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Average Customer Rating:

Good introduction to some of the great philosophers

Customer Rating:

This was a good basic introduction to some of the great philosophers giving a brief biography and then some of their main ideas. I was rather disappointed that St Thomas Aqunias was missed out but it covered a wide range of thinkers e.g. Aristotle, Plato, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Spinoza, Russell, Ayer, J S Mill, Karl Marx, Sartre and Nietzche. It was easy going and lucid and I managed to read through it quickly. Although I was already familiar with most of the material I did learn a little here and there.

A lucid introduction to the classics of western philosophy.

Customer Rating:

This is one of the most accessible introductions to western philosophy that I've come across. There are lucid accounts of 27 classic works of philosophy from Plato's Republic to John Rawl's A Theory of Justice. This 3rd edition(2006) includes three new chapters on Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil, Bertrand Russell's The Problems of Philosophy and Jean-Paul Sartre's Existentialism and Humanism. At the end of each short chapter there's a glossary and suggestions for further reading. Any newcomer to philosophy could do no better than get hold of a copy of this marvellous and beautifully written book.

Great Starting Point for the Philosophically Intersted

Customer Rating:

This is a really good introduction to Philosophy for the lay person (like me) : it devotes a chapter (10 or so pages) to some of the most important Philosophical works throughout history : from Plato to Rawls. It's a great book to appreciate the ideas of the great thinkers, such that you can then dive off into the detail of those that interest you. It is written in plain language, clearly articulated and with a glossary/summary at the end of each chapter. It assumes no prior Philosphical knowledge and is very readable : it took me only 2 days to read it cover to cover. . Great book!

Absolutely excellent!	Customer Rating:
Warbuton always writes well, a clear and very readable summary of each Philosopher's work is given in a series of essays. This is an excellent introduction and useful to students who want a quick overview for essays and exams. Thoroughly recommended.The addition of the essay on Rawls in the second edition is particularly useful.

Simple but Effective

Customer Rating:

This book,in my opinion, simplifies the main issues to be found in the most important Philosophical works of the world. It gives a fools gide to philosophy which does not try to confuse the reader with long words and confusing concepts. It is worth using this book as a reference guide to a particular book that you are reading. In addition, I found the Glossary and Further reading sections at the end of each peice very useful in summing up what each book is about.