Want to know my views on writing philosophy?
See the interview I gave to Nigel Warburton on his Virtual Philosopher blog by clicking here.
This page has a range of views - my own and those of others - on a wide variety of philosophical topics.
Is it best to remove your clothes before asking yourself existential questions?
See more, with free extracts from Home and The Philosopher's Beach Book.
Want to know more about Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre and the other existentialists? This book, co-authored by Nigel Rodgers, gives an accessible introduction to Existentialism.
Are these suitable images for existentialism? (Each suggests to me a feature of existientialism - click on them to see my views.)
Thinking about language?
For my notes on Wittgenstein - from Tractatus to Language Games - Logical Positivism, religious language and much more... click here.
Your basic introduction to Philosophy. Click the cover for further information, a detailed list of contents and some sample material.
Copies of the older edition Understand Philosophy are still available, both new, used and as an ebook. Click the cover for more information. (This is actually the more popular of the two books - so you are not going to be missing out if you go for this one!)
'The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.'
Plutarch's advice is an excellent starting point for exploring the philosophy of mind, or even the philosophy of education!
Getting personal in philosophy....
'Every great philosophy is a confession of its founder, a kind of secret and involuntary set of personal memoirs.' - Nietzsche
Does your philosophy reflect your personal quest and values?
And for something that's easy to read but with plenty of ideas to get you thinking!
35 questions to ponder as you twiddle your toes in the sand - or in the snow for that matter! Just settle in a chair, pour yourself a drink, and enjoy a little light philosophy!
Nietzsche features on the cover of Philosophers Behaving Badly; not that he actually behaved particularly badly - sadly, more like - but his controversial ideas are certainly capable of being misused by those who intend to behave badly.
By exploring the lives and thought of six philosophers, this book shows that the life of reason does not necessarily lead to a reasonable life!
Reflections on the passing of time...
click the image to see my views)
Without conversation, philosophy is just dogma.
To consider the importance of conversation in doing philosophy, read what Nigel Warburton - the master of the philosophical interview - has to say by clicking here.
This link comes thanks to Aeon and Nigel Warburton.
Nigel Warburton's podcasts
These podcasts give extremely useful bite-size introductions to many aspects of philosophy and a chance to hear some of the greatest living philosophers enthuse about what most interests them. The podcasts have now been organised by theme, so you can scroll down his list and find what interests you. Just click here for the link.
What use is a master's degree in Philosophy?
Emilia Gunnarson, a postgraduate student reading philosophy at the University of Iceland may have the answer for you... Read more...
Thought experiments? How useful are they?
Fed up with diverting trolleys, pushing fat men off bridges, or getting hooked up for nine months to a famous violinist? To download a talk by Richard Baron reviewing the way Thought Experiments are used in philosophy, along with my own notes and links to other books, click here.
New to Philosophy? Here are some quick thoughts to get you started....
Why philosophise? / Of what are you certain? / Will nothing work better? / What's the point of knowledge? / Science and objectivity / The advantage of being awake / Is religious outdated? / Becoming yourself / What were you like before you were born? / Whereof we cannot speak...
Just click my image to take a look.
If you need to look up anything from 'Anselm, Saint' and 'Animals, moral status of' to 'Zeno's paradoxes and 'Zombies': just click here. This really is an amazing resource for anyone interested in philosophy.
An introduction to Nietzsche...
Follow this link for a useful introduction to Nietzsche in the form of a Minerva Podcast. It is given by Dr Daniel Came, Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Hull.
If you're into Bertrand Russell, you really should take a look at his Facebook page...
There are plenty of quotes and topics on which you can comment - and, being controversial and outspoken on so many issues, Russell invites just that - along with biographical information. You can scroll down through the page and explore topics. See it here.
Classic Texts in Philosophy...
If you want to read original texts, you can buy them ridiculously cheaply in paperback these days. Stick them on your shelves and impress your friends!
On the other hand, if you just need to look something up, or search for a phrase or idea within a text, here is the secret: http://philosophy.eserver.org/texts.htm Clicking on this link takes you to the classic texts section of Philosophy on the EServer, a website that gives you copyright-free texts, links to other websites, humour and much more.
'Whereof one cannot speak, thereon one must remain silent.'
... the ending of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889 - 1951)
Nigel Warburton
Nigel's A Little History of Philosophy is an easy introduction of some of the great philosophers, and he makes it more interesting by not taking the most obvious aspects of each thinker. Click on the title to buy or for further information.
Philosophy Bites
Following on from the huge success of their Philosophy Bites podcasts, Nigel Warburton and David Edmonds produced a book featuring some of their most interesting and relevant interviews. They make philosophy accessible to those who might not have tried it before. There is no need for more information about this book here because, if you click on the Amazon link, you will be able to 'look inside' and see the contents for yourself. (And for those of you in the USA, click here to go to Amazon.com.)
This is philosophy at its most engaged and enthusiastic! It provides a good, jargon-free introduction to some of the best philosophers working today and the issues with which they are concerned.
Everything Briefly: a Postmodern Philosophy

by Thomas Scarborough, published by WIPF & STOCK
For more information and to read my Forward, click here.