A journey through philosophy in 101 anecdotes

Might a million monkeys typing away randomly on a million typewriters ever create a meaningful book? In this musing of French mathematician Émile Borel, Rescher discovers an entry point into G. W. Leibniz's speculation on the limits of human knowledge, a speculation leading to Kurd Lasswitz's dream of a universal library, a dream opening onto Friedrich Nietzsche's doctrine of the eternal recurrence. Through an interwoven network of 101 mutually illuminating episodes, Rescher carries readers across a wide swath of philosophy ancient, medieval, modern probing seven thematic clusters. His speed-dating approach to philosophy gives readers stimulating glimpses of philosophy's perennial questions, interrogated from a variety of perspectives. This wide-ranging foray will naturally appeal most to readers already schooled in philosophical principles, but general readers lacking such schooling will uncover surprising insights: whether joining Thomas Hobbes in inspecting oft-darned socks or William James in pursuing an elusive squirrel, they will marvel at the truths careful thinking can tease out of ordinary life experiences. A kaleidoscopic survey of the treasures of philosophy.--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2015 Booklist

This is not a collection of amusing tales about philosophers or philosophy, such as the time Immanuel Kant missed his daily constitutional, or how G.E. Moore refuted George Berkeley's idealism. Rather, what Rescher (philosophy, Univ. of Pittsburgh; The Pragmatic Vision; On Leibniz) offers is a potpourri of brief (two- to three-page) reflections on select images, passages, or themes that encapsulate intriguing ideas. Arranged chronologically, from the Tower of Babel and Heraclitus's river to John Searle's Chinese room and Jacques Derrida's "demolition," each meditation generally states the context of the topic, quotes from a primary text, and then succinctly spells out the reasonable import that flows (or doesn't flow) from the issue, often concluding with an insight, implication, or invitation to further reflection. Suggested related anecdotes for each reading and a table of thematic clusters around the traditional topics of philosophy invite readers to skip around in the book according to their interests. VERDICT Despite occasional lapses into logic-eese and some abstruse vocabulary, this esteemed, prolific philosopher offers a thoughtful, wise, and engaging journey through philosophy's history and major themes in bite-size morsels. Suitable for general readers.-Steve Young, McHenry Cty. Coll., Crystal Lake, IL © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.