Philosophy Books > U Philosophy Books

slavery can be justified?

Advantages: justifies anything! Good for making law decisions
Disadvantages: happiness is subject, leaves out minorities.

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory formulated by Jeremy Bentham and expanded by J.S. Mill. This book contains four essays of Mil.. The Book The edition of the book I have is this: On Liberty and Other Essays (Oxford World's Classics) edited by John Gray. It is quite a long book of 628 pages so it takes a little while to get through it. This book contents a collection of Mill's finest works. It contains these essays: * Utilitarianism ...
...these books a bit but Utilitarianism I know in quite a lot of detail so there will be a more detailed commentary on this essay and some criticism of his ideas. The thing about studying for something is that at times I might be required to read a specific essay but not necessarily the whole book and the same with specific chapters. On Liberty For Mill, On Liberty was about "the importance, to man and society, of a large variety in types ...

miss_d_bus 12.05.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Utilitarianism and Other Essays - John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham

Ideal Topos?

Advantages: Influential, interesting from a range of perspectives
Disadvantages: Not an easy read, what is it?

...'ou-' [no] - thus a utopia is either 'good place' or 'no place' (maybe both). The contemporary usage seems to focus on the former, but it's not obvious that More's Utopia was wholly ideal. Further a number of other linguistic clues - such as, the tale being told by a traveller called Hythloday [peddler of nonsense], and the island's chief river called Anyder [no water] - suggest perhaps More had the latter meaning in mind. Admittedly, this isn't ...
...particular his Republic. Like Aristotle, Utopia follows Plato in many respects - for example, gender equality (p.56, 59), conceiving of the whole society as an extended household (p.69), and condemning gold (pp.70-1). It's instructive to find where it differs though - for example, whereas Plato emphasised a division of labour in which each (officially) stuck to his one appointed role, when Utopia refers to each enjoying his 'proper craft' (p.57), ...

a-true-ben 16.04.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Utopia - Thomas More

Simple and Truly Inspiring

Advantages: Easy to understand(simple language)
Disadvantages: Needs more in depth information.

...my opinion, is one of the best Philosophy authors I have ever heard of. I purchased this book just two months ago and have been hooked ever since. The language is simple to understand and is aimed at all young budding Philosophers who have just started to study Philosophy. I would recommend this book to anyone with a passion for Philosophy. The book is an excellent aid to any university teachers who are looking to provide their students with an excellent ...

ziggy246 26.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Everything Guide to Understanding Philosophy - Kenneth Shouler

What is it like to be a bat?

Advantages: well-conceived, concise, fun to read, entertaining, extensive, covers a lot of concepts.
Disadvantages: May confuse absolute beginners.

Published in 2007, "50 Philosophy Ideas You Really Should Know" is a book with a pretty self-explanatory title. It's part of the Quercus series of reference books which include such other titles as "50 Maths Ideas you really need to know," and "50 Psychology Ideas you really need to know." - You get the picture. The book is written by a Ben Dupre`, and is 208 pages long. It contains explanations of such well-known philosophical constructs as Plato's ...
...of Thesus, Solipsism, and Just War, exploring the history, origin, virtues and likelihoods of each, over the course of 2-3 pages per idea. Although Dupre` is an Oxford graduate with over 20 years of experience of elucidating difficult of ideas to a popular audeince, some of the language used still feels particularly recondite. This, coupled with the often rather floaty prose, causes the book to fail to work particularly well as a nice, cosy, all-encompassing ...

Mutalisk 07.09.2009 · Read full review
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Review of 50 Philosophy Ideas You Really Need to Know - Ben Dupre

Interesting but meaningful Philosophy

Advantages: interesting,meaningful
Disadvantages: none

Quieter than The Sixteen Pleasures,Philosophy Made Simple is almost ---but not quite---as a fine novel.Although it touches on relationships between parents and children,farming,friendship,and life events,the overarching theme speaks to how philosophical beliefs play out in daily life.Hellenga juxtaposes the history of philosophy,from plato to Kant, with Rudy's search for meaning.This approach,given the seriocomic tone of the novel,seemed artificial ...
...the this devide and a few awkward subplots,Philosophy Made Simple---a poigant fable ,really ---will charm readers. Sweet and lovely...Hellenga makes his case against Plato well,moving us with pathos and pleasure ,starting us into wisdom. R.H Popkin is a capable and clever writer,able to mix widely different intellectual strands into a simple whole.It's an interesting and meaningful book for us to read.And when you close the book,maybe you will ...

jessie5241 04.06.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Philosophy Made Simple - R.H Popkin, A. Stroll