Wonder and Critical Reflection: An Invitation to Philosophy

Using honesty, enthusiasm, and humor, this book addresses and answers questions posed by readers likely to find it to be a bit peculiar—e.g., hypercritical, somewhat disorienting, and posing more questions than it seems to answer. It gives examples of a wide variety of thinkers from the ancients—Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Diogenes, Guatama Siddhartha, up to twentieth century thinkers including Wittgenstein, Sartre, Roger Scruton, and Iris Murdoch. Each chapter contains a brief summary of major themes, an introductory student-voiced dialogue, a clarifying discussion, and questions for further reflection. Chapter titles include The Idea of Philosophy; Three Common Temptations; Philosophy as Cultural Criticism; Philosophy as Cultural Conservation; Philosophy and the Labyrinth of Language; Freedom and Self-Determination; and The Search for the Authentic Self. For anyone who wants to engage in philosophical thinking—to experience first hand the wonder, the temptations, the critical tools, and the pleasure of it.

What is philosophy? Who pursues it, and why? Aren't people who study it sort of weird? How is philosophy connected to wonder? How is it connected to being critical? What good does it do? How is it like / unlike psychology or history? What kinds of questions do philosophers pose? Do they ever answer them?