Alain Stephen – författare

An informative and accessible guide to all of the great philosophers’ best-known theories, explained through their most famous quotes.We may have heard of Socrates, Plato, Descartes and Nietzsche, but what did they believe? What were their famous aphorisms? And what did these actually mean?This Book Will Make You Think: Philosophical Quotes and What They Mean explains as simply as possible the ideas behind the world's most highly regarded philosophers, examining their beliefs and presenting choice quotes that succinctly distil their most famous theories, such as:‘No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.’ Locke‘If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.’ Voltaire‘Whereof one cannot speak thereof one must be silent.’ WittgensteinWritten in an accessible and informative style, this book will help readers get to grips with the complex concepts of philosophy through the ages, and help match the theories to the names.

Have you ever found yourself alone with your thoughts? Have you ever been asked if the glass is half full or half empty? Do you wonder what true happiness is or how to attain it? Or maybe nothing really matters if everything is just an illusion or a dream?These ideas are some of the central questions of philosophical enquiry that have engaged, troubled and exasperated some of the greatest minds throughout the history of human civilization, provoking argument and debate in an attempt to broaden the horizons of human thought.Author Alain Stephen seeks to explore some of these key questions by tracing their origins in the writings of prominent thinkers through the ages, from the colonnades of ancient Greece to the intellectual salons of twentieth-century France, and show how these ideas and concepts have developed over time.Why We Think the Things We Think provides plenty of food for thought for both the amateur philosopher and enlightened thinker to digest.