Zeno and the Tortoise: How to Think Like a Philosopher

Rating:
Summary: Beginner's guide to Western philosophy.
Review: "Zeno and the Tortoise" is a lovely, accessible reference to the more interesting milestones of philosophy history since ancient times. It is relatively thin (180 pages), but sharply drawn. Each chapter gives a precise and useful summary of an important philosopher, and their contribution to the art.

The book is written in lay terms, and is seldom confusing. The author is not afraid to be subjective at times, and peppers his narrative with an opinion or two, but these never distract from the idea under discussion, and do not detract from the book's quality.

Readers with a curious mind may read this book with great joy. Readers seeking philosophical wisdom may find this book a handy introduction to an obscure field. The author has given us the foundational stories of philosophy in clear language, without overintellectualized jargon, but with a sense of joy and wonder over the intellectual insights Western society has achieved over the ages, and the inspired ways in which some of mankind's more perceptive members have expressed them so eloquently.

Rating:
Summary: Beginner's guide to Western philosophy.
Review: "Zeno and the Tortoise" is a lovely, accessible reference to the more interesting milestones of philosophy history since ancient times. It is relatively thin (180 pages), but sharply drawn. Each chapter gives a precise and useful summary of an important philosopher, and their contribution to the art.

The book is written in lay terms, and is seldom confusing. The author is not afraid to be subjective at times, and peppers his narrative with an opinion or two, but these never distract from the idea under discussion, and do not detract from the book's quality.

Readers with a curious mind may read this book with great joy. Readers seeking philosophical wisdom may find this book a handy introduction to an obscure field. The author has given us the foundational stories of philosophy in clear language, without overintellectualized jargon, but with a sense of joy and wonder over the intellectual insights Western society has achieved over the ages, and the inspired ways in which some of mankind's more perceptive members have expressed them so eloquently.

Rating:
Summary: Flyspeck at 30,000 Feet
Review: I think it was the inclusion of mathematician Alan Turing that prompted me to pick up this book. I should have scanned further. Probably a project like this is doomed from the start: 25 major western philosophers and their grand ideas in 180 pages--oy vay! Sort of like getting the landscape of a majestic city from from a 30,000 foot fly-over. Moreover, Fearn doesn't help the mismatch by crowding in biographical details that usurp even more space, (leave those to a brief appendix). The low points come early, rendering the seminal thoughts of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, and Hegel practically unrecognizable. Clearly the author has either scant interest or background or perhaps both in pre-20th century philosophy. Later thinkers such as Wittgenstein and Ryle fare somewhat better, while the chapter on Turing and linguistic behaviorism possesses genuine merit. All in all, however, this slender work is an object lesson in the hazards of high-altitude flight. If fly you must, my recommendation is to book a lower, slower passage.

Rating:
Summary: Of some interest
Review: It has some well-written passages about the philosophers, but reducing them to a tool or condensing them into such a small space is misleading. Philosophy is more of a way of looking at things than reaching into a toolbox. It, in the end, puts philosophy in deceivingly simplistic terms. I would recommend it for someone burnt out on long, involved philosophic tracts or a beginner.