A Little History of Philosophy by Nigel Warburton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
If by doubting your existence you prove that your doubting thoughts exist, what happens if you then doubt your doubts?
A Little History of Philosophy is pretty much summed up by its title. It spends a chapter on each famous Western philosopher or movement (e.g. Aristotle gets a chapter; Sartre, Camus, and de Beauvoir share one) and takes a shallow dive into each. Nothing more, nothing less.
After recently reading Bertrand Russell’s A History of Western Philosophy I thought I’d read a book that covered the same topic with less of the surrounding history and more of the philosophy overview. Nigel Warburton does this well in a brief, clear, and accessible manner. A strength of the overview is how he ties theories and influences together (e.g. Brentham to Mill, Mill to Russell) so that you can see how thinking has evolved. A negative is the sometimes tenuous segues Warburton uses to end a chapter. Seriously, you really start to notice it and laugh.
This was a great way to dip my toes into philosophy. Between Russell and Warburton I feel I’ve been given enough to start the journey down the rabbit hole. Made me think.
Tyson Adams 
Thinking is bad for you. It has been known to lead people to actually changing their lives and doing “things”. I don’t know you well enough to stage an intervention, but if you could put me in touch with a close friend or relative, I really feel that THEY should stage an intervention for you.
Stop the “thinking”!!
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I see you got that job working for your local politician. 😀
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Yep, the kickbacks have started rolling in and I’m sitting on easy street now 🙂
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Sounds like a good read! I’m a sucker for intros and overviews.
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love this book!!!
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