An engaging and entertaining book on the basics of philosophy. The author approaches philosophy by posing basic problems in epistemology, the existence of God, and ethics. He discusses the historical approaches to these problems, discussing Hume and Descartes with excellent clarity. As Joe pointed out later, however, he does call Copernicus a Dutchman ( )

An excellent and very interesting read. I can't quite justify five stars, however, as it does not seem to be as geared-up for absolute beginners to the topic as it claims to be. I did appreciate the way that all the philosophical fields that were discussed were arranged with neat - secular titles - and I have to give Simon Blackburn great credit for his obvious passion and enthusiasm.

It was nice to see an introductory volume that had no other axe to grind than an earnest desire to make an incredibly complex field somewhat more accessible to the lay-person. My only quibble is whether or not it actually succeeded.

Not quite - but an excellent effort. ( )

I bought this book for $1 at a garage sale. While reading the section on Descartes, I had the following thought about Cogito and zen-like state of suburban yard maintenance:

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It is such a lonely place there in the yard when one is left alone with thoughts and little else. Each suburban yard is its own Cogito, the rock upon which all doubt of existence is tested. The man who works there, whether at his own pace or with forced determination to meet a standard set by some unknown force, must eventually deal with the thoughts that occur in his mind. He may try to drown them out with the humming of 2-cycle engines, but he cannot deny that they exist. They will creep up on him as he falls into the pattern around the maples or the flowerbeds, the same pattern he walked the week before and the week before that. And when his automatic turning and cutting is conducted almost without perception, he will find himself face to face with those thoughts he sought to hide from. It is the same with the Zen masters of archery or sword. This pseudo-agricultural art, this metaphysical horticulture cannot be denied.
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A great introduction to philosophy, but perhaps a bit too thick for beginners. If you're looking for a lighter read, try Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton. ( )