How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy
Oct 2018 · Granta Books
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'There to fill the Sapiens-size hole in your life' Observer
In this groundbreaking global overview of philosophy, Julian Baggini travels the world to provide a wide-ranging map of human thought.
One of the great unexplained wonders of human history is that written philosophy flowered entirely separately in China, India and Ancient Greece at more or less the same time. These early philosophies have had a profound impact on the development of distinctive cultures in different parts of the world. What we call 'philosophy' in the West is not even half the story.
Julian Baggini sets out to expand our horizons in How the World Thinks, exploring the philosophies of Japan, India, China and the Muslim world, as well as the lesser-known oral traditions of Africa and Australia's first peoples. Interviewing thinkers from around the globe, Baggini asks questions such as: why is the West is more individualistic than the East? What makes secularism a less powerful force in the Islamic world than in Europe? And how has China resisted pressures for greater political freedom?
Offering deep insights into how different regions operate, and paying as much attention to commonalities as to differences, Baggini shows that by gaining greater knowledge of how others think we take the first step to a greater understanding of ourselves.
'There to fill the Sapiens-size hole in your life' Observer
In this groundbreaking global overview of philosophy, Julian Baggini travels the world to provide a wide-ranging map of human thought.
One of the great unexplained wonders of human history is that written philosophy flowered entirely separately in China, India and Ancient Greece at more or less the same time. These early philosophies have had a profound impact on the development of distinctive cultures in different parts of the world. What we call 'philosophy' in the West is not even half the story.
Julian Baggini sets out to expand our horizons in How the World Thinks, exploring the philosophies of Japan, India, China and the Muslim world, as well as the lesser-known oral traditions of Africa and Australia's first peoples. Interviewing thinkers from around the globe, Baggini asks questions such as: why is the West is more individualistic than the East? What makes secularism a less powerful force in the Islamic world than in Europe? And how has China resisted pressures for greater political freedom?
Offering deep insights into how different regions operate, and paying as much attention to commonalities as to differences, Baggini shows that by gaining greater knowledge of how others think we take the first step to a greater understanding of ourselves.
Ratings and reviews
2.5
2 reviews
GjbMcN
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August 26, 2019
If you can Read with the Audio Version. This book like the "Silk Roads A New History on the World" by Peter Frankopan argues that something is missing in just Western Thinking and goes on to consider all the other styles of thought he has had some experience with. Martin Evan's lectures on "The Literature of Crisis" also hint at the problem of the Western Ages. But whilst Frankopan gets right into his "what and why" It is not til almost the end of the book that Baggini's "why" is explained. Whilst there is a lot of good "what" material I think I need to ponder and sit with the "How" he describes. Again it's self narrated and I feel his subtlety of emphasis is best captured with a "listening" and a "reading".
Marta Gostynska
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January 15, 2023
there is a problem with the format - it's impossible to read
About the author
Julian Baggini's books include Welcome to Everytown: A Journey into the English Mind, What's It All About?: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life, the bestselling The Pig that Wants to be Eaten, Do They Think You're Stupid?, The Ego Trick, The Virtues of the Table: How to Eat and Think, and Freedom Regained, all published by Granta Books. He has written for various newspapers, magazines, academic journals and think tanks. His website is microphilosophy.net.
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