About this item
This is a concise, comprehensive guide that covers the main schools of thought from the Ancient Chinese philosophies of Confucius and Lao Tzu; Ancient wisdom from Aristotle, Plato, Zeno and Pythagoras; through to those most influential of philosophers studied the world over -- Hegel, Marx, Descartes, Kant, Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein. It also discusses the "big questions", such as: What is truth? What kind of person is it good to be? What do we know and how do we know it? It considers the relationship between philosophy and religion, and the problem of morality. The book takes a two-pronged approach that looks at the chronological development of philosophical thought and the people behind the different schools of thinking. These definitive guides to their subjects together have sold over three million copies worldwide.
About the Author
Martin Cohen is an established author specializing in popular books in philosophy, social science and politics. Recent books include 'Critical Thinking Skills for Dummies' and a look at how scientists work called 'Paradigm Shift' - which sounds rather technical but is actually a great deckchair read, taking a look at many perplexed and perplexing issues in life, from religion to science, from food fads to black holes in space..
Speaking of food fads, Martin's current project is a book on food (and philosophy too) with incredible insights into why everything we eat makes us fat, and has more to do with laboratories than farms.
That's why we need those 'Critical Thinking Skills'! His second 'for Dummies' book offers a no-holds-barred and amusing tour of thinking itself. (Where else will you find Frankenstein showing you how to construct good arguments? ) and lots of interactive challenges and quizzes.
Other recent projects include the 'How to Live' books featuring 'Wise (and not-so-wise) Advice from the Great Philosophers'. These examine a whole load of unexpected philosophical things like the virtues of cheese sandwiches (Rousseau) and making the wife work in a factory (John Locke) .
However, Martin is best known for two introductions to philosophy, 101 Philosophy Problems and 101 Ethical Dilemmas. These, despite being originally aimed at the academic market, between them have sold over 250,000 copies and been translated into 20 different languages.
Other books include an "anti-history" of great philosophers, Philosophical Tales (2008) ; the UK edition of Philosophy for Dummies; Mind Games: 31 days to rediscover your Brain and The Doomsday Machine. A project developing resources for Philosophy for Children has led to two beautifully illustrated children's books called Milo and the Upside-down Goggles and The Body-Exchange Machine (The project website is http.//www.philosophystories.co.uk)
Martin now writes full-time, but in the past has taught philosophy and social science at a number of universities in the UK and Australia, and was involved in a research project at Leeds University under George MacDonald Ross exploring ways to shift philosophy teaching away from the the mere study of philosophical facts and toward a view of philosophy as an activity.
An activist environmentalist, he wrote an influential series of articles in the Times Higher (London) about the politics of the climate change debate. He has written discussion papers on environmental concerns for the European Parliament and been invited by the Chinese government to discuss ecological rights and indigenous communities.
Martin is also the editor of THE PHILOSOPHER, a journal founded in 1923, which counts some of the best known names in Twentieth Century philosophy amongst its contributors. His editorial strateg
