Man Is The Measure: A Cordial Invitation To The Central Problems Of Philosophy

by Reuben Abel

'One of the best introductory texts in philosophy in recent years. It is freshly written, its points well-illustrated with concrete examples, and enlivened with strong doses of critical common sense.' - Sidney Hook, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, New York University

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Science, Psychology

296 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[mike caputo]

I used this essentially as a textbook for 10 years, teaching a high school course in epistemology. It is both deep and accessible. Great for casual readers -- thorough, without getting too technical or arcane. Adults would gain a lot from this, recommended!

[Eng. Mohamed ali]

كتاب ممتع وبسيط ...شرح مبسط لاساسيات الفلسفة ...

[Salma Qahtani]

"تمامًا مثلما العالم طيّع جزئيًا، كذلك هم البشر، والمجتمع، والشخص. كل منهم وصل إلى ماهو موجود عليه... يظل الشخص أثناء حياته لا ينتهي من عملية مستمرة من خلق النفس كتمرد على جهوده الخلّاقة، مثلما هي الكلمات للشاعر."
الكتاب كثافة فلسفية ولغوية وفنيّة

[Abdelwahid Brouk]

بعد قراءة هذا الكتاب ليس للإنسان العادي ما يخشاه في الاقتراب من الفلسفة والمشاكل التي تتعلق بالهوة السحيقة التي تفصل بين الفلسفة والبحوث العقلية الأخرى وتلك المشاكل التي تمثل الصدع الواقع بين هدف الفلسفة كتحليل نقدي وهدفها كاستبصار تنبؤي ، بين الفلسفة التحليلية والميتافيزيقيا

[William Schram]

In Man is the Measure author Reuben Abel scratches the surface of philosophy and the issues that trouble philosophers. The book is divided into chapters with each chapter focused on a theme. One chapter might focus on machine learning, while another discusses intent in the idea of murder, say.

In asking important questions about human nature and nature in general, Abel shows that Man truly is the Measure of all things. Take History as an example. With the subjective nature of history and the human predilection for storytelling, is it really possible to view Human History with an Objective eye? The book argues that you can't since all historians view history through a lens of their own experiences and personal situations.

There isn’t really much else to say about this book, I enjoyed it well enough. It did not go into depth with any analysis or ideas, but it did bring up a lot of themes covered by Philosophy.

[Diego Silva]

As an IB Theory of Knowledge teacher, I found this introductory text to philosophy and epistemology to be of great use when exploring Areas of Knowledge. In particular, the chapters on Science and the scientific method are comprehensive and accessible.
Written in 1974, it is understandable that some concepts and explanation sound out of date, though.

[Shraddha]

A philosophical and spiritual discussion of our world. Written in a very easy style. I enjoyed the read although, at times I felt questions unanswered... maybe that was intentional... maybe I am supposed to answer them for myself... not sure just felt a tad inconsistent with his overall format.

[John]

Intellectually provocative and full of interesting material. I read this while cruising in the Gulf of Mexico back in 2000.

[Jim Boyd]

This is an intelligently truthful book that explores the uneven landscape of the human intellect. It is filled with ideas (good and bad) that one would be well-served to understand and remember.

[Henry Nieberg]

Extremely interesting book, makes you think of life in a completely new way.

[Youssef AF]

Some hard terminolgy and a dictionary can be helpful and it really gives a lot of insite on a lot of matters.

[Tj Begg]

Foundation of personal philosophical journey