Reviewed by Edith LaGraziana
Introduction into the
Science of Thinking
As long as I can think back, philosophy
strongly attracted me, and yet, I never really bothered to learn more
about it. In high school I was taught some basics, but the subject
didn’t leave many traces in my memory except that the lessons, the
text-book and even the teacher were mind-numbingly boring. After nearly
thirty years I decided to give it a new try. Of course, I couldn’t just
plunge into matters unprepared, so for a start I picked a cursory
introduction into philosophy. The book of my choice was The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
(1872-1970) who received the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature “in
recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions
humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought”.
Although the author published the book
in 1912 to introduce some of the most important concepts of philosophy
to the uninformed reader or undergraduate student, it’s far from an easy
read. Already the first chapter dealing with appearance and reality is a
bit of a challenge because it doesn’t forgive a single moment of
distraction. The question dealt with is one of the best known of
philosophy: what is a table? Does it exist separate from the
individual’s perception? Is it what it appears to be? Or is it necessary
to distinguish between reality and apparition? Is the table I see the
same as yours? The most famous philosophers of all times have discussed
it in depth as well as at length, thus it suffices to say that my mind
was spinning when I finished the chapter… and it turned out to be the
most accessible of all fifteen less the last! It’s true that I’ve often
engaged in similar mind games as the philosophers whom Bertrand Russell
cites, but I never was very consequent and thus never even guessed how
far they can be driven, nor how controversial they actually are. I
learnt a lot about philosophy and eventually couldn’t help wondering why
highly intelligent people waste their time on problems that have no
relevance whatsoever for daily life. The author foresaw this reaction
and closed his introduction with a chapter about the value of philosophy
that sort of reconciled me with the science of thinking.
I experienced The Problems of Philosophy as
a demanding and interesting read although I didn’t get much of a chance
to enjoy it because it was too cursory and quick-paced. As a matter of
fact, I believe that I might have taken more pleasure in a thorough
philosophical work on just one of the problems. Kindly Bertrand Russell
appended a bibliographical note with special recommendations for further
reading to learn the basics of philosophy because he too thought that
it made more sense than studying handbooks. I fully agree with him.
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