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leevoncarbon's review against another edition
4.0
Ferry assigned himself a noble task in writing this book: "to give an account of everything I consider to be indispensable in the history of thought - all that I would like to pass on to family and those whom I regard as friends". He offers a lot of clarity on various ideas and you don't get the impression he is dumbing things down just to say them more simply. He certainly makes the effort to explain various philosophies objectively and fairly and without rancour, even those he does not accept. One of his most memorable statements for me came towards the end when he wrote: "I find the Christian proposition infinitely more tempting - except for the fact that I do not believe in it. But were it to be true I would certainly be a taker."
davidcalhoun's review against another edition
5.0
A really accessible book that is nonetheless not watered down. Worth keeping to reread.
Takes us on a journey through different ages of Western thought and shows why thought changed, and what we gained and inevitably lost in the process. The most interesting was showing how we got to our current age, which seems adrift in the ocean compared to the more sure and anchored philosophies of yesterday.
All of these eras of thought are woven together with a common strand, that of the desire of salvation from death, which the author even argues is present in humanistic thought.
Particularly interesting and warranting further investigation is the parts where the author touches lightly on Heidegger and his judgement of our age of technology. Since we have become rudderless as a result of Deconstructionism, the sciences and corporations progress for the sake of progress, get larger for the sake of getting larger, make money for the sake of making more money, with no clear ideals to guide them as in yesterday.
The last part of the book has the author expounding on his own humanist philosophy in reaction to his disappointment with materialism. This is really interesting but does take a different turn compared to the rest of the book, where he tries to be more detached and more objective.
Particularly interesting is some discussion near the end where the author discusses the individual as a sort of "singularity", a mediation between the very specific and the very universal. Like a particular artist who lived in a particular time and came out of a particular community (the very specific), but nonetheless paints subjects with universal appeal, to be understood and appreciated by the entire world (the universal). I have been reading a lot of Kierkegaard lately, so this stood out as something really uncannily familiar to me, though the author didn't seem familiar with him and didn't reference him.
Takes us on a journey through different ages of Western thought and shows why thought changed, and what we gained and inevitably lost in the process. The most interesting was showing how we got to our current age, which seems adrift in the ocean compared to the more sure and anchored philosophies of yesterday.
All of these eras of thought are woven together with a common strand, that of the desire of salvation from death, which the author even argues is present in humanistic thought.
Particularly interesting and warranting further investigation is the parts where the author touches lightly on Heidegger and his judgement of our age of technology. Since we have become rudderless as a result of Deconstructionism, the sciences and corporations progress for the sake of progress, get larger for the sake of getting larger, make money for the sake of making more money, with no clear ideals to guide them as in yesterday.
The last part of the book has the author expounding on his own humanist philosophy in reaction to his disappointment with materialism. This is really interesting but does take a different turn compared to the rest of the book, where he tries to be more detached and more objective.
Particularly interesting is some discussion near the end where the author discusses the individual as a sort of "singularity", a mediation between the very specific and the very universal. Like a particular artist who lived in a particular time and came out of a particular community (the very specific), but nonetheless paints subjects with universal appeal, to be understood and appreciated by the entire world (the universal). I have been reading a lot of Kierkegaard lately, so this stood out as something really uncannily familiar to me, though the author didn't seem familiar with him and didn't reference him.
7anooch's review against another edition
3.0
A nice summary of philosophical history. As a newcomer to philosophy though I kind of felt lost at times.
grifen87's review against another edition
3.0
It was at least a thought provoking collection. It stated that one of the primary purposes of philosophy is to alleviate our anxiety about death and the afterlife, which I think somewhat limited the scope. But it at least made me curious to study more. The part about Nietzsche and contemporary humanism was interesting, saying that:
“Contemporary humanism does have values, but these values center on life itself. These new transcendent values are not vertical, like patriotism, but horizontal. Contemporary humanists take a collective view of humanity, and their values center upon their fellow human beings, not abstract ideas “superior” to them.” (Blinkist summary)
“Contemporary humanism does have values, but these values center on life itself. These new transcendent values are not vertical, like patriotism, but horizontal. Contemporary humanists take a collective view of humanity, and their values center upon their fellow human beings, not abstract ideas “superior” to them.” (Blinkist summary)
chlkvnck's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
tabsfchnr's review against another edition
5.0
Unreal. From start to finish, 267 pages of gold. As an introduction to philosophy and a history/ explanation of the main “philosophical systems”, I can’t imagine anything better. What’s more is the stance Luc takes personally, combining elements from past and contemporary philosophers, is credible and to me makes a lot of sense.