if you don't know anything about philosophy, but would like to see a brief overview, this book is for you. its purpose is not to comprehensively educate one in any of the various disciplines of philosophy, but only to give initial reference to the vast array of intellectual thoughts and topics covered therein.

i doubt that the illustrations are meant to be stellar, as was critiqued in a previous review. rather, they are meant to stick out in the mind, allowing one to easily associate the pictures with their accompanying information. i think that this clever tool could serve quite useful to anyone who is intimidated by the wordy and sometimes gaudy vernacular of the philosophical texts, themselves. it may also be useful for pre-college students.

philosophy is a wide-ranging curriculum. most people who are new to philosophy find themselves discouraged because they read only one author, one book, or one essay and find that selection disagreeable to themselves. they then become slightly dissuaded from reading further into the study because they feel that it has no relevance to themselves. this book, and the like, attempts to soften the blow of the overly academic work of the masters.

there are enough different ideas, perceptions, and opinions in philosophy for anyone to find something of interest to themselves. this book exposes you to most of the major themes, and for that reason, has a definite positive value.
all you have to do is look.


also, this is really good bathroom reading material. just so you know.

Boo. It doesn't explain the time period very clearly. It just doesn't have enough information on each philosopher. You will get a much better understanding from Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, just skip the story and read the material on the history of philosophy.