The Little Book of Philosophy (Big Ideas)

A fantastic little book for the price. Okay, the font is quite small and the paper quality isn't great but what do you expect? I picked this up for £1.99! What you do get though is a snapshot into the world of philosophy, from the classic thinkers right up to modern-day. Take what you find interesting and branch out from there...A huge amount of information in one book! I even bought a second copy to give as a gift.

Amazing book for a good price

I expected a better quality publication from Dorling Kindersley. The print is small; the paper is inferior and the Index is inaccurate. The content is good, though. Difficult concepts are given clear, unpretentious treatment making them accessible to a beginner like me.

Many books have been written that distil the history of philosophy and philosophers and this is just another one. While it uses a couple of techniques that are unique such as putting the philosophers thoughts in context in sidebars and distilling their thoughts in flowcharts, there is little else to distinguish this little book from others except for a glaring omission. Apropos to its title, The Little Book of Philosophy, must necessarily omit some content in the interest of brevity. However, to totally disregard a recent school of philosophy, namely Postmodernism is unforgiveable. While Foucault and Rorty, two philosophers usually thought of as postmodernists are covered, no mention of postmodernism is made in their sections. Nor is it mentioned in the index. It seems that at least one or two of the 20th centuries postmodern philosophers such as Derrida, Lyotard, Baudrillard, Deleuze or Guattari could have been mentioned. Is not the challenge to modernism and its truth claims worthy of mention?

This book is a great find for anyone who is looking for a precise introduction to all major theories of the world. Thank you Amazon