Archetypes of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy

by Douglas J. Soccio

Book Overview

ARCHETYPES OF WISDOM, 9E uses a historical approach to bring philosophy to life through lively narratives, engaging illustrations, and a student-friendly writing style. Using its signature... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0495603821
• ISBN13: 9780495603825
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Cengage Learning
• Length: 640 Pages
• Weight: 2.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.9" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Great book

This book is a wonderful book that makes it easy to read about philosophy. It makes everything very interesting and they will even put neat quotes on the side of the book. I recommend to all.

Great Philosophy Intro!

As an introduction to philosophy, Soccio has done a great job. He does a great job of explaining a subject one of the most daunting subjects one could try to explain, and does it consistently. Highly recommended. P.S. Soccio was my teacher at a community college a few years back--great guy, to boot.

A excellent Intro to Philosophy

I actually have the second edition to this textbook so I'm not sure how much it's changed--not much would be my guess since it's a truly wonderful book, one of the few textbooks that I've kept, and the only one that I periodically consult. Embarking on the study of philosophy with it's breadth and complexity can be daunting, and Archetypes of Wisdom provides an excellent introduction.

Tears of Joy!! :D

An EXCELLENT primer to philosophy, designed to be down-to-earth and easy to understand for everyday morons like myself. n_nFor starters, Soccio has included biographies of philosophers, countless numbers of quotes, illustrations (to further define the subjects), commentaries, summaries, internet resources, a collection of stories, cultural variety, and flexible structure.The first chapter answers many critical questions hte beginner may have: Is objectivity possible? Does might make right? Is there one standard of right and wrong for everyone, or are moral standards relative? "Is it possible to justify the study of philosophy considering the urgent needs of such overwhelming contemporary problems such as world hunger?" The six branches are explained away in a nutshell in the behinning chapter, then elaborated throughout the rest of the book.What I like best about Soccio's style of writing is his fair treatment of every single nook and cranny of the philosophical world. No bible-beating hellfire, or condescending arrogance! Yay!

Philosophy Quite Clear

For those familiar with the elusive jargon of most philosophy manuals, this masterful text will come as a pleasant and shocking surprise. It highlights complex thoughts without lapsing into confusing or vague terminology. It also ventures beyond the philosophical triumvirate of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle by introducing the reader to other philosophers frequently over-looked in traditional Phil. texts. Chalked full of modern examples and written in a concise and critical manner, Archetypes of Wisdom is a great introductory host to one of the oldest disciplines in the humanities. An added bonus in this text is the slight, but still present, sarcastic humour of Doug Soccio. I have been fortunate enough to have had Professor Soccio as an instructor and his unique blend of humour and intelligence transfer to the pages in this book. I highly recommend it to anyone with the phil of soph.