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Books

Pandora’s Book by David Birch

Steven Campbell-Harris is provoked by ideas.

Introducing a subject as unruly and multitudinous as philosophy is a challenging affair. After all, philosophers disagree even about its nature and scope. Some philosophers give a historical overview of canonical thinkers (for example, Anthony Gottlieb’s The Dream of Reason or AC Grayling’s The History of Philosophy); others acquaint their readers with philosophical method (for example, Timothy Williamson’s Doing Philosophy); while others invite readers to ponder a few of the most intractable philosophical problems and wrestle with responses to them (for example, Nigel Warburton’s Think). Pandora’s Book (2021), subtitled 401 philosophical questions to help you lose your mind (with answers), is an alternative kind of introduction from philosophy teacher David Birch. The book is structured in two parts, but feels anarchic and wild, bursting at the seams and resisting closure.

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