The problems of knowledge

(This book review was originally written by me on Goodreads, and since I read the English original, my review is in English accordingly.)

For those who are either interested in studying philosophy or have just started studying it (at uni), this book is an excellent introduction to the discipline. However, even for people who do not aim at making serious commitment to the academic study of philosophy, the book is also beneficial in that it enables them to get a taste of what philosophy is like and how it is pervasive in human society. It can be said that when we are not satisfied with what is directly accessible to us (e.g. through senses), we will enter, broadly speaking, the world of philosophy. I seem to remember something from an Indian classic (perhaps the Upanishads?), which says, roughly, that one cannot see the subject who sees, though one can see everything else. Indeed, it is precisely through this reflection on the act of seeing, though it being invisible, that one starts to philosophise. Perhaps philosophy has a more fundamental value to us as it lies behind every activity we perform, and because of this, it should be possible to state what philosophers are doing through accessible terms. In fact, parts of this book summarise the opinions from Early Modern philosophers to Kant, keeping accuracy to the largest degree possible while making necessary generalisations and simplifications; for this reason, the books is an excellent introduction, since usually Early Modern Philosophy is one of the first periods students like me will start exploring. Mr Russell's writing is extremely coherent, his style superb and sometimes deeply passionate, as can be seen in the last chapters of this book. It might be too much to ask that this book should cover every branch of philosophy, but still, the content focuses too much on epistemology. Perhaps a more suitable title for the book is "The Problems of Knowledge". The short reading list at the end is useful and will lead the reader to some original philosophical texts, although I personally do not understand why Spinoza's Ethics is listed as an introductory reading. Perhaps my intellect is just too blunt to understand/finish reading Spinoza... In sum, great book, strongly recommended. The book can be read both for practical uses (e.g. reading it to facilitate study) and for knowledge's sake, but perhaps the disinterested reader is closer to what an ideal philosopher should be like.