The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy | Michael F. Patton and Kevin Cannon | Review

Friday, 17 November 2017

The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy | Michael F. Patton and Kevin Cannon | Review

"The most entertaining and engaging philosophy class you'll ever take!
In The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy, Michael F. Patton and Kevin Cannon introduce us to the grand tradition of examined living. With the wisecracking Heraclitus as our guide, we travel down the winding river of philosophy, meeting influential thinkers from nearly three millennia of Western thought and witnessing great debates over everything from ethics to the concept of the self to the nature of reality.
Combining Cannon's playful artistry and Patton's humorous, instructive prose, The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy puts the fun back into the quest for fundamental truths, imparting a love of wisdom to anyone willing to grab a paddle and join the ride."

Something a little different today on Blogger's Bookshelf: The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy. The 16th of November celebrates World Philosophy Day, so I thought it was the perfect time to share with you a recent purchase of mine.

Let's back track for a quick second.

After finishing high school back in 2008 (goodness, I feel old), I headed off to university not really knowing what I was going to do. I started with an English degree but quickly dropped that after not really enjoying the first semester. While I still kept the odd English paper here and there, I picked up a few Philosophy papers just out of interest's sake. Turns out that interest exploded in the following 3 years, and long story short, I have a BA in Philosophy. 

While I haven't done anything further (with few job prospects other than teaching), I still enjoy watching philosophy-related TED Talks and picking up the occasional book. This is one such book.

Discovered during a wandering journey through maze of shelves in the famous Powell's Bookstore in Portland, Oregon, this book practically leaped off the shelf at me and I couldn't not take it away. I'm so glad I did. 

The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy is a brilliant overview of many of the world's greatest thinkers. Becuase it's in cartoon/comic strip form, it makes for an entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable read. We're taken through ideas and theories from early philosophers like Plato and Socrates, to modern day ponderers, all narrated and guided by Heraclitus. The ideas are laid out simply and are very easy to follow, the illustrations adding that extra something-something to the reading experience.

While it's not a book that will interest the widest of audiences, if philosophy has ever ignited even an ember of interest in you, then this is such a fun way to get an overview of the thoughts throughout the ages. I highly recommend picking it up; I'm definitely going to be flicking back to this book in the years to come.

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Crimes Against Logic | Jamie Whyte | Review

Monday, 16 May 2016

Crimes Against Logic | Jamie Whyte | Review

Summary:

Philosopher Jamie Whyte uses Crimes Against Logic to try to teach people how to see the fallacies in the arguments that we encounter every day. Whyte provides many examples of fallacies in commonly heard arguments and then explains, in layman's terms, why these are faulty logic and how to spot them.

Review:

Fair warning, I was a philosophy major in college, with a preference for logic courses. I'm a bit of a philosophy/logic nerd. That's the main reason I picked this book up. That being said, you don't need to be a philosophy major to understand this book. There's very little technical jargon in here, other than the names of the fallacies, and those are explained immediately. 

The only part of this book that I didn't like is that it was originally published over 10 years ago and is still needed. Crimes Against Logic helps you to take a second, or even a third, look at statistics politicians and journalists put in front of us on a regular basis. It asks us to look for the moment the politicians and experts stop actually talking about the issue and switch to a different argument while seemingly staying on topic. 

Yes, there are some areas of this that are difficult to read. The notion that victims of cancer are not experts on the causes of cancer, just because they have it, can be tough. I'm guilty of thinking more with my emotions on these topics instead of the logic of it. But if we fail to see the logical fallacies in emotional situations, we may end up making things worse. It's not easy, and Whyte admits that.

If you are in the market for an intellectual read, or are interested in learning how to discern news from falsehoods, I highly recommend Crimes Against Logic. 

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