Ideas That Matter: A Personal Guide for the 21st Century

Description

This is a book that celebrates the power of ideas: thought can - and does - change the world. And, in turn, ideas evolve. Fundamentalism, environmentalism and bioethics are defining our future just as Marxism, feminism or existentialism have influenced our present. So what do we need to know as we move into the 21st century? More than a simple reference work, this is A.C Grayling's personal and heartfelt guide to the ideas, past and present, that shape our world. Covering religion, philosophy, scientific theory and political movements, each alphabetically ordered entry illuminates, elucidates and provokes. Written with Grayling's customary fire and erudition, the result is a book that aims both to arm readers with knowledge and engage them in philosophical debate.

Anthony Grayling teaches philosophy at Birkbeck College, London and is a Fellow of St Anne's, Oxford. He reviews regularly in the Financial Times. He has a regular column in Prospect and the Guardian on Saturday.

A series of brilliant, informative essays...provocative, forceful and informative--SUNDAY HERALD A.C. Grayling has perfected the art of a philosophical vignette...A finely balanced portion of information, analysis, allusion and often profound reflection written with graceful authority--THE HERALD If there is any such person in Britain today as 'The Thinking Man', it is A.C. Grayling. He provides generous help for the ethically challenged, the philosophically perplexed and the culturally confused. Clearly and succinctly, without jargon or condescension, Grayling takes on the intellectual world and names its parts. He does us great service with this useful handbook--THE TIMES