The Truth about Everything: An Irreverent History of Philosophy, with Illustrations Book Description
The Truth about Everything is an approach to the history of philosophy from well outside the modern institutional framework of knowledge. With an unusually frank and irreverent style, using parables, imaginary dialogues, and illustrations, Matthew Stewart picks apart the myths which make up widely accepted versions of the history of philosophy and offers in their place a realistic assessment of individual philosophers and schools and their contributions to the advance of human knowledge and happiness. This dramatic recasting of the history supports two theses: First, rational consciousness is not, as the usual story has it, the outcome of a historical process and the sole property of the Western tradition. Second, philosophy is not a specialized, professional discipline with privileged access to reason, knowledge, and/or virtue. Stewart suggests instead that philosophy is a general disposition, an attitude of respect and love for knowledge, which can be made a part of anyone's life, at any time. Throughout history, well-known theories of reality, knowledge, mind, and most particularly the "professional" philosophers who rely on them for their intellectual existence, have sought to isolate universal truths and structure the history of philosophy to distinguish schools and movements that seek a comprehensive understanding of our world. But in this well-intended pursuit of truth, have we lost sight of what philosophy is? Matthew Stewart believes we have.
His rowdy guided tour of the search for truth romps through traditional histories of philosophy using parables, imaginary dialogues, and illustrations to demonstrate that knowing theories, recognizing revered schools, and distinguishing the views of the great philosophers isn't what philosophy should be about. Once removed from the clutches of historicism, the compulsion for universal answers, and the perception that reason is a peculiarly Western possession, the nature of philosophy can be seen as a genuine human disposition to love and respect knowledge coupled with a desire for critical thinking.
"... a deliciously iconoclastic and often funny historical survey of Western philosophy". -- Publishers Weekly
About the Author :
Matthew Stewart has contributed to The Truth about Everything: An Irreverent History of Philosophy, with Illustrations as an author.
Matthew Stewart is a former management consultant and the author of the books The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World and The Management Myth: Why the Experts Keep Getting It Wrong. He lives with his family in Santa Barbara, California.
Book Details
Title:
The Truth about Everything: An Irreverent History of Philosophy, with Illustrations
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The book The Truth about Everything: An Irreverent History of Philosophy, with Illustrations by Matthew Stewart
(author) is published or distributed by Prometheus Books [1573921106, 9781573921107].
This particular edition was published on or around 1997-1-1 date.
The Truth about Everything: An Irreverent History of Philosophy, with Illustrations has Hardcover binding and this format has 482 number of pages of content for use.
This book by Matthew Stewart
is written in English language.
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