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Philosophy for Dummies | 
 enlarge | Author: Tom Morris
Publisher: IDG Books
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $4.74
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Avg. Customer Rating:  90 reviews
Sales Rank: 35729
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0764551531
Dewey Decimal Number: 100
UPC: 785555002340
EAN: 9780764551536
ASIN: 0764551531
Publication Date: September 17, 1999
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Product Description
Philosophy at its best is an activity more than a body of knowledge. In an ancient sense, done right, it is a healing art. It’s intellectual self-defense. It’s a form of therapy. But it’s also much more. Philosophy is map-making for the soul, cartography for the human journey. It’s an important navigational tool for life that too many modern people try to do without. Philosophy For Dummies is for anyone who has ever entertained a question about life and this world. In a conversational tone, the book's author–a modern-day scholar and lecturer–brings the greatest wisdom of the past into the challenges that we face now. This refreshingly different guide explains philosophical fundamentals and explores some of the strangest and deepest questions ever posed to human beings, such as - How do we know anything?
- What does the word good mean?
- Are we ever really free?
- Do human beings have souls?
- Is there life after death?
- Is there a God?
- Is happiness really possible in our world?
This book is chock full of all those questions you may have long wanted to think about and talk with someone about, but have never had the time or opportunity to tackle head on. Philosophy For Dummies invites you to discuss the issues you find in the guide, share perspectives, and compare thoughts and feelings with someone you respect. You'll find lots of material to mull over with your friends or spouse, including thoughts on - When to doubt, and when to doubt our doubts
- The universal demand for evidence and proof
- The four dimensions of human experience
- Arguments for materialism
- Fear of the process of dying
- Prayers and small miracles
- Moral justification for allowing evil
The ancient philosopher Socrates (fifth century, B.C.) thought that, when it comes to the Ultimate Questions, we all start off as dummies. But if we are humbly aware of how little we actually know, then we can really begin to learn. Philosophy For Dummies will put you on the path to wising up as you steer through the experience called life.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 85 more reviews...
 No longer a dummie... December 11, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a very well written book. Philosophy is a subject that I am intensely skiddish about. This book has a break down process that was easily understandable. I was able to understand all of the arguements and theories. It is an easy read and can be understood by someone just wanting to explore the options. Also, there is a wide index, which is a plus. I would definately read another book by this author, especially if it is a textbook.
 Overall Helpful for Classroom Use December 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I found 'Philosophy for Dummies' by Tom Morris to be overall quite interesting. True it is written by an author with blatant views on Christianity, however, considering I attend a Christian University I found it to be quite helpful in my Intro. to Philosophy class. I would not recommend it to anyone looking for more in depth reading on non-christian philosophers but I still found it useful. Plus Morris is quite the comedian, I loved how he scattered personal little tid-bits throughout the book. I feel like he is passionate about his subject and that shows through in his writing. Philosophy can get a tad bit boring from time to time, but Morris' book helped to keep even the dullest topics exciting. This book shouldn't be the only one you ever pick up about Philosophy but it's definately not one to skip over either.
 Author is Biased September 23, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I agree with several other reviewers that this book greatly reflects the author bias. I don't think this is appropriate for an Introduction to Philosophy book. I guess I was able to pick up on the author's bias because I have done other reading on the subject, this may not happen with someone who is truly looking for an introduction. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Philosophy" is much better (and more scholarly while remaining readable) than this book.
"Philosophy and My Religion" would be a more accurate title for this book June 13, 2007
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is not an objective introduction to the subject of philosophy, as the title implies. I was dissappointed to find alot of the authors personal beliefs in the pages, with little or no opposing viewpoints presented.
One chapter, titled "Is There a God?", contains only arguments for the existence of god, with no counter arguments presented. Nearly all the arguments that the author presents have good counter arguments that could be readily found in other books, but the author somehow "forgot" to include these. If you do read this book, I recommend reading "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins to get the counter arguments. Dawkins' book provide good counter arguments to each argument that this author presents.
The book is also laden with the author's judgements about the various ideas presented. There are even little markers on the pages say "great idea", or "warning", and at many points the author refers to differrent ideas as good or bad.
I usually like IDG "for dummies" books, but this one may really be "for dummies". If you want to find a good book about philosophy, look elsewhere.
A Great Book! February 19, 2007
7 out of 12 found this review helpful
Tom Morris's Book, "Philosophy For Dummies" was suggested reading material for my Introduction to Philosophy class my sophomore year of college. Philosophy is required for all majors at my University. I was a bit skeptical to buy this book, not knowing what direction Morris may take his topics. I found Morris's approaches to the topics he tackles very fair.
As I get older, I realize that I have many questions about life that I want answered. This book was written in an intentionally accessible style and it made it easier for me to understand life's most difficult questions. Morris ventures to explain many of the difficult questions of life that even science cannot explain. The questions Morris covers like: "Does God exist?" "Does life have meaning?" "Can we really know anything?" "Is there life after death?" These are all questions that every person ponders. His explanations of these questions are very humorous and concise so even beginners can grasp philosophical ideas more easily. Morris also helps to illustrate these topics to the reader by using experiences from his own life.
The book is not a normal, dry, long and deep discussion like most philosophy books are. As the reader, I was actually kept interested from cover to cover. What I liked most about the book was that it presents a challenge to the reader, which also kept me interested. It is definitely not an easy task seeking the answers to all of these questions such as, "Is there a God?" and "What is the meaning of life?" However, Morris presents both sides of all the issues he covers which allow the reader to decide for themselves which stance to take.
Morris breaks down the topics. He starts off the book by explaining what philosophy is. Then goes into issues like, what we know? what we believe?, and is it all true?. My favorite part of the book would be the 6th part, "What's the deal with death?" I think this may be the most commonly pondered topic. Also, finishing off the book with an overview of the 10 greatest philosophers and the 10 biggest questions was a perfect ending to a wonderful book.
All in all I would strongly recommend this book. Philosophy for Dummies is a very helpful starting point to Philosophy. This is one of those books that you will want to keep!
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