3 Review(s)

In this engaging dialogue that moves effortlessly across interdisciplinary boundaries, Richard Sorabji expounds, with astounding clarity and candidness, on a broad range of issues such as the moral philosophy behind the concepts of just war and humanitarian intervention, whether it is possible to be a Stoic today, and whether there is such a thing as a continuous self. He surveys the four leading ancient schools of philosophical thoughtAristotelian, Stoic, Platonist (including Neoplatonist), and Epicureanand analyses the differences in their approach to various subjects. Talking Philosophy is as much a recollection of Sorabjis childhood and his scholarly life at Oxford as it is a philosophical reflection on issues as varied and complex as whether animals have reason or whether Gandhi could be considered an ethical role model. The seventh book in the series of Ramin Jahanbegloos interviews of prominent intellectuals, it provides a fascinating glimpse into the life and mind of one of the most outstanding comparative philosophers of our time.