Philosophy for Dummies

The books fine as an intro text, but there are times where the theism takes precedence over the other philosophical topics. Good overall.

The first thing I noticed about the book (aside from the usual, hideous yellow 'Dummies' bookcover) is the very detailed table of contents. One can just scan the contents and see, generally, where the author is going with his ideas. Flipping to the back reveals a very well-furnished index, one of the better ones I've seen outside of a college textbook.Morris takes the dry, tedious musings of philosophers and transforms them into a vibrant and refreshing collection of informal discourses on questions that concern us all. He discusses various questions of philosophy such as: Can we really know anything? What is the good in life? Are we really free? Are we just bodies or do we have souls? Is there life after death? Does God exist? Does life have meaning? These, of course, are not questions only philosophers ask but which all people ponder.Throughout he actually gives his opinion on various matters rather than feign impartiality, as is often done in other introductory philosophy books. He makes clear that he is a theistic dualist, but he marshalls the best arguments against his own views and allows the reader to make up her own mind.The book is peppered with quotes from philosophers throughout the ages (there's hardly a page that doesn't have at least one quote), as well as a few philosophizing non-philosophers. For example, Morris quotes Woody Allen: "If it turns out that there is a God, I don't think he's evil. The worst thing you can say about him is that, basically, he's an underachiever." On another page there are quotes from a diverse group: Zeno, Chrysippus, Cleanthes, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Emerson, & Thoreau. For those who think that philosophy for dummies is the ultimate oxymoron, Morris writes, "Socrates thought that, when it comes to Ultimate Questions, we all start off as dummies. But if we are humbly aware of how little we actually know, then we can really begin to learn."The old Negro College Fund ads once proclaimed: "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." So, read this book and use yours.

Some philosophers may be offended that their subject has been included in this series, thinking it is too serious of too profound to be made accessible to the "Dummies" of the world. Fortunately, Tom Morris knows the difference between being serious and being somber, and the difference between being profound and being obscure. He has written a book which covers the serious stuff of philosophy but has done so in a way which is downright fun to read! This book does not shrink from the classic, and difficult, problems of philosophy such as the mind-body problem, the nature of freedom and its relation to determinism, the problem of evil, and the nature of morality. But all of this material is written in an engaging style which clearly lays out the issues involved and why they matter to us. Moreover, Morris takes on the really big questions which have traditionally motivated the whole philosophical enterprise: the existence of God, the meaning of life, and life after death. Morris discusses these existentially gripping issues in a clear and evenhanded manner which reminds us why these questions are at the very heart of our humanity. This book is not intended for professional philosophers, but as one who makes his living teaching the subject, I would heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to know what the fuss is all about which has generated the two thousand plus year old debate we call philosophy.

Who said philosophy had to be boring? Tom Morris has written a very entertaining book, covering all of the major questions mankind has faced, with an easy to understand (and frequently very funny) style.As with all books in the 'Dummies' series, the presentation is just as much fun to read as the material, and the mind-numbing concepts of Kant, Aquinas, Decartes, et all are reduced to language that anyone could understand. This book is the diving board, from which you can hurl yourself into the brain-twisting pool of logical thought. It's worth the price just for the many famous quotes alone, and is required reading for any with the slightest bit of interest in the eternal question: "Why?"Trust me. In a time when the latest Stephen King book is $29.99 (and you only read it once), it's worth it to have a book that will actually become dog-eared from use.