How to Think Like a Philosopher: Essential Principles for Clearer Thinking

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Key principles for a more humane and balanced approach to thinking from the Sunday Times bestselling author of How the World Thinks

Pay attention.

As politics slides toward impulsivity, and outrage bests rationality, how can philosophy help us critically engage with real world problems

Question everything.

Drawing on decades of work in philosophy including a huge range of interviews with contemporary philosophers, Julian Baggini sets out how philosophical thought can promote incisive thinking. Introducing everyday examples and contemporary political concerns - from climate change to implicit bias - How to Think Like a Philosopher is a revelatory exploration of the techniques, methods and principles that guide philosophy, and how they can be applied to our own lives.

Seek clarity, not certainty.

Covering canonical philosophers and focal movements, as well as introducing new voices in contemporary philosophy, this is both a short history of philosophy and an accessible, practical guide to good thinking. Through twelve key principles, Julian Baggini outlines a pathway to a more humane, balanced and rational approach to thinking, to politics, and to life.

Reviews

If more philosophers wrote with the power and elegance Julian Baggini achieves in this book, more of us would learn to think like them. Well, now we can! -- Richard Holloway
A welcome balm. Julian Baggini writes with clarity and humour. And most importantly, he doesn't get bogged down in theory but offers practical instructions on how to think and question, more constructively -- Ritula Shah
An urgently needed guide to clear thinking, brought to life by a cast of our finest philosophers and illuminated by his gentle, humane, and accessible writing. Essential reading, both for making sense of a confusing world, and for living your everyday life. I'll be returning to this brilliant book again and again -- Anil Seth
Another brilliant, engaging and highly readable account by Julian Baggini aimed at that most difficult of tasks - helping us all to think, and encouraging us to find the right answers by asking the right questions. Simply superb -- Gavin Esler
A complete treat: a big breath of fresh air and a bracing detox for our beleaguered, battered brains -- Derren Brown

Author Bio

JULIAN BAGGINI's books include the Sunday Times bestselling How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy, The Godless Gospel: Was Jesus a Great Moral Teacher, Freedom Regained, The Virtues of the Table, The Ego Trick, Welcome to Everytown, and the bestselling The Pig that Wants to be Eaten, all published by Granta Books. He has written for, among others, the Guardian, the TLS, the Financial Times and Prospect, and for other magazines, academic journals and think tanks. His website is julianbaggini.com.