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The Philosophy Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

Will Buckingham (Goodreads Author) (Creator),

Douglas Burnham (contributor)

Clive Hill (contributor)

Peter J. King (Goodreads Author) (contributor)

John Marenbon (contributor)

Marcus Weeks (contributor)

4.17 · Rating details · 2,991 ratings · 209 reviews

To the complete novice, learning about philosophy can be a cause for dread-"I won't understand" is a common reaction to the mere mention of the subject, which is often assumed to be too complex and confusing for the average reader.

DK's The Philosophy Book will show that philosophy doesn't have to be a daunting subject. With the use of easy-to-follow graphics and artworks, ...more

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Hardcover, 352 pages

Published January 17th 2011 by DK Publishing (first published October 4th 2010)

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Jan 19, 2012 Traveller rated it really liked it

Shelves: philosophy, four-and-a-half-stars

A nice illustrated introduction to the idea of philosophy for students/young people/the still-to be-initiated into the rigors of the philosophical tradition.

It gives a comprehensive overview of global philosophical thought over the ages. Although pretty wide in scope, this book is basic in depth. It gives only a few paragraphs on each thinker.

Admittedly it does give a very nice introduction into each 'group' of thinkers, or rather, each period in history, from a global perspective. A very nice ...more

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Dec 03, 2018 Greg Watson rated it it was amazing

This is a good philosophy reference. I'm unsure of when I started, but I read nearly all of it, minus some of the directory and glossary.

The book is divided into short summaries of philosophers. Each summary contains a bio and discussion of the philosopher's best-known works. There are useful illustrations and timelines.
It contains a good overview of foundational ideas such as Plato's forms. There are also helpful discussions of some of the more slippery modern thinkers.

It also contains a ...more

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Sep 06, 2017 Jessica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: coffee-table-books, nonfiction

I give this book 4.5 stars which rounds up to 5.

This book gives a great overview of philosophy. I was a philosophy major in college and this book covers many of the ideas I learned at school. However, my only grievance is that it leaves some ideas out like Kantian ethics. But other than that I highly recommend this to people who like philosophy or want to learn more about it.

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Mar 27, 2019 Morgan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books, owned-read

Compared to other philosophy books I've read, I think I like this one the best now. Not only does it feature way more philosophers, but it's diverse too. Always a plus in my book if they feature more than one female philosopher and this has several.

There are a lot of philosophers I like featured in the book, maybe all of them. They don't have Joseph Campbell or Marquis de Sade, but doesn't bother me because this has a ton of new philosophers I found that I want to read now.

Finally found a not ...more

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Sep 16, 2017 Cindy rated it it was amazing

Wow, this is the best semi-comprehensive philosophy book I've ever read. It includes all the prerequisites you need to know and nothing more. The explanations are so amazingly cogent, I could cry. I would buy this for every 13 year old and force them to read it A Clockwork Orange style.
The downside is that it's not as detailed as I would like (not in the sense that the author leaves things out as he explains certain concepts, he just doesn't touch on every work of all of the philosophers, he ...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Braeden Young rated it it was amazing

An excellent collection of ideas from history's greatest thinkers.

This book give a simple comprehensive overview on the last 3000 years in philosophy. The authors take the reader through a chronological look at each philosopher using simple diagrams and illustrations and provides a broad spectrum of each individuals major contributions. The intuitive layout drives the reader from one page to the next, and makes for an experience that is rather hard to put down.

An absolute must read for anyone ...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Judith rated it liked it

Man, if I had known this book existed, I would have purchased it 6 years ago! Then again, it probably wasn't published back then. Anyway....for those who would like to dip their little toes in the world of philosophy and get a broad overview (that's still chockfull of goodies), this is the book. I especially appreciated the color throughout. The books I read in college took themselves so seriously with pages of black-on-white tiny print. Bring on the color-coded sections!

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Jun 23, 2013 Erin Boyington rated it liked it

Shelves: science, history, essays

A brief, readable introduction to the thinkers and ideas that have shaped the world.

The profiles are organized by date, bookended by brief intros to each historical era; each person gets 1-3 pages describing major ideas and an abbreviated biography. There are also sidebars with quotations, charts outlining a thinker's logic, "see also" page references to related thinkers in the book, and boxes that put each person into his or her contextual background (telling us who influenced whom).

This book ...more

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Oct 25, 2014 Antariksa Akhmadi rated it liked it

This book has done a good job explaining some of the most notable philosophers and their influential ideas. This is especially true in the entries of modern and contemporary period continental philosophers. Figures such as Heidegger and Derrida whose books are condemned as difficult to follow are explained here clearly without any shred of doubt left. The flowcharts, images and pictures are perhaps there to attract those who have no appetite with philosophy at all, but they are somewhat helpful ...more

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Apr 21, 2015 Liz rated it did not like it

About as reactionary as you'd expect. Avoid.

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Jun 06, 2019 Alex Riedel rated it did not like it

Shelves: books-i-have

First of all, I am entirely sorry for how many books I have added in the last week and a half. I wanted to read this book before I dove into anything else so that I can get a somewhat informed idea of the "major ideas" in the history of philosophy just because a lot books of philosophy are objections against another work of philosophy, or there will end up being many references to other philosophers, schools of philosophy, or eras of philosophy. That, and I also already had this on my shelves First of all, I am entirely sorry for how many books I have added in the last week and a half. I wanted to read this book before I dove into anything else so that I can get a somewhat informed idea of the "major ideas" in the history of philosophy just because a lot books of philosophy are objections against another work of philosophy, or there will end up being many references to other philosophers, schools of philosophy, or eras of philosophy. That, and I also already had this on my shelves instead of having to go out a buy another book. I realize that a DK Publishing book may not be the most philosophically dense or representative book for introducing philosophy out there, but I still thought it would be better than nothing. Again, you will never see me adding these many books in such a short amount of time as this, and I am sincerely sorry for that!

Some philosophers I thought were missing that I believe deserve a spot: Thomas Reid, G.E. Moore, Alasdair MacIntyre.

So:
Apart from the grammatical and spelling mistakes as well as an inaccurate index in the back of the book, I believe this book to be utterly terrible. This book was published in 2011 and makes the effort to include such philosophers such as Daniel Dennett, Slavoj Zizek, and Peter Singer. In saying this, they are obviously trying to show what philosophy has started to come to since the pinnacle of the early 2000s. Now, the picture they painted for where philosophy started to turn during this time is partial. The philosophy of religion has grown to be of extreme interest for many, especially since the 1970s-1980s. This, I believe, was a failure on this book's part. Furthermore, there have been many philosophers over the course of history that have worked primarily in logic. Unfortunately, this book mentioned none of these and rather instead gave a little about how "Aristotle laid the foundations," "Hegel's dialectical method was certainly interesting," and "Bertrand Russell was basically the guy to really set forth today's logic when he gave birth to the analytic tradition," so on, so on. This failure on the book's part doesn't bother me as much as some of the other things it lacked, but I still believe that the history of philosophy is misrepresented when important thinkers of logic are left out.

Which, speaking of the history of philosophy, I think it's entirely fair to coin this book as a "History of Philosophy" introductory book, right? I need to make sure if this is accurate and fair, because otherwise my expectations and ramblings will be entirely off and misdirected. Anyways:
I have given a few updates along the way about how amazed I have been about how terrible this book has been and its possibly detrimental repercussions it could have on younger, less-informed students who know little if anything about philosophy. I'll spell it out again a bit here.

First of all, they presented a French philosopher named Luce Irigaray in this book who's written a book "To Speak is Never Neutral". Now, I have never read this book, and all I know about Irigaray is from this book (unfortunately). I don't know her thesis and I don't know if any stances that can be taken from the title alone is accurate to her actual work (i.e. if she is actually saying that speaking is never neutral or she is rather saying something else and someone who has never read this book would be incorrect in saying that she is providing the thesis that speaking is never neutral - if that makes sense...). To presume that Irigaray is arguing for this for what the title literally says, I'm going to broaden her context (her work is primarily in feminism). Regarding this book, the authors can go ahead and try to say that their book is an objective introductory text for philosophy and that it's for all who want an accurate representation of the history of it, sure. Apart from the failures I mentioned above, I believe that the mere existence of this book is not neutral. Mr. Buckingham and the other editors of this volume were given the task to present an exhaustive list of the most prominent philosophers of history. List them, list their ideas, then you're game. But wait, there's more.

What is always so hard for scholars to do especially for those who work in the liberal arts such as philosophy, religious studies, etc., is to give an unbiased representation of "objective history." To write an introductory book on how to study religion or to write an introductory book in the history of philosophy are themselves works in the fields of religious studies and philosophy, respectively. Because in one's representation of this "objective history", there is always much, much room to insert their own biases, misconceptions, or presumptions into their work - whether one realizes it or not. For example, when I have a bias in my own philosophical beliefs or understandings that reason is entirely separate from religious belief, then I am going to, unfortunately, present every single philosopher that dealt with these two areas of philosophical investigation in this way, i.e., in a way that makes it clear that the philosopher that deals with these two areas is dealing with them as I think them to be, i.e., separate. Or, another example could be my scholarly work is in Friedrich Nietzsche and I happen to love the man and think he's brilliant. I am going to probably then represent all philosophers whom Nietzsche disagrees with (specifically Christian philosophers) as in as negative of light as Nietzsche did in his own writing. That, or I'm just being dramatic and just really showing an utter lack of trust in the capabilities of academically responsible philosophers - let's hope the latter is the case. Anyways, you get my point. Although the direct material of this book may be (somewhat) objective, the way one presents this material is entirely subjective and this has momentous effects on the book as a whole.

I then have to ask myself, whilst claiming that the author has put their own biases into the book, what biases do I carry? Maybe I'm the one that is wrong, or maybe the right/wrong dichotomy in dealing with this is misguided and should rather be measured in a different way? Who knows. Whatever mistakes I think the authors made, are they really just my mistakes and not theirs? Sure, I would've done things entirely differently than these authors, but is that because of their seemingly anti-religious, pro-knowledge-is-only-gained-empirically-through-observation-in-the-study-of-the-sciences motives, or because of my approach to philosophy through the lens of my Christian faith and my inclination to thoroughly question any naturalistic claim, or a mix of both?

I guess, all in all, I can see why the study of philosophy's history is itself an area of philosophical investigation. I am keeping myself from saying more about how bad I believe this book to be, but I'll refrain.

Again, sorry for all the books I've added. ...more

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Sep 11, 2017 Maťka rated it liked it

Shelves: philosophy, nonfiction

The amount of information is rather scarce, but well packaged.

A few things I didn't understand:

1) Why not group the philosophers into schools/movements (more visibly)? It would make the information much easier to grasp, especially since this book is supposed to be an introduction to philosophy. 'Maps' with groups of opposing philosophies briefly explained for every time period would be great as quick summaries (eg stoicism/cynicism/epicureanism/skepticism or rationalism/empiricism). I feel like ...more

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Jan 26, 2019 Fred Hughes rated it liked it

This book briefly looks at the key ideas of Philosophers over the past 3 to 5 thousand years.

Done in chronological order by philosopher it goes back and forth between various philosophers.

It is a great snap shot of them and details significant texts that they have written so you can explore them further.

Recommended introduction to this subject

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Dec 30, 2015 Dehsar rated it liked it

A good book that covers philosophy throughout the history in a very nice and neat way by using illustrations, however expected it to focus on philosophy more than the history of philosophy

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Sep 19, 2015 Usama Albastaki rated it it was amazing

Shelves: philosophy-and-quran-sciences, general-knowledge

I cannot think of a better introduction and summary of philosophy than this book. Well written, easy to consume for the beginners. The writers have good knowledge of the subjects and delivered it in easy explanation. Smart use of diagrams and figures to explain the subject. I really liked it and looking forward to read more in the rest of series and philosophy.

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Aug 22, 2015 Anders Brabaek rated it it was amazing

Shelves: philosophy, reference

Excellent reference book with concise introductions to many of the major philosophers. It can be read from start to finish or used as a reference book. It does not contain exhaustive information for the philosopher's or their philosophy, but the information which is there, is crisp and clear.

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Sep 01, 2018 Sanar Othman rated it it was amazing

If you want to have a clue on what is actual history of philosophy, read this with no doubts.

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Jan 13, 2019 Giorgos Tselios rated it it was amazing

The Philosophy Book of the 'Big Ideas Simply Explained' series is exactly what the title alludes to, and it doesn't disappoint in the least. It's a comprehensive, easy-to-read overview of philosophical thought from its origins in the ancient world to contemporary times.

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Jun 12, 2017 Simon Farrell rated it it was amazing

The perfect coffee table book giving a good overview of the history of philosophy and a great resource to dip into if you want an overview into a particular philosopher.

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Oct 23, 2019 Marts (Thinker) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: philosophy, reference

This philosophy book is the best introduction I've read on the topic. Complete with images and in very simple language the book is a historical chronicle discussing the main ideas of key philosophers from 600 BCE to the present time...

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May 28, 2019 Ricardo Acuña rated it really liked it

Shelves: philosophy, reference

This is a pretty well introduction book for novices or amateurs, but it is also very good as a quick reference for knowledgeable people. This book is remarkable because of it organization, illustrations, good colors, hard cover and good quality glossy paper.

The book present a biographical summary of the most important philosophers, including both western and east philosophers. It is easy to read, and I would say it is also enjoyable. For me (as a philosophy interested amateur) it was a like a ...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Amna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reference, non-fiction, philosophy, politics, society, history, religion, science, reviewed

This book was fantastic. Covering different philosophical theories of many branches including ethical, metaphysical, political and religious. Starting off from the ancient world, 700BCE, and spanning over all of the most important and thought provoking philosophies up till the modern day. Each philosophical theory has been condensed into no more than two pages, yet contains a background on the philosopher, the age and the events that may have influenced that particular theory, the influence it ...more

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May 14, 2013 Aaron Mac gafraidh rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy

If you're me, you can have spent a good while reading seminal philosophies when you were younger, then years later, muddle it all up in your own head. This book is perfect for that problem, making clever use of that infographic style we love to digest in the current age. It's an innovative reference book, and something I would highly recommend for anyone who is interested in quickly finding great ideas that resonate with them.

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May 11, 2019 Antonis Maronikolakis rated it it was amazing

I am not that interested in philosophy, but I wanted to educate myself in the subject a little bit. I wanted a book that both gave an overview of philosophers and allowed me to read a bit more in depth in a simple manner. This book fits exactly these criteria of mine. If you are like me and want a light overview of the field, this is a must.

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Jun 14, 2019 Helen Hnin Oo Lwin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, science, 2019-books, _physical-book, z-gr-2019-summer-challenge, illustrated, philosophy, _5-stars, __400-pages

I read it in one sitting but I might have to re-read a few more times to absorb everything. This book was pretty heavy. I mean that both literally and figuratively. It was so heavy that I couldn't hold it up for longer than ten minutes or so.

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Jul 26, 2015 Leif Denti rated it it was amazing

I loved the format: 100+ philosophers' key thoughts, each thought nicely illustrated. Philosophy is a broad topic and this book is heavily focused on ontology/epistomology. Thus, some other areas of philosophy, such as moral and political philosophy, is examined to a lesser extent.

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Feb 24, 2011 Najla rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-books, favorite-books

A guide to philosophy through different ages, starting with the ancient world and ending with contemporary philosophy. Very simple, with illustrations and nice figures. Great book!

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Aug 25, 2014 Jules Brugel rated it it was amazing

An excellent crashed course in philosophy.

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Aug 01, 2011 George rated it it was amazing

Amazing. Takes complex texts and puts them into easy to read and colourful diagrams. A great overview of philosophy, even useful to those who are already familiar with the texts/authors.

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Apr 07, 2019 Sam rated it really liked it · review of another edition

An excellent overview of the philosophers that have throughout history changed our views about ourselves, the world and others. This book dedicates at least a page to each philosopher in chronological order, outlines what has come before them to influence their work and what influence they have had on later theories. There is also a section for most of the philosophers, to explain who they were and their affiliated institutions. It was this section that reminded me of Syed and Gladwell who posit An excellent overview of the philosophers that have throughout history changed our views about ourselves, the world and others. This book dedicates at least a page to each philosopher in chronological order, outlines what has come before them to influence their work and what influence they have had on later theories. There is also a section for most of the philosophers, to explain who they were and their affiliated institutions. It was this section that reminded me of Syed and Gladwell who posit that we compound our abilities when we have others in close proximity to challenge us, as a lot of the philosophers knew and influenced each other. I found it interesting that philosophy as a discipline is very culturally biased towards a western view and Oruka does argue this point when he suggests that African philosophy is not represented, as this was passed on through oration rather than written down like Greek and Arabic. Thus we have to be prudent when viewing historical thought through only this vantage point. Hegel supports this as he suggests that our history influences our consciousness and therefore the development of thought across time and cultures may well be different and not one united stream of human consciousness. Another point which reinforces this is the introduction of female philosophers only in the very last pages of the book as women were seen by the ancient Greeks as being lesser versions of men and thus philosophy has only a male vantage point. This was even further substantiated by the fact that the female philosophers were only included as they had feminist views, rather than another viewpoint on the already discussed topics. It was interesting to see how famous philosophers such as Decartes got so many things about the brain wrong and those who were correct were seen as radicals, who had to flee for their lives or be burnt at the stake accused of heresy. Overall I enjoyed learning about how philosophy has changed over the eras and the impact that such ponderings have had on psychology, so much so that I bought the psychology version of this book. ...more

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About Will Buckingham

Will Buckingham

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I was born and brought up in Norfolk in the UK, and studied art, art history and anthropology in the north-east of England, before taking a PhD in philosophy. I've been Reader in Writing and Creativity at De Montfort University, Visiting Professor of Humanities at the Parami Institute in Yangon, and visiting Associate Professor in the College of Literature and Journalism at Sichuan University.

I am ...more