Jazzy D's Soul Notes

Tom Sorell "Descartes: A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford University Press)





René Descartes had a short working life in general. The work he wrote was small in volume and yet significant. Through this short introduction to his work, the contributions that this work brought to the development of philosophy and science appear sensitive and apposite to our day. It is likely that his name became better known thanks to his expression "Cogito, ergo sum". or "I think therefore I am".

Through the intertwining of "intuition" and "deduction" Descartes managed to see in the principle of "cogito" the existence of the material world and how we perceive that material; mind through our mind.

It is another good introduction to one of the modern founders of philosophy and science.

A.J Ayer "Hume: A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford University Press)





Hume is one of the greatest of all British philosophers, and even in his lifetime was celebrated as one of the pivotal figures of the Enlightenment. A central theme of his philosophy is the conviction that questions traditionally thought of as completely independent of the scientific realm's questions about the mind, morality, and God, for example, are best explained using the experimental methods characteristic of the natural sciences.

Hume's 'naturalist' approach to a wide variety of philosophical topics resulted in highly original theories about perception, self-identity, causation, morality, politics, and religion, all of which are discussed in this stimulating introduction by A J Ayer, himself one of the twentieth century's most important philosophers. Ayer also gives an account of Hume's fascinating life and character and includes generous quotations from Hume's lucid and often witty writings.

Jean-Paul Sartre "Politics and Literature" (Calder Publications Ltd)




First published in French magazines in the 1960s, the essays, and interviews collected in this volume tackle two of Sartre's most enduring concerns as a philosopher: politics and literature. With regard to the former, they develop the notion of the intellectual not only as an aloof theoretician but also as a constructive agent of change. His writings on literature explore the limitations of language as an exact vehicle for meaning, the author's lack of ownership of his own words and the avenues that certain types of theatre such as Artaud's open for non-verbal communication.

A useful, concise introduction to Sartre's thinking, Politics and Literature investigates concepts and highlights conflicts, interrogations, and debates that remain topical and relevant to this day.

John Eidinow  and David Edmonds "Wittgenstein's Poker" (Faber & Faber)






Edmonds and Eidinow provide a fascinating window into a very brief, yet meaningful exchange between several of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century- Ludwig Wittgenstein, Karl Popper, and Bertrand Russell.

Wittgenstein and many of the philosophy faculty, graduate students and other scholars would gather weekly in a classroom on the campus of King's College in England for great philosophical discussions and stimulating debates.

On this particular occasion, at one of their meetings on a day in late October of 1946, Karl Popper was in the area giving a lecture and was invited to attend the meeting of the moral philosophy club. Wittgenstein's brief argument with Popper, which took place at that small classroom at King's College in the presence of Bertrand Russell and a handful of graduate philosophy students has become the stuff of legend.

Wittgenstein and Popper reportedly debated back and forth about their differing perspectives on the deep philosophical and linguistic argument at hand- including by some accounts Wittgenstein accentuating his point with a poker from the fireplace. Following this brief exchange, Wittgenstein reportedly made his point, threw down the poker and left the room. Reports differ as to who won the argument, but it has become part of both of their enduring philosophical legacies.

This thoughtful book sets the scene for this interesting exchange. The authors also provide a fascinating background into the early life and upbringing of both Wittgenstein and Popper- Wittgenstein as the son of a wealthy European oil tycoon who endured much tragedy in his younger life and eschewed wealth and privilege in his adult life; Popper coming from a more austere working class background.

A concise window into Wittgenstein's (and to some degree Popper and Russell's) works is also provided. Wittgenstein had published his brilliant yet somewhat obtuse "Tractatus Logico Philosophicus" some years earlier. Popper had written "The Open Society and Its Enemies," which was a scathing critique of authoritarianism and further developed the "open society" concept put forth by Bergson.

This book is a fascinating read, and provides enough concise background that one does not have to be a philosophy scholar to enjoy and benefit greatly from reading it. I highly recommend it!

Stephen S. Lundsburg "The Big Questions" (Free Press)



Steven E. Landsburg’s The Big Questions is an intriguing foray into the use of non-typical sciences to look at macroscopic philosophical questions. The questions in questions range from why is there something rather than nothing, is there a God, is logical disagreement a sign of inherent meaninglessness, can we really know everything, and so on. These are indeed interesting and challenging questions. Looking into philosophy using physics and economics is kind of fun and gets one thinking laterally and not directly, which on the whole is a good skill to have.


Landsburg’s tackling of these questions is in many ways logical and rich. There are indeed mathematical bases for following both morality and human perception of color (as well as other things in the universe). His main premise is that once you have math, everything else follows. One of the very mind-boggling assertions me makes is that almost no one is deeply religious because crimes are committed on a fairly regular basis and acts of martyrdom are not. That part makes for fun reading. And for the most part, Landsburg’s theories are engaging, flow well, and get you to think a little more critically about the larger picture.

Happy Birthday  (yesterday) to the American philosopher and previous winner of the Philosophy Now Award for Contributions in the Fight Against Stupidity Noam Chomsky! Most known for his work on behaviourism (criticising the doctrine) and linguistics, Chomsky is also known for his political activism.