Driving With Plato
Robert Rowland Smith
Geisteswissenschaften, Kunst, Musik / Philosophie
Beschreibung
If life is meaningless as Sartre suggests, what is the point of being born? What does Freud have to say about losing one's virginity or Nietzsche about having a mid-life crisis? From birth to death (and beyond), the best brains in history have thought long and hard about the meaning behind the landmarks that shape our lives - and now acclaimed popular philosopher Robert Rowland Smith brings their genius together for the first time in this smart, witty and accessible journey through life's ups and downs.
Drawing on philosophy, art, literature and psychology, Driving with Plato explores the real meaning of the hoops we all have to jump through. You'll hear from Aristotle on starting school, learn from St Paul about falling in love, and get tips from Cicero on becoming wise in your old age. Whether you are learning to drive or about to get married, Driving with Plato is certain to enlighten and entertain.
Rezensionen
A friendly guide to the meaning of life'
A remarkably varied and eclectic introduction to the great philosophers and a defense of their continuing relevance...
I am often asked to recommend a good introduction to philosophy - now I've discovered one ... Smith'
...not only will this book entertain you, educate you and amuse you, it may very well help you stay younger...
Smith has the suave wit of the professional intellectual.
Take a seat and become thoroughly absorbed in this fascinating journey. Great stuff.
This is a fascinating and deeply impressive book.
I'll never drive the same way again. Or have a midlife crisis the same way again, for that matter. This book is elegant proof that philosophy doesn'
Apart from his genial, translucently beautiful writing - a treat in itself - Smith (a Former Prize fellow of All Souls College, Oxford) reconnects us to the ancients and not so ancients whose sagacity is too often relegated to dusty university libraries.
As with the companion book (they can be read alone or together) <i>Driving With Plato</i> has a clever structure. But it's not just the overall structure that makes this book so good. Roland Smith is a gifted communicator and each chapter is perfectly balanced, and several times my mind was asking 'yes, but what about...?'
Here is food for the mind and the soul, in a book leavened with many witty anecdotes, leaving one refreshed and entertained.
There are no ivory tower views. The author draws from many sources as well as making his own acute observations and reflections [...] The range of sources, both serious and trivial, is breathtaking.
...fascinating and deeply impressive book.
