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donohoeashley's review against another edition
4.0
This book felt comforting, like a warm hug. Philosophy can often cover extremely dark, soul-searching concepts, but this book still offered wisdom without delving into the depressing.
crufts's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
2.5
It seemed like I should enjoy this book. How could philosophy be anything but interesting, especially philosophy presented for the modern world?
But I just couldn't get into it due to two flaws:
(1) Second-person point of view.
Each chapter of the book begins with a fictional anecdote of a person facing some difficult aspect of life, such as exclusion, romantic rejection, death, obsession, disappointment, illness, or other struggles. The protagonist of each anecdote grapples with a breaking-up boyfriend, a compulsion to shop, an inability to enjoy the present moment while on holiday, and so on. The author uses each anecdote to springboard into a particular philosopher's advice.
Seems harmless enough, right? But the author made one mistake: she wrote these anecdotes in second-person view. She doesn't talk about how "Tom was bitterly disappointed by his foolish error", but instead says "YOU were bitterly disappointed by YOUR foolish error."
This has an annoying effect where the author seems to be relating a series of obviously false facts. Things like: "Worried about how your work colleagues would perceive you, you dressed up to the nines and wore your finest pencil dress." It's so absurd that it kept breaking my absorption of reading the book.
All of this would be fixed if the anecdotes were instead about some third-person characters. Make up a "Sarah", "Amir", or "Liselle" and talk about them, not about me.
(2) Too specific, then too vague.
Compounding the problem above was the fact that the fictional scenarios were very specific. Using the second-person "you" would have been fine if the statements were vague enough to apply to the majority of readers, e.g. "No matter who you are, you're likely to encounter death at some point in your life."
But instead the author gives extremely specific fictional anecdotes about how "you" went shopping at IKEA, how "you" gussied yourself up to see your boyfriend, how "you" had an adorable dog for years and years.
Then after these overly specific anecdotes, the advice that follows is very vague. We get a few generic comments about how the anecdote could have gone differently ("Do go to the party, but don't drink so much!" - gee, thanks, I would never have guessed) followed by vague platitudes that have no clear relevance to any other scenario ("Don't get overly passionate", "happiness is the meaning of life", etc).
Overall, I don't recommend reading this book.
But I just couldn't get into it due to two flaws:
(1) Second-person point of view.
Each chapter of the book begins with a fictional anecdote of a person facing some difficult aspect of life, such as exclusion, romantic rejection, death, obsession, disappointment, illness, or other struggles. The protagonist of each anecdote grapples with a breaking-up boyfriend, a compulsion to shop, an inability to enjoy the present moment while on holiday, and so on. The author uses each anecdote to springboard into a particular philosopher's advice.
Seems harmless enough, right? But the author made one mistake: she wrote these anecdotes in second-person view. She doesn't talk about how "Tom was bitterly disappointed by his foolish error", but instead says "YOU were bitterly disappointed by YOUR foolish error."
This has an annoying effect where the author seems to be relating a series of obviously false facts. Things like: "Worried about how your work colleagues would perceive you, you dressed up to the nines and wore your finest pencil dress." It's so absurd that it kept breaking my absorption of reading the book.
All of this would be fixed if the anecdotes were instead about some third-person characters. Make up a "Sarah", "Amir", or "Liselle" and talk about them, not about me.
(2) Too specific, then too vague.
Compounding the problem above was the fact that the fictional scenarios were very specific. Using the second-person "you" would have been fine if the statements were vague enough to apply to the majority of readers, e.g. "No matter who you are, you're likely to encounter death at some point in your life."
But instead the author gives extremely specific fictional anecdotes about how "you" went shopping at IKEA, how "you" gussied yourself up to see your boyfriend, how "you" had an adorable dog for years and years.
Then after these overly specific anecdotes, the advice that follows is very vague. We get a few generic comments about how the anecdote could have gone differently ("Do go to the party, but don't drink so much!" - gee, thanks, I would never have guessed) followed by vague platitudes that have no clear relevance to any other scenario ("Don't get overly passionate", "happiness is the meaning of life", etc).
Overall, I don't recommend reading this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
cait371's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good read. I read it at work between calls, and enjoyed the each chapter. I like that at the end of each chapter we got a tidbit of the philosophers life and a book to read by them, and the three points at the end. Those little points really summed up the chapters. And this book made me want to read more about philosophers, than what I just learnt in PHIL 101.
armedwithabook's review against another edition
5.0
Philosophy is one of the most fascinating subjects to study because it is applicable to everyday life. Marie Robert's book is proof of the many areas where we can turn to philosophers for wisdom and advice. One doesn't need to pick up each and every individual great work of the philosophers - all we need to do is to read her book! Witty, humorous, serious in the places where it needs to be, When you Kant figure it out, ask a philosopher indeed contains timeless wisdom for modern dilemmas, whether it is shopping at IKEA, working hard to reach a goal, becoming an entrepreneur, going on a blind date, meeting your significant other's family, making the best of an ugly sweater, or dealing with the death of a loved one (I mentioned it is serious in some places, right?).
Marie Robert explains in the beginning of the book that she set out to write it to reshape philosophy's image and help people see it as a useful tool to navigate life. There are thousands of amazing thinkers out there, who spent most of their life thinking about desire, passion, love, truth, time, language and much more. Through the situations that she describes, some of which I have faced at some point of time, I was able to see philosophy in a more practical light and learn more about the ideas of these great philosophers. I look forward to turning to them in the future when I am stuck.
A special thanks to Hachette Book Group Canada for providing me with an advanced review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved it!
Marie Robert explains in the beginning of the book that she set out to write it to reshape philosophy's image and help people see it as a useful tool to navigate life. There are thousands of amazing thinkers out there, who spent most of their life thinking about desire, passion, love, truth, time, language and much more. Through the situations that she describes, some of which I have faced at some point of time, I was able to see philosophy in a more practical light and learn more about the ideas of these great philosophers. I look forward to turning to them in the future when I am stuck.
A special thanks to Hachette Book Group Canada for providing me with an advanced review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved it!
thelovelylibrarylady's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this short book! As one of the few books that I actually own, I can see myself coming back to it as I grow older. Obviously, some scenarios were more relatable than others, but that is the beauty of this read. It was written for many different types of readers — young, old, male, female, religious, or non religious — and gives a very basic understanding of some of the most renowned philosophers and their theories. Then it connects those theories to modern day scenarios and helps the reader see how they can use philosophy to overcome hardships. I highly recommend this one for anyone looking for a short, enlightening read!
immiemaclean's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Bringing philosophy to the masses, and making it understandable and applicable. Really enjoyed, and recommend regularly.