Endless Night

I have never taken a formal class in philosophy but have for a long time been interested in the problems and methods studied by it. So I had to experiment with introductory books including Blackburn's Think. I present here a brief review of the book along with other ideas for the interested reader. Think is an introduction to philosophy organized around the following main philosophical themes:: 1 - Knowledge - Descartes' evil demon and the "cogito"; 2 - Mind - if I am not a brain in a vat what can I tell about your conciouness; 3 - Free Will - versus determinism; 4 - The Self - souls and credulism; 5 - God - ontological, cosmological, intelligent design and miracle based arguments; 6 - Reasoning - language and logic; 7 - The World - a wrap up. Each theme is discussed in a chapter supported by quotations from classical philosophical texts from Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, Schopenhauer, Wittgenstein, among others. Each chapter increases in complexity to the point that, in many cases, I had to go back a few pages and re-read entire sections to make sure I was following the thought exercises. I struggled the most across the "Self" chapter, and by going back a couple of pages at a time I probably ended up having read the entire chapter three times or more. Not that the chapter was specially convoluted but because the ideas and thought exercises were very difficult to me. The best chapter in my opinion was the one about God which evaluated the ontological, cosmological, intelligent design and miracle based arguments for and against God's existence. I believe the choice of quotations, the didactical construction of explanations and the pace of the book were all very good but I was not too impressed by the quality of the prose. So my conclusion is that it is a competent though not memorable book. Since it is slightly more expensive than other introductory tomes please consider these other ideas:: 1 - Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder - An excellent introduction more appropriate for teenagers and young adults (I read it when I was about 20 years old); 2 - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - An Inquire into Values by Robert Pirsig - Criticized by some, loved by many. Could be the Sophie for grownups (I read it last year at 36 years old); 3 - The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers by Will Durant - This is my all time favourite. Will Durant, the historian, has an admirable prose; 4 - History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell - History of philosophy by a leading philosopher and mathematician and also an engaging writer. If you decide to go with "Think" you may want to check out as a companion book "The Blank Slate" by Steven Pinker. The Blank Slate is a book on behavioural science, it carries a praise by Simon Blackburn and maybe not coincidentally both books discuss the same main themes but, at times, from different perspectives making for a good complement. The Blank Slate is a five star book and was a Pulitzer finalist. I have written a review on it. Leonardo Alves - Brazil - 2010

Here at last is a coherent, unintimidating introduction to the challenging and fascinating landscape of Western philosophy. Written expressly for "anyone who believes there are big questions out there, but does not know how to approach them," Think provides a sound framework for exploring the most basic themes of philosophy, and for understanding how major philosophers have tackled the questions that have pressed themselves most forcefully on human consciousness.
Simon Blackburn, author of the best-selling Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, begins by making a convincing case for the relevance of philosophy and goes on to give the reader a sense of how the great historical figures such as Plato, Hume, Kant, Descartes, and others have approached its central themes. In a lively and accessible style, Blackburn approaches the nature of human reflection and how we think, or can think, about knowledge, fate, ethics, identity, God, reason, and truth. Each chapter explains a major issue, and gives the reader a self-contained guide through the problems that the philosophers have studied. Because the text approaches these issues from the gound up, the untrained reader will emerge from its pages able to explore other philosophies with greater pleasure and understanding and be able to think--philosophically--for him or herself.
Philosophy is often dismissed as a purely academic discipline with no relation to the "real" world non-philosophers are compelled to inhabit. Think dispels this myth and offers a springboard for all those who want to learn how the basic techniques of thinking shape our virtually every aspect of our existence.

Time Magazine - Walter Isaacson

Blackburn has produced the one book every smart person should read to understand, and even enjoy, the key questions of philosophy, ranging from those about free will and morality to what we can really know about the world around us.

This is a book about the big questions in life: knowledge, consciousness, fate, God, truth, goodness, justice. It is for anyone who believes there are big questions out there, but does not know how to approach them. Think sets out to explain what they are and why they are important. Simon Blackburn begins by putting forward a convincing case for the study of philosophy and goes on to give the reader a sense of how the great historical figures such as Descartes, Hume, Kant, and Wittgenstein have approached its central themes. Each chapter explains a major issue, and gives the reader a self-contained guide through the problems that philosophers have studied. The large scope of topics covered range from scepticism, the self, mond and body, and freedom to ethics and the arguments surrounding the existence of God. Lively and approachable, this book is ideal for all those who want to learn how the basic techniques of thinking shape our existence. Think sets out to explain what the 'big' questions are and why they are important. Putting forward a case for the study of philosophy, the author goes on to give the reader a sense of how the great historical figures have approached its central themes. Abstract: This is a book about the big questions in life: knowledge, consciousness, fate, God, truth, goodness, justice. It is for anyone who thinks there are big questions lurking out there, but does not know how to approach them. Written by the author of the bestselling Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Think sets out to explain what they are and why they are important. Read more... "This is a book about the big questions in life: knowledge, consciousness, fate, God, truth, goodness, justice. It is for anyone who believes there are big questions out there, but does not know how to approach them. Written by the author of the bestselling Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Think sets out to explain what they are and why they are important."--Jacket PERHAPS THE MOST unsettling thought many of us have, often quite early on in childhood, is that the whole world might be a dream; that the ordinary scenes and objects of everyday life might be fantasies. Content: Introduction 1. Knowledge 2. Mind 3. Free Will 4. The Self 5. God 6. Reasoning 7. The World 8. What To Do Notes Bibliography Index Simon Blackburn. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 307-310) And Index.