So I have yet to bite
the bullet and conform to the new fandangled way of the world. I have not yet
transitioned from the old fashioned world of physically turning the page to the
science fiction voodoo of e-readers. Call me old fashioned, call me cheap, call
me technologically ignorant, but I still prefer cracking the spine and turning
the pages of books that came from the good old fashioned art of rain-forest-genocide.
A few of the reasons I still purchase books are the fact that when people come
over they are impressed by my vast library, I never have to worry about buying
glass figurines to decorate my bookshelves with (I keep them in a decorative
box under my bed because they are for me to look at and nobody else), and I
still really enjoy going to bookstores to browse. The problem with buying books
is that they have become so damn expensive, and branching out is difficult to
do. I am constantly looking for recommendations from people I know, but there
are only so many times I can tolerate being told “the Twilight Saga was soooooooooooo good.” Unless you are a thirteen year old girl…NO IT
WASN’T!!!!!!!
While browsing through
my local Bookstore-Corporation-Location the other day I came across the sale
section. This is the greatest place to find books simply because you can pick
up a hardcover for like six bucks, and only be a few years behind on the author’s
story arc. As long as I don’t constantly look to see when new books are coming
out I think I’m up to date. But this
is not the point. My point is you never know what little gem you might run
across on the sale table, and I found an interesting little title that I
thought I would try out. It is Madsen Pirie’s 101 Great Philosophers, and it’s great for a simpleton like me who
likes to think they know a little bit about philosophy. So the premise is there
is an ancient tribe of nomads who are in search of a magical amulet that will
free the immortal tiger-god from its prison…no its not. It’s a list of 101
philosophers.
This may sound like a
waste of time, but the beauty of this is that each entry on the philosophers is
only 1 ½ pages. Trust me I have read a little bit of Bertrand Russell’s A History of Western Philosophy, and
have found that philosophy is hard. There are big words and abstract concepts
that make me feel stupid. I may not be the smartest person I know, but I can
read words that are strung together. The problem is that in philosophy you will
read four pages and end up having no idea what the author was talking about.
Pirie does a good job of hitting the key points of particular philosophies, and
not filling it with overly complicated philosophical jargon. This is a good
starting point for anyone who might be interested in philosophy, but doesn’t
necessarily want to do the legwork of sifting through thousands of years of
philosophical work. Pirie briefly explains the philosopher’s ideas and
relevance and then references some of their work. It’s not complicated and if
nothing else you will learn a few new names of past intellectuals, and hopefully
be able to throw a little philosophy into your next pick up line, I’m thinking
something to the effect of:
“Baby you must have
been what Leibniz meant when he said that God made the universe the best of all
possible ones. I couldn’t imagine a perfect world without you.”
And then you could use
the Socratic Method to convince her that turning you down is the wrong choice.
Surely this would work
on an attractive lady in a bar (as long as she hadn’t read Candide). I don’t know, I haven’t tried
to pick up a girl in a long time…my wife doesn’t allow it. Surely philosophy is
a turn on…right? If not you can lead in with some interesting tidbit from the
previous night’s episode of Jersey Shore.
Anyway, go check out
this book and see if you can enhance your knowledge of philosophy one page at a
time.
