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How the World Thinks
- A Global History of Philosophy
- Narrated by: Julian Baggini
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
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How the World Thinks
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Summary
All cultures are different and have different ways of thinking.
In How the World Thinks, Julian Baggini travels the globe to provide a hugely wide-ranging map of human thought. He shows us how distinct branches of philosophy flowered simultaneously in China, India and Ancient Greece, growing from local myths and stories - and how contemporary cultural attitudes, with particular attention to the West, East Asia, the Muslim World and Africa, have developed out of the philosophical histories of their regions.
Interviewing thinkers from all around the world, he asks why, for instance, do our European systems of governments and justice differ so widely from the East? Why can Islam not easily incorporate secular knowledge? How do we understand China? By gaining greater knowledge of how others think, we can become less certain of the knowledge we think we have, the first step to greater understanding.
What listeners say about How the World Thinks
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steven Thurston
- 02-05-21
Good coverage and detail on different philosophies
Good coverage and detail on different philosophies around the world. at times it can be quite heavy going but I found it full of information and structured very well indeed. I came away much more aware of different beliefs and thinking from around the globe.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Vee
- 12-09-19
Cute but colonial
Despite including many world views in this book, the author sadly investigates each culture’s philosophy from a largely western perspective. For example, a misunderstanding of Karma as fatalism, and a very biased interjection of opinion at various points. Nonetheless a good read.
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35 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Renny
- 01-08-20
Bit dry but interesting topic
Overall fascinating, but must say that the dry writing style made me zone out several times. Going to have to listen to this book more than once before the material sticks
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. H. Hillman
- 24-08-19
Very easy to listen to and very engaging.
I dont know if the author reading his own book always help but in this case if found it very easy to listen to and every engaging. A broad subject very well covered. I found him insightful and it gave me plenty to consider. A pleasure to listen to.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Vetrina
- 06-12-19
took less than 30mins to dislike the audio reading
The lisped mispronounced Indian word started to take a toll on me in under 30 minutes. "if you're going to explain philosophical concepts atleast know how to communicate by pronouning them correctly" From then on it was a chore to listen to how the words were pronounced. Do not rate. Would not listen to reader again.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 16-07-20
Not as Global as expected
I really enjoyed what was covered in this book and how the concepts were broken down and explored. The focus was on Western, East Asian, Indian and to some degree Islamic regions, cultures and ideas. This was all done really well. Unfortunately, save for a few very brief references, it didn't cover large portions of humanity, for example Africa. This would be understandably difficult but it wasn't even specifically explained as to why say African philosophies barely featured and it's a pity the book didn't cover it. To my mind, this is a real shame and undermines the notion of this providing a true Global perspective. Even Russia, which was also omitted until the concluding chapter, did get a short summary there of what constitutes philosophy in Russia, a recommendation of another author's book exploring Russian thinking and an explanation as to why it was not otherwise mentioned elsewhere in the book. I would happily have continued to listen to many more hours of this book, if only the author had included more.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- BEN
- 02-10-19
Interesting and engaging
Starts a little slow but builds and kept my interest throughout.
Felt balanced and interested rather than pushing a view.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- LJLC
- 12-10-19
Hard going
Probably my lack of focus and endurance, but I found this book a little dull.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Terence Alan Browning
- 12-06-19
A well thought out comparison with a few anecdotes
No source is neutral, but it's not bad. At worst, he uses the alt-right "view from nowhere" dog whistle to describe a neutral perspective.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- james
- 12-03-20
Food for thought
Perhaps one of the reasons Socialists revolutions were not successful were often due to some people's thinking. How people think is a great way to understanding other individuals from other cultures
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