The Philosopher's Way: Thinking Critically About Profound Ideas

by John Chaffee

The Philosopher's Critically About Profound Ideas, 3/e, inspires students to think like a philosopher. Integrated readings, interspersed with commentary, guide students in their understanding of the topics, while critical thinking activities challenge students to go beyond their reading and explore the connections philosophy has on their everyday lives. Full-color visuals bring topics to life, and writing examples give students a foundation for their own philosophical exploration.

Genres: Philosophy, School, Feminism, Textbooks

598 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

Reviews

[David Sexton · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a textbook for my course I found this book a great introduction to philosophy. I grasps a few basics but will need to refer to it as I further my understanding of philosophy.

It is not a light read and would be a hard one to read leisurely.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This textbook is satisfactory, even if it gave some weight to thinkers like Ayn Rand, Sigmund Freud, and Karl Marx that I object to. Nevertheless, I learned a lot about philosophy and the philosophers.

This book certainly focuses on individual philosophers too much, even having an entire chapter dedicated to Socrates. It is an easy way to learn philosophy by focusing on people and their ideas rather than the movements they started or were a part of, although my history training has led me to be wary of “Great Man” theories.

A special feature of this textbook I like is the list of books and movies that relate to philosophical topics at the end of each chapter. I have been led to some excellent books and movies that way, although there were some bad recommendations in there like “Crash” (2005) and Ayn Rand books.

This textbook was interesting and I liked it somewhat despite some academic quibbles. I like the literature and film recommendations and how it used excerpts of primary sources of the philosophers. It does have a biased slant, however.

[Jonathanj · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like it overall, good overview, I would have preferred more in the atheism area. I like how the author mentions (though briefly) some more modern thinkers like Daniel Dennett and Paul Churchland, also the book is laid out in more of a topical format.

[El · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was too expensive and is in that horrid textbook format that requires you to read through a lot of boring fluff instead of just giving you the information.

[An upbeat reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a chapter from this book and can't wait to read the whole thing. It's a must for anyone who is interested in philosophy.