John Cottingham
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By: Cambridge University Press
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Not for beginners! 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
This book provides a general overview of three major philosophical systems and how they relate to what is referred to as the "good life". However, it does not try to give advice on how we should live the good life, it is trying to explain how philosophy has developed over time in relation to its goal of helping humans lead fulfilling lives. Specifically, Cottingham contrasts the ratiocentric systems of the early Greeks, the moral philosophy of Descartes, and modern psychoanalytic theory in an attempt to show how philosophy has progressed in helping us lead the good life.As a philosophical neophyte, this book was a bit too academic for me, assuming a basic knowledge of the key names in philosophy (Jung, Kant, Descartes) and their systems. Fortunately, however, Cottingham revists earlier conclusions in later chapters, allowing the reader to better grasp the differences between the philosophical systems under review.
Overall, this book is not recommended for those just starting to investigate philosophy, but for those with a basic understanding of the subject may find this book a good overview of philosophy in relation to its goal of helping us achieve a complete life. For me, it was like starting a race in the middle, not knowing where the course had started or where it was going. But this book is interesting enough to encourage me to go back to the starting line to begin a more serious study of philosophy.
Editorial Review:
Can philosophy enable us to lead better lives through a systematic understanding of our human nature? John Cottingham's thought-provoking study examines three major philosophical approaches to this problem. Starting with the attempts of Classical philosophers to cope with the recalcitrant forces of the passions, he moves on to examine the moral psychology of Descartes, and concludes by analyzing the insights of modern psychoanalytic theory into the human predicament. His study provides a fresh and challenging perspective on moral philosophy and psychology for students and specialists alike.
