The Philosopher's Daybook: 366 Philosophical Investigations (Hardback)

In The Philosopher's Daybook Stephen Law has selected 366 quotations and longer excerpts from the writings of the great philosophers - one for each day of the calendar year - that introduce and exemplify the fundamental concerns and questions that thinkers have grappled with from the era of the ancient Greeks to the present day. These questions range from Aristotle on the nature of the soul to William of Ockham on the metaphysical universal, from Descartes on the mind-body dichotomy to Hume's 'Problem of Induction', and from Kant's 'categorical imperative' to Nietzsche's 'will to power'. Each quotation is accompanied by an elucidatory commentary that introduces the philosopher, establishes the context of the quotation and assesses its lasting relevance. Some quotations are as brief as Descartes' 'cogito ergo sum', others are rather more substantial and invite the reader to test their philosophical understanding in a more intellectually challenging way. In many cases, there is a historical link between the day in question and the cited material: certain thinkers are quoted on the day of their birth or death, while the anniversaries of such events as the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 (1 November), the Armistice that ended World War I (11 November) and the Al-Qaeda attacks of as 9/11 offer the opportunity for reflection on such questions as, respectively, divine providence, the notion of the 'just war', and the nature of evil. With quotations from Cynics, Stoics, Epicureans, Logicians, Humanists and Rationalists, The Philsopher's Daybook offers wisdom, sage advice and shrewd council on our day-to-day struggles.