“Undoubtedly, this is an important book. Much more than a guide to critiquing other people’s arguments, it explains how we can each sharpen up our own act by becoming more attentive and – crucially – more generous in our thinking. It should be required reading for commentators, politicians … and anyone who risks becoming too enamoured with their own rectitude.”
Review by Susan Flockhart in The Herald
“An urgently needed guide to clear thinking, brought to life by a cast of our finest philosophers and illuminated by his gentle, humane, and accessible writing. Essential reading, both for making sense of a confusing world, and for living your everyday life. I’ll be returning to this brilliant book again and again.”
Anil Seth
“Another brilliant, engaging and highly readable account by Julian Baggini aimed at that most difficult of tasks – helping us all to think, and encouraging us to find the right answers by asking the right questions. Simply superb.”
Gavin Esler
“A complete treat: a big breath of fresh air and a bracing detox for our beleaguered, battered brains.”
Derren Brown
“An essential, inspiring guide to the challenges of our time, drawing on interviews with contemporary philosophers, and filled with the author’s insights and reflections. It is exactly the book that we need.”
Sarah Bakewell
“A welcome balm. Julian Baggini writes with clarity and humour. And most importantly, he doesn’t get bogged down in theory but offers practical instructions on how to think and question, more constructively.”
Ritula Shah
“If more philosophers wrote with the power and elegance Julian Baggini achieves in this book, more of us would learn to think like them. Well, now we can!”
Richard Holloway
From the Publisher:
How to Think Like A Philosopher is a revelatory exploration of the methods, tenets and attitudes of thought that guide philosophy, and how they can be applied to our own lives.
Drawing on decades of enquiry and a huge range of interviews, Julian Baggini identifies twelve key principles that promote incisive thinking. Pay attention; question everything; seek clarity, not certainty: these are just a few of philosophy’s guiding maxims which can be applied to everything from understanding the impact of climate change to correctly appraising our own temperaments.
Both a fresh introduction to philosophy covering canonical and contemporary philosophers, and an essential, practical guide to good thinking, How to Think Like a Philosopher shows us the way to a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking, to politics, and to life.
Buy from my bookshop, your local bookseller, Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwell’s or (if you must) Amazon
