The book of dead philosophers by simon critchley vintage books. The book of dead philosophers npr coverage of the book of dead philosophers by simon critchley. The book of dead philosophers by simon critchley alibris. While the book of dead philosophers does aim for a broad, popular appeal, critchleys wily cataloging of the. In this collection of brief lives and deaths of nearly two hundred of the worlds greatest thinkers, noted philosopher simon critchley creates a register.
Download read the book of dead philosophers 2008 by simon. Reading the book of dead philosophers has all the excitement of reading the cargo manifesto of a dutch freighter. Buy the book of dead philosophers book online at low. One of my numerous interests over the years has been philosophy. Critchley, philosophy chairman at the new school for social research, has made a book out of marvelous and funny anecdotes about the deaths of some 190 philosophers, from ancient. Buy the book of dead philosophers book online at low prices. The book of dead philosophers by simon critchley goodreads.
Then again, there are lots of good reasons to write and read about death. Simon critchley has compiled a book of marvelous and funny anecdotes about the deaths of some 190 philosophers, ancient and modern. The book of dead philosophers is more than a conversation crib sheet for attending gradschool halloween parties. In this collection of brief lives and deaths of nearly two hundred of the worlds greatest thinkers, noted philosopher simon critchley creates a register of mortality that is tragic, amusing, absurd, and exemplary. In this rigorous, profound and frequently hilarious the sunday telegraph, uk work, philosopher. The book of dead philosophers by simon critchley books. The book of dead philosophers ebook by simon critchley. From the selfmocking haikus of zen masters on their. Scholar simon critchley writes in his irreverent and appropriately titled the book of dead philosophers that senecas death is more tragicomic than heroic. The book of dead philosophers by simon critchley265 pages. In this collection of brief lives and deaths of nearly two hundred of the worlds greatest thinkers, noted philosopher simon critchley creates a register of mortality. See all books authored by simon critchley, including the book of dead philosophers, and continental philosophy. Critchley characterizes philosophys main task as an act of preparation, a. I thought this was a serious book about philosophy which this book is not.
The book of dead philosophers, simon critchley melbourne. Jun 10, 2008 it is the ambition of the book of dead philosophers to show that often the philosopher s greatest work of art is the manner of their death, says critchley. With the immense scope of critchleys project, we get some interesting glimpses of the history of. The book of dead philosophers by simon critchley, paperback. Simon critchley born 27 february 1960 is an english philosopher and the hans jonas professor of philosophy at the new school for social research challenging the ancient tradition that philosophy begins in wonder, critchley argues that philosophy begins in disappointment. The book of dead philosophers simon critchley download bok. The book of dead philosophers by simon critchley books on. Simon critchley is hans jonas professor of philosophy at the new school for social research.
From a few words to a few pages, each great thinkers death is examined in an enlightening and entertaining manner as the author waxes on the. From the selfmocking haikus of zen masters on their deathbeds to the last words gasps of modernday sages, the book of dead philosophers chronicles the deaths. Two particular forms of disappointment inform critchleys work. When i saw this 265 page soft cover book the book of dead philosophers by simon critchley on amazon for a bargain price i decided to purchase it. Simon critchley books list of books by author simon.
Feb 10, 2009 simon critchley is hans jonas professor of philosophy at the new school for social research. Simon critchleys page of dead philosophers home facebook. Starting from the premise that philosophers deaths have been as interesting as their lives, simon critchley looks at the strange circumstances in which some philosophers have died and then confronts the big themes in this case, what a good death means and how to live with the knowledge of death. As is, it seems too much like critchley wants to impress you with his research and then slip a fast one on. Jun 15, 2019 the book of dead philosophers would be far better served as a twopart arrangement.
Nevertheless, i felt that it was an amusing lighthearted read. The book of dead philosophers chronicles the deaths of almost 200 philosopherstales of weirdness, madness, suicide, murder, pathos and bad. Oct 05, 2009 one of my numerous interests over the years has been philosophy. The purpose of the book as critchley states in the introduction is to humanize these individuals whom we have placed up on the. Critchley s mordant survey supports two broad critiques that he sets forth in a. From the moderator of the new york times philosophy blog the stone, a book that argues that if we want to understand ourselves we have to go back to theater, to the stage of our lives tragedy presents a world of conflict and troubling emotion, a world where private and public lives collide and collapse. Simon critchleys page of dead philosophers posts facebook. After an interesting although hardly revolutionary introduction to the book and its central concept that philosophers have something to teach us about death, the single largest defining fact of our lives, through the way they themselves died simon critchley tackles the deaths and sometimes the lives of some 190 philosophers spanning seven millennia at a very rapid clip. Once critchley actually starts discussing these issues, the book become a rather flaccid catalog of philosophers coupled with weak summaries of their ideas with an equally disappointing discussion of their deaths. Critchley explains that because of an aged frame attenuated by a frugal diet, senecas blood was too thin. Simon critchleys top 10 philosophers deaths world news.
And death, in critchleys view is just a part of life. Experiments in political theology and on death in the book of dead philosophers which consists of short entries enumerating the sometimes bizarre ways in which philosophers died, from jumping into a volcano to love potion poisoning and critchley has announced himself as. Critchley infinitely demanding illustrates this claim in his portraits of the deaths of more than 190 philosophers from the ancients to the analytics of the mid20th century. Almost nothing, the faith of the faithless, and the book of dead philosophers. In this elegant and amusing book, simon critchley argues that the question of what constitutes a good death has been the central preoccupation of philosophy since ancient times.
Mar 08, 2009 the book of dead philosophers is more than a conversation crib sheet for attending gradschool halloween parties. The book of dead philosophers simon critchley vintage paperback 304 pages february 2009. Dec 21, 2009 i thought this was a serious book about philosophy which this book is not. In this collection of brief lives and deaths of nearly two hundred of the worlds greatest thinkers, noted philosopher. Perhaps more importantly, though, is that critchley isnt simply offering a way to better understand death through the teachings and lives of various philosphers, but a better way to understand the history of philosophy in generala different posture toward the dead of the past and thus a way to rethink our place in the present. A cursory glance at simon critchleys skinny new work, the book of dead philosophers, might lead one to misjudge the book as an ephemeral, superfluous, and even downright jokey sort of philosophy for dummies. From the selfmocking haikus of zen masters on their deathbeds to the last words gasps of modernday sages, the book of dead philosophers chronicles the deaths of almost 200 philosophers tales of weirdness, madness, suicide, murder, pathos and bad luck. Aug 08, 2008 simon critchley recounts this exchange in his provocative and entertaining new book, in which he has collected stories in many cases apocryphal of the deaths of 190 or so philosophers. I found this book to be interesting, informative, unique and sometimes amusing. The book of dead philosophers would be far better served as a twopart arrangement.
The book of dead philosophers by simon critchley is really like an chronological index of a bunch of world philosophers, a brief summary of their philosophical contribution, then an anecdote about how they died. Simon critchley in this collection of brief lives and deaths of nearly two hundred of the worlds greatest thinkers, noted philosopher simon critchley creates a register of mortality that is tragic, amusing. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Philosophy is the study of life and living, but a preparation for dying and dying well. Read the book of dead philosophers by simon critchley available from rakuten kobo. The book of dead philosophers simon critchley download. The theme is actually death and focuses on the various philosophers throughout history, their view of death and how. Oct 05, 2009 buy the book of dead philosophers by critchley, simon isbn. Heraclitus, who believed that everything was in a state of flux, died, according to one account, of drowning in. Critchleys mordant survey supports two broad critiques that he sets forth in a. The book of dead philosophers simon critchley biblioklept. Buy the book of dead philosophers by critchley, simon isbn.
Download read the book of dead philosophers 2008 by. Critchley admits up front that writing about how philosophers died is, well, odd, and that reading about such things is perhaps even odder. If i were a maker of books, i would make a register, with comments, of various deaths. Buy a cheap copy of the book of dead philosophers by simon critchley. As he brilliantly demonstrates, looking at what the great thinkers have said about death inspires a lifeaffirming enquiry into the meaning and possibility of human. Add to that his provocative take on religion in faith of the faithless.
The book of dead philosophers is a motley collection of some 3000 years of philosophy and philosophizing, touching on philosophers from both western and eastern traditions and nicely emphasizing the underappreciated contributions of women. He is the series moderator of the stone, a philosophy column in the new york times, to which he is a frequent contributor. Feb 03, 2009 the book of dead philosophers by simon critchley265 pages. The book of dead philosophers by simon critchley librarything. Simon critchley recounts this exchange in his provocative and entertaining new book, in which he has collected stories in many cases apocryphal of. From the selfmocking haikus of zen masters on their deathbeds to the last words gasps of modernday sages, the book of dead philosophers chronicles the deaths of almost 200 philosopherstales of weirdness, madness, suicide, murder, pathos and bad luck. In the book of dead philosophers, critchley presents a lineup of nearly 200 famous and not so famous philosophers and explores how, through their deaths, one might be inspired to lead a richer life.
1310 826 777 1516 1395 1529 874 795 899 1154 176 732 1184 266 1351 1429 629 574 232 972 1182 1089 7 628 189 1276 1341 638 753 598 1086 44 1182 1296 1197 1070