About this title: Starting from the premise that philosophers' deaths have been as interesting as their lives, Simon Critchley pulls readers in with quirky stories of how philosophers died and then confronts the big themes - in this case, what 'a good death' means and how to live with the knowledge of death and free from what he calls 'delusions and sophistries'. The book consists of short, sometimes very short, entries on various philosophers, cataloguing the manner of their demises and linking this to their central ideas. These entries would run from a couple of sentences in the case of the Pre-Socratics or ...
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2009-02-10
ISBN-13:9780307390431ISBN:0307390438
Description: New. Pre-release book with plain cover and publisher stickers. New, unread, unused & in perfect condition with no damaged or missing pages. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2009-02-10
ISBN-13:9780307390431ISBN:0307390438
Description: New. Pre-release ARC book with plain cover and publisher stickers. New, unread, unused & in perfect condition with no damaged or missing pages. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage Books
Date Published: 2009-02-10
ISBN-13:9780307390431ISBN:0307390438
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780307390431. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780307390431ISBN:0307390438
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: GRANTA BOOKS Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781847080790ISBN:1847080790
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 336 pages. The question of what constitutes a 'good death' has been the central preoccupation of philosophers since ancient times. this book includes 190 philosopher's deaths that are bizarre, and tales of madness, murder, and pathos. (Paperback) read more
Binding: Hardback
Publisher: GRANTA BOOKS Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781847080103ISBN:1847080103
Description: BRAND NEW HARDBACK. Starting from the premise that philosophers' deaths have been as interesting as their lives, the author pulls readers in with quirky stories of how philosophers died and then confronts the big themes-in this case, what 'a good death' means and how to live with the knowledge of death and free from what he calls 'delusions and sophistries'. (Hardback) read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2009-02-10
ISBN-13:9780307390431ISBN:0307390438
Description: Very Good. Clean covers with clean and tight pages, with no marks, volume is square: overall a very presentable copy. Tight Spine. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Random House Inc
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780307390431ISBN:0307390438
Description: New. In this rigorous, profound and frequently hilarious ("The Sunday Telegraph, " UK) work, philosopher Critchley recounts the deaths of more than 190 philosophers and shows how their variously tragic, amusing, bizarre, and absurd ends can help readers le... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Granta Books
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781847080790ISBN:1847080790
Description: New. The question of what constitutes a 'good death' has been the central preoccupation of philosophers since ancient times. This book includes 190 philosopher's deaths that are bizarre, and tales of madness, murder, and pathos. read more
But: until you have dipped into Emmanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason....you have not known the anguish of a desiccated personality displaying its emotional poverty in a torrent of incomprehensible blather.
There are many similar problems in approaching some of the most important philosophical works from all cultures.
Simon Critchley has put his decades of intellectual effort in absorbing the essence of work by dozens of philosphers by cutting to the nut grafs and adding the human dimensions that give works sparkle and reader appeal.
The honest reader approaches most textbooks with the knowledge that the writers and publishers designed them in full knowledge that they had to display the trappings, and not necessarily the spirit, of rigorous intellectual effort.
Some of those trappings, such as overusing the passive voice and squeezing the blood and passion out of human affairs and achievements, almost always make the activity of reading those books a penance rather than a pleasure.
But this book is so fun and shrewd that....I recommend it for reading in the afterglow that lingers on during the hours following a passionate encounter with one's inamorata."
"Simon Critchley has discovered a unique and interesting way to discuss philosophy. Accepting the aphorism of Jacques Derrida that "philosophy is a preparation for death", Critchley gives a brief overview of an array of philosophers then tells us how they died. Somehow this adds a bit of drama to each philosopher's ideas."
"i've always been interested in philosophical ideas but i'd never taken a class in philosophy or really studied the rich history of the subject aside from familiarizing myself with the more important names. i decided to pick this up from barnes to get a proper introduction. plus, what questions are more important than death and suicide?
this book was definitely a good overview of the subject, and it certainly delivers on its claims - giving the opinions and the reality of the deaths of every prominent "philosopher" since the sixth century BC. i put philosopher in quotes because there are several people mentioned who do not necessarily fall into the author's definition of the word, and there are several names I had hoped would be included but weren't.
minor annoyances aside, i definitely recommend this book for anyone who approaches it with the same intentions that i did."
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