How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy

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This book connected all these different strains of philosophy (not forgetting oral histories from around the world) by focusing on a few key questions when trying to figure out "how the world thinks". It helped me start to understand other cultures and gave me a newfound perspective on my own. In short: it has "wow'ed" me and I highly recommend it. In response to the statement ‘Vaccines are effective’, only 5% of respondents across all surveyed countries said they “strongly disagree” or “somewhat disagree”. The vast majority of people do not think of vaccines as ineffective. Personally, I have a problem with the interface between religion and philosophy. For me there always seems to be a leap of faith - rather obvious isn’t it? - that precludes serious critical analysis. “We don’t all die” were the words of a broadcast bishop recently in the United Kingdom, implying that those of a good life (equals conforms to his interpreted prescriptions] will be saved for all eternity. This is not bad for a faith that promises to respect and deal equally with all humanity. Of course, there is individual behavior to be accounted for, but the implication of the bishop’s words are that anyone who is perfectly faithful but not a Christian will be excluded from eternal life (an ambition which, it has to be said, has not one iota of evidence to suggest it might exist…) Whether it’s calling a cupboard a press or saying, “I will, yeah”, when you mean no, there are many sayings that we have in Ireland that the world thinks are bizarre, but to us, they are just the Irish way. 7. Responding to a question with a question – we can’t deny this one Credit: psycatgames.com

How the World Thinks review – a global history of philosophy

Get intelligence from our ever-growing source of consumer data on 24 million+ registered panel members in 55+ markets. The book as a whole represents a covert plea for dialogue, compromise and humility. Time and again, Baggini exhorts us to follow the middle path between extremes, a principle that he sees as central to the philosophy of both Aristotle and Confucius. Sometimes these extremes map on to geography, as when he proposes that “it should be possible to avoid the excesses” of western “atomism without adopting wholesale an eastern-style relational conception of self”. But more often than not, what he advocates is simply a rebalancing, via greater self-consciousness about our moral choices. You may have good reasons for choosing personal freedom over obligation to the collective – but other ethical options are available.

Summary

Nasr is a strong critic of the West, but many within the tradition have also had misgivings about the moral neutrality of science. “Science is a magnificent force, but it is not a teacher of morals,” said the lawyer William Jennings Bryan at the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925. Most scientists would agree and see this as no problem. For Bryan, this was a failing. Arguing against teaching the theory of evolution, he said that science can perfect machinery, but it adds no moral restraints to protect society from the misuse of the machine. It can also build gigantic intellectual ships, but it constructs no moral rudders for the control of storm-tossed human vessels. It not only fails to supply the spiritual element needed but some of its unproven hypotheses rob the ship of its compass and thus endangers its cargo.

BBC Radio 4 - Start the Week, How the World Thinks

This bold, fascinating book seeks to inhabit other philosophical traditions, with humility but without patronisingly exempting them from the critique he applies to ours.” Jane O’Grady, Financial Times QI believes that the saying evolved over time, and famous humorist Will Rogers popularized an intriguing tripartite variant in the 1930s. See further below.Can Westerners understand the Japanese fascination with emptiness, the spaces in between? Can Asians understand how literal parts of the European traditions are? A saying with a similar theme was constructed by Olin Miller. QI presented an exploration here: You’ll Worry Less About What People Think of You When You Realize How Seldom They Do. This fuzzy thinking and high level of nuance is a strength of the book - but it does make for a drier read.