An Intelligent Person's Guide to Philosophy

In this book the philosopher Roger Scruton introduces philosophy by doing it. Taking the discipline beyond theory and "intellectualism," he presents it in an empirical, accessible, and practical light. Although he refers to the great philosophers, who have contributed to the largest body of literature devoted to a single subject, and who have shaped his own thinking, he offers not a history of the field but a vivid, energetic, and personal account to guide the reader making his or her own venture into philosophy. As he argues its relevance not just to intellectual questions but to contemporary life, Scruton masterfully presents philosophy as "a natural extension of our interest in truth, and a therapy for our modern conclusions."