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‘Ancient Philosophy (A Very Short Introduction)’ by Julia Annas, Oxford University Press

‘Ancient Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction’ by Julia Annas is an introduction to ancient philosophy. In this book, author introduces some topics of arguments by ancient philosophers, instead a chronologically account of ancient philosophy.

Digests of each chapters are below.
Chapter 1 – How did ancient philosophers think about mind? The Stoics thought there are no parts and divisions in the human soul, and that is all rational unity one. But Plato took the psychological conflicts. He thought there are some distinct parts, they are reason, desire and spirit or anger. And in the soul reason should rule.
Chapter 2 – Author comments the problems of studying ancient philosophy by the example of Plato’s the ‘Republic’. The position, interpretation and value of a philosophical theory has been turned by historical contexts, philosophers and schools.
Chapter 3 – Ancient ethical theories have been called eudaimonist. Aristippus of Cyrene said leading a life is devoted to self-gratification which is the way to happiness. For adults, a choice of virtue and vice is the differing roads to happiness. Aristotle thought everyone agrees that their final end is happiness, and what people seek in everything they do is to live a happy life. Aristippus said pleasure is a movement, not a settled state. A happy life is an organized one of past and future pleasures. And according to Epicurus there are two kinds of pleasure. One is the kind of enjoyment, another is the static pleasure. The Epicurean happy life is a cautious and risk-aversive strategy for maintaining tranquility. By Aristotle, happiness require some amount of ‘external good’. But amount of external goods can’t depend on your happy, and, so happiness come from an organization of your life. On the other hand, view to happiness of Plato and Stoics are odd. Stoics thought virtue is the only good thing. But, in modern time, virtue and virtuous thing or person don’t match happiness or happy in the many cases. One of characteristics of ancient ethical thought is a sense of the demands of morality.
Chapter 4 – Author introduces ancient theory of knowledge. Socrates denied he has knowledge in the sense of wisdom ore understanding. This philosophically questions about knowledge taken to concern the possession of wisdom. Plato showed the dominance of what we can call the expertise model for knowledge. In his account, mathematics is a model of knowledge. The entire system bases a clear and limited set of concepts and postulates. Aristotle thought different branches of knowledge employ fundamentally different methods, so their subject-matters are basically different. Sciences are the different kinds or branches of knowledge. Scepticism means an investigator going in enquity. Scepticism philosophers said knowledge have value requires that you can satisfy the reasons that you claim. In ‘Theaetetus’, Plato claimed that truth is relative to the believer. And Epicurus thought of knowledge in terms of knower’s relation to particular matters of face. He was a rigorously empiricist. Ancient philosophers’ concerning with knowledge is focus on wisdom and understanding.
Chapter 5 – In ancient philosophy, logic was a part of philosophy in its own right, which sustains philosophical truth and demolish philosophical mistake. Aristotle, Stoic logic concerned statements assert or deny something. Stoic logic equities arguments are made up of premisses and conclusion which are all statements. Aristotelian and Stoic logic were the essential matter of philosophical study in the ancient time. Aristotle’s thought of nature is the world made up of things that have natures. Nature is the undifferentiated totality of what there is. In ancient philosophy, for example Aristotle’s teleology and Plato’s account of intellectual design by a designer God, logical method matches principal theory and reality. The error of this approach is top-down methods and accounts can control reality and facts. So these systematic overall approaches by ancient philosophers caused controversial problems up to today, but is one of origins of the modernity and the modern science.
Chapter 6 – The characteristic of philosophy is reason and argument to understand the world, somethings, self and these basis. Socrates despised all things, also gave a ultimately rational account of what the subject in question is with arguing with others. Plato made philosophy a system, a self-consciously way of thinking and a institutional study to subjects. So philosophy became a forerunner of science. Ancient philosophy has had a influential role in Western Europe and the rest of world up to the present.

This guide book is not a standard chronological account on ancient philosophy. Author comments how ancient philosopher think about some problems and matters. She clearly introduces arguments of reason with desire (the ancient psychological studies), happiness (eudaemonic), knowledge (epistemology or metaphysics), relations of logic with practical thinking and the origins of philosophy by ancient philosophers such as the Sophists, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Sceptics, Epicurus and the Stoics. Especially her comments of ancient eudaemonic and epistemology are readable, interesting and excellent. A remarkable point of this book is these comments become equivalent to an account of worth and significance of philosophy with its foundation.
This good book would be helpful for you to grasp the thoughts of ancient philosophers.

Ancient Philosophy (Very Short Introductions)
Julia Annas
Oxford University Press, Oxford, 12 Oct 2000
152 pages £7.99 $11.95
ISBN: 978-0192853578
Contents:
List of illustrations
Introduction
1. Human and Beasts: Understanding Ourselves
2. Why Do We Read Plato’s Republic?
3. The Happy Life, Ancient and Modern
4. Reason, Knowledge and Scepticism
5. Logic and Reality
6. When Did It All Begin? (And What Is It Anyway?)
Timeline
Further Reading
Notes
Index

‘Philosophy (A Very Short Introduction)’ by Edward Craig, Oxford University Press

‘Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction’ by Edward Craig is a primer and introduction of philosophy. In this book, author introduces some questions, matters and isms of philosophy, doesn’t directly introduces basis, significance and purpose of philosophy.

Digests of each chapters are below.
Chapter 1 – Author thinks how science, thought and philosophy had caused. Once knowledge can be only practical, and improve your control over things. But the investigation of nature bring about belief in supernatural in human beings. The condition of human beings is supernatural and complex, today. Philosophy would be the key to recover from the crisis of complexity and divisions of science and its misapprehensions.
Chapter 2 – Ethical questions about justice and virtue (‘How should i live?’) by Socrates are called ‘Socratic question’. Socrates was excited, even he escape from the jail, to observe the wisdom and justice of him, the laws and the state or to protect his friends and pupils. The incident raise many ethical questions up to today.
Chapter 3 – Author introduces theory of David Hume’s ‘Of Miracles’. We know human testimony is sometimes to be treated with caution. But miracles must be extremely improbable. One the possible case violate the usual course of nature is an imaginary case.
Chapter 4 – Author introduces an argument on the self between King Milinda and Negasena. The self is not a charioteer controlling horses (reason and the appetites). Not only mind of self, whole of my existence in the world is a chariot all together.
Chapter 5 – Author introduces some philosophical themes looking back three chapters above. Such as ethical consequentialism, the virtue of integrity, political authority and the contrast theory, evidence and rationality, bundle theory of the mind, and problem of philosophy with historical contexts and cultural circumstances.
Chapter 6 – ‘Isms’ of philosophy are broad terms designating a certain general type of doctrine. Author comments some isms of philosophy and their relations such as idealism, dualism, materialism, empiricism, rationalism, scepticism and relativism. Author admits achievements of isms, but simultaneously he call our attention to thinkings and perceptions wouldn’t become simple, complex, dogmatic and vague by isms. Then author suggests that some isms are deliberated by relativism.
Chapter 7 – Author introduces some masterpieces in history of philosophy. ‘Descartes: Discourse on the Method’, ‘Hegel: Introduction to the Philosophy of History’, ‘Charles Darwin: The Origin of Species’ and ‘Nietzsche: The Genealogy of Morals’.
Chapter 8 – Author introduces philosophical perspectives of some constituencies. Epicurus thinks that the highest possible pleasure is freedom from physical pain and mental anxiety in individuals. Individual interests clash in the society, also restricting the individual damages everybody. Hobbes thought a way of supporting the individual was to hand over total sovereignty to the state. Marx said the working class people sell their labour to get a wage that is not much of a wage. And the work is external to the worker, it’s alienation. You should develop your potential of your personality and skills. The famous essay of John Stuart Mill ‘The Subjection of Women’ tells us women requires individual freedom, not just adult males. And Simone de Beauvoir asserts women make decision for each of us in our circumstances of inauthenticity. Also anyone promote the interests of non-human animals. And professional philosophers work in the system of philosophy, but can’t be careful of their own notions because they are just individuals. Also we make use of enormous merits they may have their faults, overconfidence and obscurity.

This book is a crooked unusual introduction to philosophy. Author doesn’t ‘introduce philosophy’. He leaves you a map or information about philosophical guide tours. Just he introduces some philosophical arguments and cases to attempt your philosophical thinkings about philosophical matters, instead of usual introductory comments on basis, significance, worth and purpose of philosophy. Also his writings are practical but some parts are much political.
Good point of this book is author test your philosophical sensation and thought. But author weights problems in front of philosophy. I have and apprehension about, contrary, readers would consider only philosophical method or rule like ‘what are the philosophical questions and objects’ rather than philosophy itself or actual problems of philosophy.

Philosophy (Very Short Introductions)
Edward Craig
Oxford University Press, Oxford, 21 Feb 2002
144 pages £6.99 $9.95
ISBN: 978-0192854216
Contents:
List of illustrations
1. Philosophy – A very short introduction
2. What Should I Do? – Plato’s Crito
3. How Do We Know? – Hume’s of Miracles
4. What Am I? – An Unknown Buddhist on the Self: King Milinda’s Chariot
5. Some Themes?
6. Of ‘isms’
7. Some More High Spots: Personal Selection
8. What’s in It for Whom?
Bibliography
Index

‘Marx (A Very Short Introduction)’ by Peter Singer, Oxford University Press

‘Marx: A Very Short Introduction’ by Peter Singer is a philosophical introduction to and commentary on a German philosopher, sociologist, economist and revolutionary socialist Karl Marx.

Digests of each chapters are below.
Chapter 1 – A brief biography of Marx.
Chapter 2 – Marx was deeply influenced by philosophy of the Hegelian system. During his student days in Berlin he was a young hegelian. In ‘the Phenomenology of Mind’ Hegel described the entire development of Mind overcomes contradiction or opposition. Mind is ‘alienated’ from itself and it becomes the same great whole in its developments. This universal mind finally achieves self-knowledge and freedom. Young Hegelians rejected Hegel’s idealism, and they think religions and authority of states are illusion. It impossible for human beings to regard themselves as ‘the highest divinity’.
Chapter 3 – Left Hegelian theologian Ludwig Feuerbach insisted philosophy begin with the material world. He considered existence precedes thought. Further more Marx stated money, neither religion nor philosophy, is the obstruction to human freedom.
Chapter 4 – Marx placed the proletariat within the framework of Hegelian philosophy. Philosophical theory need to be actualized by practical force, and that force is provided by proletariat. Proletariat possessing nothing can liberate themselves only by liberating all humanity.
Chapter 5 – The alienation from their own nature is that also they are alienated from each other. By Marx’s view, economic life is ultimately real rather than mind or consciousness. So the true total solution to alienated labour, private property, class division and any other problems of capitalism is communism.
Chapter 6 – Marx’s economic theory based on his historical materialism which is a combination of German idealism and the materialist conception of history ‘dialectical materialism’. Marx’s theory of history is a consideration of a human state of alienation. According to him, practical activities solve theoretical problems. To solve philosophical problems, we must change the world. So revolutionary activity is the matter. In modern societies the social power is the productive force of individuals. Thus the production under communism would abolish the alienation between men and their products.
Chapter 7 – Marx divided society into two spheres, the ‘economic base’ and the ‘superstructure’. And the economic base construct the superstructure. Thus society starts with power of production, or ‘productive forces’. The productive forces give rise to relations of production, and these relations constitute the economic structure of society. Law, politics, religions, ethics and moral are superstructure in a society. Marx’s idea of the goal of world history was the liberation of real human beings. By the development of human productive forces, human beings free themselves from the tyranny of nature and their own government of the world.
Chapter 8 – On this chapter, author comments theory of Marxist economics. He applied Marxist key concepts such as use-value, exchange-value, commodity, objectified labour, living labour, surplus value, alienation and necessary labour. Capitalists extend surplus value by the labour-power of proletarians, and pay only the exchange-value of labour as commodity in the labour market. Human relationship in the capitalism societies appears as the shape of the value of a commodity.
Chapter 9 – Marx wished replace capitalism with communism as social system. Communism is the final form of society and the answer to all problems. In communism society, Marx thought, universal interest of its people matches universal content or products. And communism solves the conflicts in previous society between man and nature, between man and man, between freedom and right, and between class and class. But later in life Marx abandoned the Utopian view of communism and necessity of revolution. Communism should be realized by social reforms.
Chapter 10 – Marx achieved scientific discoveries about economics and society? Whether Marx’s theory is scientifically correct or not, we should reconsider it as philosophy or systematic study to solve the problems of the modern society. Socialism societies in the twentieth century are collapsed by tracing to Marx’s misconception of the flexibility of human nature.

This book is a today’s usual balanced neutral introduction to philosophy, economics and thought of Marx. Comparatively Singer concentrate on philosophical problems of human liberty and human nature in society treated by Marx. Also author introduces the essence of ‘Marxist economic theory’ sufficiently. Author don’t conclude whether Marx’s theory is correct or not. Author raises a question of how we think about true liberty and proper society by reconsidering of Marx. Important matters are human nature in production, alienation from labour and commodities, labour theory of value, relation between individual and collective interests, and political domination in capitalism society.
Thus Marx’s optimistic view to flexibility of human nature is disfunction in actual socialism societies in the twenties century. But even today, Marxist theory is valuable to rethink and reform present free capitalism nations. We should applicate achievements of Marx. So I recommend this little good introduction to beginners who start to study Marxist theory.

Marx (Very Short Introductions)
Peter Singer
Oxford University Press, Oxford, 12 Oct 2000
128 pages, £7.99 $11.95
ISBN: 978-0192854056
Contents:
Preface
Abbreviations
List of Illustrations
1. A Life and its Impact
2.The Young Hegelian
3. From God to Money
4. Enter the Proletariat
5. The First Marxism
6. Alienation as a Theory of History
7. The Goal of History
8. Economics
9. Communism
10. An Assessment
Note on Sources
Further Reading
Index