Description
Book SynopsisDid Plato really write those Socratic Dialogues - or was it Socrates after all? Why is it doubtful that Descartes ever really uttered, I think, therefore I am? And what did Sartre ever have against waiters, anyway? The history of philosophy is filled with great tales - many of them fictions, misrepresentations, falsehoods, lies and fibs.
Trade Review“We need more stories in philosophy, and Martin Cohen aims to fill this lacuna with
Philosophical Tales. [This book] is intended for a general audience interested in a satirical introduction to overlooked aspects of Western philosophy and the lives of the great philosophers.
Philosophical Tales does tell a number of interesting stories, and any instructor of philosophy will find it handy to have these stories available to enliven a class. Instructors will also find it valuable to use these philosophical tales to raise a compelling question: is a philosophy only as good as the philosopher who proposes it?” (
Teaching Philosophy, December 2009)
"Great philosophers only become well known after their deaths. Indeed, to speak of contemporary celebrity philosophers is oxymoronic. Still, one can't help wondering who amongst living philosophers will merit future Philosophical Tales. (The Philosopher, Autumn 2008)
Table of ContentsForword! viii
How to Use this Book x
Philosophical Illustrations xiii
The Tales
I The Ancient 1
II More Ancients 27
III Medieval Philosophy 51
IV Modern Philosophy 73
V Enlightened Philosophy 97
VI The Idealists 139
VII The Romantics 179
VIII Recent Philosophy 205
Scholarly Appendix: Women in Philosophy, and Why there Aren't Many 251
Key Sources and Further Reading 259
Acknowledgments 268
Index 269
