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 enlarge | Author: Leszek Kolakowski
Publisher: Basic Books
Category: Book
List Price: $20.00
Buy New: $10.00
You Save: $10.00 (50%)
New (39) Used (12) from $5.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 18402
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 6.1 x 4.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0465004997
Dewey Decimal Number: 190
EAN: 9780465004997
ASIN: 0465004997
Publication Date: November 12, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: No remainder mark. Availible today. Ships from the Great State of Maine.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-7 of 7 | | « PREV | | |
 OK as a casual intro to philosophers January 14, 2008
15 out of 33 found this review helpful
This book features essays about great philosophers titled by a question that Kolankowski presents as each thinker's cogent spur.
First, as the other reviewer mentioned, the title of this book must be from the Heidegger essay which is left out of this translation. Out of the 30 essays, Kolankowski says the publisher wanted to cut the number down so they cut 7 of them (Heidegger, Plotinus...). Why, what goofy madness, why on earth would a publisher or editor possibly condone or demand the cut of the one essay that is the title of the book? It makes no sense. My suggestion is that this book should be titled: This is Not a Pipe.
That said, the essays actually don't go into the nature of each question much. I have not read all of it - after quickly discovering that the title's bait-and-switch, I only jumped around and read about 5 of the essays - but they are intellectual biographies of each thinker and then the thinker's question is introduced as a kind of coda.
I think this might be of interest to someone who wanted to learn a little about each thinker, as a casual intro to philosophy and maybe to provoke further reading of their writings. But a general and more detailed introduction to Western Philosophy might do a better job. Still I admire Kolakowski for trying to summarize the lives and influences of these complex thinkers.
 questionable title January 7, 2008
17 out of 29 found this review helpful
CAVEAT EMPTOR. The title of this book, "Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?", is derived from the question posed by Heidegger in his lecture, "What is Metaphysics?" Consequently, I looked forward to Kolakowski's "take" on Heidegger. I bought the book; scanned the contents, and found no Heidegger. It turns out that the original Polish edition had thirty essays. This English version excised seven of them, including the one on Heidegger.
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