Product Description

50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know is a concise, accessible and popular guide to the central tenets of Western thought. Every important principle of philosophy, religion, politics, economics, the arts and the sciences is profiled in a series of short illustrated essays, complemented by an informative array of timelines and box features. Platonism, The Soul, Communism, Aristotelianism, Faith, Fascism, The Golden rule, Atheism, Racism, Altruism, Secularism, Feminism, Pluralism, Fundamentalism, Islamism, Liberty, Creationism, Capitalism, Toleration, War, Globalization, Scepticism, Duty, Classicism, Reason, Utopia, Romanticism, Punishment, Liberalism, Modernism, Materialism, Democracy, Surrealism, Relativism, Conservatism, Censorship, Utilitarianism, Imperialism, Big Bang, Existentialism, Nationalism, Chaos, Evil, Social contract, Evolution, Fate, Republicanism, Relativity, Quantum mechanics, Gaia.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25657 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

From the Inside Flap
50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know is the ultimate guide to the most important ideas in history. There has never been any shortage of bright ideas: ingenious schemes and fancies that shine brilliantly, only to fizzle out when their essential hollowness becomes apparent. Big ideas, though, are altogether rarer: ideas that are enduring and irresistible because they are so consummate in their conception, so perfect in their timing, so audacious in their ambition, or so devastating in their effect. The full sweep of such ideas - from the beautiful and the wondrous to the uglyl and the debased - is covered in this volume.
In a series of 50 accessible and lucidly written essays, Ben Dupré probes some of the most significant ideas in politics, philosophy, religion, economics, science and the arts. Some of these are unimpeachable (liberty, reason); other mind-numbing (The Big Bang, chaos); a few mysterious (fate, surrealism) or downright despicable (fascism, racism). What they have in common is that they all matter and have left a deep impression on human civilisation.
Demystifying and entertaining, 50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know is the perfect introduction to some of the most influential ideas ever conceived, from a writer with a real gift for popularizing often complex and challenging concepts.

From the Back Cover
Platonism.
Aristotelianism.
The golden rule.
Altruism.
Liberty.
Tolerance.
Scepticism.
Reason.
Punishment.
Materialism.
Relativism.
Utilitarianism.
Existentialism.
Evil.
Fate.
Soul.
Faith.
Fundamentalism.
Atheism.
Secularism.
Creationism.
War.
Duty.
Utopia.
Liberalism.
Democracy.
Conservatism.
Imperialism.
Nationalism.
Multiculturalism.
The social contract.
Republicanism.
Communism.
Fascism.
Racism.
Feminism.
Islamism.
Capitalism.
Globalization.
Classicism.
Romanticism.
Modernism.
Surrealism.
Censorship.
Evolution.
Gaia.
Chaos.
Relativity.
Quantum mechanics.
The Big Bang.

About the Author
Ben Dupre read Classics at Exeter College, Oxford before pursuing a career in reference publishing. He was Children's Reference Publisher at Oxford University Press from 1992 until 2004 and, all told, has more than 20 years' experience of bringing complex and challenging concepts to the widest possible audience in an accessible but authoritative manner. A gifted performer on both harpsichord and viola da gamba, Ben lives in North Oxford with his family.

Customer Reviews

A good, fact-packed anthology of assorted ideas
Having previously tackled 50 Philosophy Ideas, author Ben Dupré now broadens his scope to focus on fifty of the most significant ideas in general that have left their mark on human civilisation over the past two and a half millenia. From liberty to liberalism, Gaia to Utopia, each idea is outlined in a manner that is, for the most part, highly readable and entertaining.

If you're already familiar with this series of books, you'll know what to expect: 4 pages allotted to each idea (just enough to introduce each concept and cover key aspects and figures), a timeline along the bottom providing a little context, and various side panels and pull-quotes to liven up each page. No illustrations in this one, but that's no great loss.

This title sits slightly apart from the other books in the series in that the overarching theme is more tenuous. Almost half the book covers philosophy and religion - the rest deals with politics, science, arts and economics. Obviously one casualty of this approach is that, unlike previous books, you don't finish it with the same sense that you've comprehensively covered all the basics. Its breadth means it is likely to appeal more to the curious reader looking for a book of isms than someone eager to educate themselves on a particular subject. (By the way, for a more extensive book of isms, try this one.)

One downside for me was the amount of overlap between this and Dupré's previous Quercus book, 50 Philosophy Ideas. I would have preferred ideas from the previous book like the Golden Rule and Platonism to have made way for new material. Still, the repetition is not quite so bad that you feel shortchanged. This is a well-written and balanced dip-in/dip-out book from a gifted writer, and an enjoyable entry in the series.

A Book of Gems.

I studied mathematics at university many decades ago, and this book contained quite a few gems that I didn't know (or did I, and have forgotten?). I particularly liked the Golden Ratio that was derived from both Fibonacci numbers and the Golden Rectangle. Each of the 50 ideas are explained in just four pages. You don't need to be a mathematician to appreciate this book. I loved it.