Philosophy: the Basics - Nigel Warburton

The book is split in to chapters on God, ethics ("Right and Wrong"), Politics, epistemology (Warburton substitutes "The external world" in it's place), Science, Mind and aesthetics (again, "Art"). These match up with the chapters in Warburton's "Philosophy: Basic Readings" - a text which matches sensibly chosen passages with the topics he covers in The Basics, and serves as a useful companion volume. The style is one recognisable to anyone who has seen a cheat-sheet. Issue, Argument, Counter-Argument. This relatively uniform ...  Read the complete review

Now in it's third edition, Nigel Warburton's "Philosophy: the Basics" is the most lucid introduction to philosophy I have ever read. I seriously doubt that it would be possible for someone to write a more accessible and concise treatment of what can at times be a most demanding and difficult subject to follow. In fact the only problem I have in recommending this book is in deciding to whom it would be of interest. If someone were to stop me in the street and ask me "Hey, Necropolis, what book do you recommend to someone who wants to learn about philosophy but has no knowledge of the subject?" then, after the initial shock of being ...  Read the complete review