Monday, August 22, 2011

World Philosophy: A Text with Readings Review

World Philosophy: A Text with Readings
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By necessity this book has to take a broad brush through the World's Philosophies. For example in Western Philosophy, Karl Marx gets one paragraph. This book should not be thought of a history or catalog of philosophers, but rather as a sampling from different cultures. A different author writes each of the 7 chapters, but most contain a glossary, further reading, and thought provoking study questions. I thought the chapter on American Indian Philosophy by J. Baird Callicot and Thomas Overholt was enlightening with selections from Ojibwa and Lakota. The thought that an ancient American crisis after the extinction of the megafauna, precipitating the American Indian environmental ethic was a new idea to me.
At times the distinction between philosophy and religion was a little blurred. There was little discussion of uniquely Islamic or Jewish philosophy (despite a paragraph on Maimonides). The focus of each chapter depended upon the author, so the Japanese Philosophy focused on Zen, while perhaps the other Buddhist philosophies are short changed.
I used this book of readings as a good accompaniment to Dr. Higgins teaching company audiotape of World Philosophy.

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This brief and inexpensive paperback provides an introduction to some of the world's great philosophical traditions through original sources. It can be used as a supplement to a traditional western-oriented textbook, or it can stand-alone. Organized by culture (Africa, China, Japan, Native American, Latin America, Arabia, Persia, India, the West), each self-contained chapter is edited by an expert in the area. The editors' extensive introductions to the selections are designed for readers with no previous study of philosophy. Each chapter also contains a pronunciation key, glossary, area map, and suggestions for further readings. An alternate table of contents is provided for world civilization courses.

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