A really pleasing introduction into Western philosophy. Mild, conversational, entertaining and intellectually stimulating. A superb e book for non-philosophers who’re interested by studying extra in regards to the historical past of Western thought.
What can the historical past of philosophy and a take a look at the lives of the nice thinkers of the previous educate us about our lives right now? This appears to be one of many questions that inspire Peter Cave’s new e book The way to Assume Like a Thinker, which simply got here out just a few days in the past.
The writer
Earlier than we start, let me eliminate an embarrassing admission: till I obtained his e book for overview final week, I had no concept who Peter Cave was. I used to be born in Germany, raised and schooled in Greece and lived the previous decade and a half in Hong Kong, so maybe my ignorance could be forgiven. I nonetheless don’t know how well-known the person truly is.
In case you are like me, maybe you’d wish to know that YouTube has a number of his interviews and speeches, and he has written roughly one e book each two years because the early 2000s. He is a well-liked philosophy author, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, BBC radio philosophy presenter and customarily an individual who will get round. Along with David Attenborough and Jane Goodall, he helps Inhabitants Issues, a charity that promotes inhabitants management as a way to make sure the survival of the planet, which, I consider, is a wonderful concept.
I’m much less keen about his self-identification as a “humanist,” which is a label I don’t fairly like in its trendy incarnation. In all probability everybody who has some sense agrees that the Christian church buildings are problematic establishments and that non secular fanaticism isn’t an excellent factor. However there’s additionally the other angle: the assumption that people are the most effective factor since sliced bread, and modern “humanism” appears to advertise this concept. Embraced uncritically, this will result in overconfidence concerning the talents of human cause, to the hubris of the fashionable homo faber who thinks that the entire world is there simply to amuse them and to do their bidding. I all the time discovered that trendy, enlightened Christians have been higher, friendlier, extra caring individuals than staunch atheists, who typically come throughout as blind to their very own failings and unable to simply accept that human cause might need its limits and {that a} little bit of mental humility is a pleasant factor to have (I’m considering of Dawkins as a chief instance of this angle). Anyway, all this has nothing to do with the e book we’re discussing right here, and I don’t know what sort of humanist Dr Cave is and whether or not or not these remarks would apply to him in any respect.
Again to the e book.
Your ad-blocker ate the shape? Simply click on here to subscribe!
The number of 30 philosophers contains not solely the same old suspects, but in addition some who would maybe not instantly come to thoughts as “philosophers” within the tutorial sense. Here’s a record of all mentioned thinkers: Lao Tzu, Sappho, Zeno of Elea, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Avicenna, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer, Mill, Kierkegaard, Marx, Lewis Carroll, Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore, Heidegger, Sartre, Simone Weil, Simone de Beauvoir, Wittgenstein, Hannah Arendt, Iris Murdoch, Samuel Beckett.
In fact, any such record could be questioned and everybody could have their very own favourites. I don’t fairly see the philosophical weight of Sappho, Murdoch or Beckett as being on a par with Plato and Kant. Then again, I do assume {that a} thousand years of Catholic thought would have merited the inclusion of Augustine or Thomas Aquinas, however, once more, that’s largely a matter of style.
The chapter on Lao Zi (spelled within the e book as Lao Tzu) appears to be a considerably perfunctory try to extend the e book’s cultural inclusiveness. In reality, nobody goes to know Jap philosophy from 9 pages of a Lao Zi essay, particularly since no different Asian thought seems within the e book – no different Daoists, no Confucians, no Buddhism. The identical applies to “Avicenna” (why not Ibn Sina?), who has maybe a little bit too clearly been put in there as a nod to Islamic thought.
I really feel that, as an alternative of honouring these different mental traditions, a e book that features two non-Western thinkers and 28 Western ones does somewhat emphasise the purpose that “actual” philosophy, within the thoughts of the writer, is being solely correctly achieved within the Western custom. It will maybe have been higher to depart out the 2 fig leaves and admit within the preface that one can’t properly cowl all of world philosophy inside 300 pages. This could have been completely fantastic, at the very least for me, and it might have been extra sincere than this pretend-inclusiveness.
Readers interested by Heidegger would possibly come away disenchanted by the therapy he will get on this e book. It’s fairly clear that Peter Cave doesn’t notably like or perceive Heidegger, and, aside from existentialism, no “continental” philosophy within the Husserl/Heidegger custom is included within the e book – which is a pity, as a result of there’s a lot fascinating materials there that may match completely into such a e book. The chapter on Heidegger principally dwells on the person’s Nazi previous and makes enjoyable of “das Nichts nichtet,” which, though I assume it deserves to be made enjoyable of, can’t be the whole of what makes Heideggerian philosophy exceptional. One needs that Peter Cave had maybe learn a little more Dreyfus and had tried a little bit tougher to know what lies hidden behind the humorous language.
Type
Peter Cave’s writing model is engaging and straightforward to learn. You may get fairly a good suggestion for his model by watching a few of his appearances on YouTube. There, as right here, he appears to be most attracted to creating associative connections between seemingly unrelated thinkers whereas pursuing his personal ideas.
This will typically be taken to an excessive the place the dialogue of a subject seems extra like an experimental cooking session: a splash of this, a teaspoon of that, after which let’s additionally throw in a handful of these leaves from the again of the cabinet. This tendency is extra pronounced in his talks than within the e book. As one instance, in his discuss “Reasoning: On Realizing When to Cease,” he talks about Buridan’s ass, Spinoza, selecting a toothbrush, capitalist consumerism, the duty to save lots of drowning individuals, the utilitarian selection about whom to let drown, impartiality versus loyalty to household as an ethical precept, Thomas Hobbes, Wittgenstein, the existence of the universe and explaining issues by invoking God – all inside 16 minutes.
Within the e book, this results in chapters which can be much more full of life and fascinating than one would count on of a philosophy e book. I can think about few subjects in philosophy much less engaging to the informal reader than Leibniz, however Peter Cave manages to speak about every part from chocolate biscuits to Peter the Nice’s commerce with China, as to if a flock of sheep is one factor or a number of – and ultimately, he additionally slips in windowless monads and the pre-established concord. Earlier than we will come up for breath, we have now had eight pages of Leibniz and it has been fairly a little bit of enjoyable.
“The way to assume?”
The flip facet of that is, in fact, that there must be a trade-off between amusement and academic aspiration. Sure, the e book is simple to learn. Sure, it does give an excellent overview of a few of the themes in Western philosophy and the way they developed from historic instances to right now. And it does so in an simply digestible format that’s entertaining and fascinating, with out being overwhelming.
However ultimately, one has to ask whether or not the e book can actually justify its title. It does probably not educate the reader “find out how to assume like a thinker.” It discusses some subjects and arguments, and ultimately, the reader could have some acquaintance with the lives and ideas of 30 kind of necessary thinkers. Nonetheless, I really feel that the title’s promise isn’t fulfilled. I really feel that the e book might have been extra appropriately titled “30 philosophers you must learn about,” or “30 thinkers and their concepts,” or one thing like that. That is what the reader actually will get: 30 essays, one on every thinker. They’re fascinating, entertaining and insightful – however they don’t actually educate anybody find out how to assume. That is not an introduction to philosophy for college kids who need to know find out how to do philosophy themselves. This can be a e book to learn on a vacation, or maybe on a commuter prepare, even one thing to be taught from – however what one learns are information, not strategies or expertise. When it comes to that blasted Bloom’s taxonomy that college admins are so in love with, Peter Cave’s e book covers the decrease rungs of “bear in mind” and “perceive” in a superb method, however leaves out the upper ranges of “analyse,” “consider” and “create.”
This isn’t a criticism, only a clarification. There are sufficient different, extra technical books on essential considering or philosophical strategies that can serve different audiences. It’s just a bit unlucky that the title would possibly confuse the occasional purchaser who would possibly count on one thing totally different from this e book.
And since we’re now into criticising the e book, let me additionally briefly add two different factors:
First, that cowl. I had already complained about another Bloomsbury cover lately, and I really feel dangerous doing that, as a result of I actually just like the books they’re publishing. However as a result of I just like the books, I really feel all of the extra the ache of seeing an excellent e book paired with a canopy that appears prefer it was designed by a youthful member of the family within the Nineties… utilizing MS-Paint. I don’t even know what color the quilt is meant to be. Bloomsbury despatched me a picture file that has a neon-mint inexperienced accent color. On Amazon, the identical cowl seems to be a considerably extra tasteful darkish teal. The quilt reveals, between textual content set in an detached, impartial font with inconsistent letter spacing, the faces of three philosophers: Kant (recognisable, however with a drugged expression), a bearded man that could possibly be Plato or Epicurus, and what I take to be Simone de Beauvoir. The drawings are usually not notably achieved, they fail to seize the attribute seems of the individuals they supposedly depict, and the inexperienced (blue?) paint is randomly splashed throughout their faces with out hinting at constant lighting or shadow results. I don’t perceive why Bloomsbury can’t give one in all their bestselling authors the tasteful, engaging cowl that this e book deserves.
Second, and it is a minor level, however it suits with what I used to be saying earlier, each chapter ends, with quasi-religious regularity, with two sentences of the shape: “The way to assume like X? [Do this].” I can solely guess that this was some marketer’s concept after realising what I stated earlier, that the e book form of lacks the “find out how to” character marketed within the title. Sadly, these very temporary sentences fall utterly flat and appear extra like mockery than a severe try to coach the reader. Have a look at this:
The way to assume like Leibniz? Take note of attainable worlds and search a actuality that’s determinate.
Critically? How does one “take note of attainable worlds?” And much more puzzling: The way to search a “determinate actuality?”
Or this one:
The way to assume like Berkeley? Focus in your experiences – and don’t neglect the tar-water.
And that’s all. This isn’t an introductory quip after which might comply with a proof. Such are actually the final two sentences of each chapter within the e book.
Conclusion
I don’t wish to give attention to just a few unfavorable remarks when a e book is as entertaining and academic as this one. It’s actually nice enjoyable to learn, and Peter Cave’s method of connecting seemingly unrelated ideas inside one chapter makes for fascinating surprises, even when one already is aware of the thinkers he’s writing about.
I can think about recommending this e book (or giving it as a present) to somebody who may be interested by tradition and philosophy however who has not but had the chance to be taught extra about Western thought or to see its improvement in a extra complete method. This e book does an excellent job at introducing the primary concepts that join these thinkers, and its choice, for instance the sequence Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume and Kant, supplies an excellent overview of the beginnings of contemporary philosophy and its subjects that keep related to this present day. One will all the time miss one or the opposite of 1’s favorite philosophers in such a range, and I believe, for instance, that the Stoics ought to have been lined, particularly since they’re so related once more right now – arguably extra so than Epicurus. However one can’t have every part.
As an introduction to the primary concepts of Western philosophy it is a actually good, clear, considerate and enjoyable e book to learn. I discover it higher, extra entertaining than some other e book of this kind that I’ve seen, and it’ll not overwhelm the informal reader with too advanced ideas or arcane historic particulars. One have to be conscious that a lot of philosophy is lacking, particularly every part that has to do with phenomenology, psychology, psychoanalysis, philosophical sociology and philosophically-minded theology. However that’s okay, though one might want that this had been made extra clear within the e book’s introduction and back-cover blurb. As it’s, the e book presents a smart however fairly “mainstream-Western” view of what philosophy is, with the addition of some odd mental outliers.
All in all, regardless of the inevitable choice biases in this sort of e book, I can heartily suggest it to its goal readers: non-philosophers with an curiosity within the historical past of Western thought.
Peter Cave (2023). The way to Assume Like a Thinker. Students, Dreamers and Sages Who Can Educate Us The way to Stay. Bloomsbury Continuum. 304 pages. ISBN: Hardcover: 978-1-3994-0591-1; eBook: 978-1-3994-0592-8.
Peter Cave’s “The way to Assume Like a Thinker” is a really pleasing introduction into Western philosophy. Mild, conversational, entertaining and intellectually stimulating.
Amazon affiliate hyperlink. In the event you purchase by means of this hyperlink, Every day Philosophy will get a small fee for gratis to you. Thanks!
◊ ◊ ◊
Peter Cave is a well-liked philosophy author and speaker. He learn philosophy at College Faculty London and King’s Faculty Cambridge. Peter is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Honorary Member of Inhabitants Issues, former member of the Council of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and Chair of Humanist Philosophers – and is a Patron of Humanists UK. He has scripted and introduced BBC radio philosophy programmes and sometimes takes half in public debates on faith, ethics and socio-political issues. His philosophy books embody This Sentence Is False: An Introduction to Philosophical Paradoxes (2009), and three Newbie’s Guides: to Humanism, Philosophy and Ethics. Newer works are The Huge Assume E book: Uncover Philosophy Via 99 Perplexing Issues (2015) and The Myths We Stay By: A Contrarian’s Information to Democracy, Free Speech and Different Liberal Fictions (2019).
Share this:
