Mel Thompson

This is another one of my random library finds. I had no intention on borrowing a book on philosophy but when I picked this up I realised that I had no idea was existentialism actually is. I have read one book in the 'Teach Yourself' range before and I found that easy to read so I decided to give this subject a go.

The book is laid out in about 10 chapters which cover an introduction to the topic, the key ideas behind it and finally ending with the key players involved in existentialism. show more There are loads of references to the literature and art involved in the movement along with plenty of quotes. There is a little repetition along the way but it feels like its important rather than needless.

I really enjoyed reading this book despite the rather heavy subject matter, its pretty easy to read. Occasionally with difficult subjects I feel as though I am being left behind a bit but I never really experienced that emotion reading this book. I can't claim that I understood and absorbed everything but I do feel as though I have a much better grasp of existentialism than I had before. Another thing which I really liked is that no previous knowledge of philosophy is assumed and famous quotes are broken down and explored.

I now look forward to reading some Satre and Camus for the first time as I know more about the subjects covered in their books. I also feel that I now have an even better appreciation of Crime & Punishment by Dostoyevsky.

If you are someone who would like a better understand of existentialism then I heartily recommend this book. show less

A very good, basic introduction to the subject of philosophy, which helps you to understand the key concepts, thinkers and questions within each area.

Doesn’t go too deep due to concise nature of the book, but provides just enough information to pique interest and to lead you into further study.

This book introduces ethical ideas and standards from different thinkers through the ages. It doesn't exactly tell you what to think but it does ask pointed questions to get you thinking about the issues. Since it condenses the thinking of multiple thinkers, it isn't that long so it also doesn't really get too deep. This book makes a good starting point to learn ethics and about different philosophers like Nietzsche and Hobbes.

Some interesting tidbits but the book was irritatingly disorganized and repetitive. Much preferred Christopher Hamilton's "Middle Age" from the same series.