U3A Farnham, discussion board and forum

Ian Lang · Veteran Member

Book suggestions for the 2015/16 season

Ian Lang · Veteran Member

Aristotle is the philospher I admire the most. So one suggestion of mine is "Aristotle - A Very Short Introduction" byJonathan Barnes.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aristotle-Very-Short-Introduction-Introductions/dp/0192854089/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433453787&sr=1-10&keywords=aristotle

Of course Aristotle was much more than a philosopher and this very short book attempts to cover all aspects of the man so I don't know how much actual philosophy it contains.

Another suggestion is the book I suggested last time "The Minds-I" by Hofstadfer and Dennett.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Minds-Fantasies-Reflections-Penguin-Science/dp/014006253X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433454285&sr=1-1&keywords=The+minds+i+Hofstadter

This is a collection of 27 papers by various authors ranging in length from one page to 40 pages and each including a commentary by Hofstadter or Dennett. They are strange thought-experiments, mind-stretching fantasies and humourous dialogues on the subject of self and soul designed to provoke the reader. The authors include Turing, Dawkins, Searle, Nager and Nozick as well as Hofstadter and Dennett and many others.

If we choose this book, I suggest we do three or four papers at a time. Generally they are easy to read but will provoke discussion. Should be fun. Not too serious but exploring several deep philosophical problems of mind and self.

Hofstadter, in a typical spoonerism, asks "Is the soul the hum of its parts?".

Richard Myers · Member

Aristotle seems like a good idea after the many references to him in Sandel's 'Justice...'.

However, I would prefer to read an original work rather than an introduction by someone else. I believe that in most cases a lot is lost by reading a summary. In my background of English literature, it would usually be unheard of to read a summary of a book rather than the original. This criticism applies much less to mathematical and scientific work and to some extent to philosophy, but I think Aristotle is probably one of many philosophers where immersion in their writing will give the best understanding of their ideas. I can't prove this.

My proposal is to read the Nicomachean Ethics. This has been on my reading list since I was 17, so I have a personal stake in finally getting round to it! It is the more famous of his two books on Ethics, though I am sure the Eudemian Ethics is also well worth reading. I think we have some understanding from Sandel that the work explores virtue, happiness, the good life etc. Sandel constantly emphasises that in his view it is of current interest.

There are lots of editions. The Oxford World Classics is cheap and includes what seems to be a comprehensive introduction, outline of the structure and generous explanatory notes - about 65 pages of notes. I compared the [not new] translation of the first few paragraphs with the newer one in the Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy; for that very limited test, the Oxford one seemed just as good. The Cambridge one does not include so much helpful material in the way of notes, it seems to me. Also I find the format of the Cambridge series slightly depressing - unattractive plain green covers.

Additionally there are several guides - the Routledge guide in the series Guides to the World's Great Books appealed to me as apparently a true guide, consistent because written by one man, attempting to explain things in an attractively simple style. I think it was a bit more pricey - £15? The Short Introduction might also be good.

I am not sure how much a separate Guide will be necessary in addition to all the material in the Oxford World Classics edition, but I am very happy to go along with having one if others think it is essential.

Harit Trivedi · Member

(The post below is put on the board by Harit T on behalf of Ian Trotter:)

In the quest to find a book to offer the Group for study during the next session I have become interested in the work of the modern American Pragmatists.

This came about because I generally like the idea of reading/studying the work of modern philosophers and as I pursued my interest I became interested in the Pragmatists.

Modern Pragmatism really became noticed as a new philosophical tradition around 1870. It rejects the notion that the function of thought is to describe or mirror reality but more that the function of thought is as a tool for prediction, problem solving and action, possibly what applied maths is to the subject of mathematics. As an engineer this approach has some resonance.

These early or new Pragmatists included. Charles Sanders Pierce, William James, Chauncey Wright John Dewey and George Herbert Mead.

I have found dipping in and out of their work fascinating and so it was that I became more interested in Pragmatism as a field of Philosophy.

As ever when reading the work of a new “school” it is a tremendous help to do as we have done for other sessions find a an author who in a book can draw together and review the work of the key players.

I don’t know what others may feel but Cheryl Misak may well have succeeded in doing so in her book “The American Pragmatists”.

Cheryl Misak is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto, she received her MA from Columbia University and her D. Phil from the University of Oxford. Her interests are apart from pragmatism are epistemology, ethics and philosophy of medicine.

May be a book the group would like to consider.

Harit Trivedi · Member

RE: Book suggestions for the 2015/16 season (revised on 16/6/2015) -> Voting	Permalink


We have four suggestions for 2015-16 books: (a) "Aristotle - A Very Short Introduction" byJonathan Barnes. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aristotle-Very-Short-Introduction-Introductions/dp/0192854089/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433453787&sr=1-10&keywords=aristotle (b) "The Minds-I" by Hofstadfer and Dennett. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Minds-Fantasies-Reflections-Penguin-Science/dp/014006253X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433454285&sr=1-1&keywords=The+minds+i+Hofstadter (c) " *The Nicomachean Ethics" by Aristotle (the particular edition to be agreed upon)* http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=The+Nicomachean+ethics (d) " The American Pragmatists" by Cheryl Misak http://www.amazon.co.uk/American-Pragmatists-Oxford-History-Philosophy/dp/0198709374/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434484404&sr=1-1&keywords=cheryl+misak ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please cast your vote by arranging the list in decreasing order of preference - e.g., (b,a,d,c) would indicate first preference for b, etc. The ordered list should be mailed to me at I would like to wrap up the voting by June 30th. I will communicate the result within a day or two after that.