In showing how the great philosophers of human history lived and
thought - and what they thought about - Peter Cave provides an
accessible and enjoyable introduction to thinking philosophically and
how it can change our everyday lives. With a lightness of touch, he
addresses questions such as: Is there anything 'out there' that gives
meaning to our lives? Does reality tell us how we ought to live? What
indeed is reality and what is appearance - and how can we tell the
difference?
This book paints vivid portraits of an assortment of inspiring thinkers:
from Lao Tzu to Avicenna to Iris Murdoch; from Hannah Arendt to Socrates
and Plato to Karl Marx; from Kierkegaard and Nietzsche to Sartre to
Samuel Beckett - and let us not forget Lewis Carroll for some
thought-provoking fantasies and Ludwig Wittgenstein for the anguishes of
a genius. As well as displaying optimists and pessimists, believers and
non-believers, the book displays relevance to current affairs, from free
speech to abortion to the treatment of animals to our leaders' moral
character.
In each brief chapter, Cave brings to life these often prescient, always
compelling philosophical thinkers, showing how their ways of approaching
the world grew out of their own lives and times and how we may make
valuable use of their insights today. Now, more than ever, we need to
understand how to live, and how to understand the world around us. This
is the perfect guide.
