Lively and approachable, this book is ideal for all those who want to learn how the basic techniques of thinking shape our existence.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7263 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

'The Philosopher', March 2000
'Think'. Now what kind of title is that? Is it short for 'How to Think'? Or 'Things to Think'? It's not a sentence, its not a noun, its not even what philosophers might call a 'signifier'. As it stands, its just a lone participle masquerading as an activity.... And, if so, then equally perhaps is the book. Masquerading as active philosophy, it is ... a fairly passive recipe that is on offer. One of the few invitations to philosophize comes in the welcome discussion of some thought experiments...Overall, its ponderous prose belies the publisher hype. It turns out that 'Think' is closer to 'Think!', an injunction issued to a recalcitrant student by their exasperated lecturer, than it is to any of the above possibilities...

About the Author
Simon Blackburn is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. Until recently he was Edna J. Koury Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, and from 1969 to 1999 a Fellow and Tutor at Pembroke College, Oxford. His books include Spreading the Word (1984), Essays in Quasi-Realism (1993), The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (1994), Ruling Passions (1998), Truth (co-edited with Keith Simmons, 1999), and the best-selling Think (1999). He
edited the journal Mind from 1984 to 1990.

Customer Reviews

Worthwhile introduction
I picked up this book as i wanted a basic introduction to philosophy and the major ideas: I wasnt disappointed. The book is ordered by theme (knowledge, mind, free will, the self, god, ...etc) and goes through a readable account of the development of ideas in each, with long quotations from major philosophers. Within each section, approaches to addressing the theme are explained and dissected plainly. The style is easy to follow and avoids the twisty wordgames of much philosophical writing. Nevertheless the book demands and rewards attention and should be engaging enough for anyone with a modicum of literacy and interest.

Downsides: lack of a further reading list is irritating. Blackburn also ignores pretty much everything thats happened since 1900 (except Wittgenstein and Russell) and avoids much continental philosophy since Kant. The quotes and works of Hume are given a disproportionate regard, given his influence. This may be seen as conservatism from Blackburn, but it does allow him to give the book a brevity which is excellent. However it should be pointed out that Blackburn is intellectually conservative and this sometimes come through in the writing.

This is best read as an introduction to philosophical thinking (as opposed to the history of philosophy) and at the very least, the reader should be able to ask the right question if not come up with the answer.

Please can we have something similar about modern philosophy?

A good introduction
This is a good accessible introduction. I would recommend it to anyone approaching the subject for the first time. Unfortunately I was looking for a bit more depth but this is not the fault of the book.

Hmm
'Think' makes for an enlightening read. However, I couldn't help wondering whether the newcomer to philosophy would not be better served by reading the actual texts (or at least excerpts of them) of the philosophers mentioned throughout, and making up their own mind. While Simon Blackburn infuses his enthusiastic 'introduction' with much humor and some laudable attempts at making the mazy, stifling world of philosophy clear and alluring (and succeeds in the main), the fact that his personal opinions and conclusions are so often introduced in a book intended for 'beginners' is not helpful. And the section on logic gave me a pain behind my eyes. But that's just me...