Initiation into Philosophy

Faguet, Émile, 1847-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 235K words
Chapters: 24

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Initiation into Philosophy by Émile FaguetAuthor: Faguet, Émile, 1847-1916,Language: English, Class: B: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Release Date: Nov 1, 2005

Editor's review

This is an introductory guide to philosophy for general readers by Émile Faguet, an important modern French literary critic and intellectual historian. The book traces philosophy's basic questions and major schools along clear lines, in plain language that presumes no specialist background; its aim is to give readers an overall picture of philosophy rather than to probe detailed arguments. For readers new to philosophy it serves as a map: first see the shape of the field, then decide which path to pursue. As a public-domain ebook it is easy to obtain and well suited to fragmented reading on a commute or before bed. Note that it is an introduction marked by its era, and some topics and terms are discussed differently from contemporary philosophy textbooks; readers should treat it as a starting point rather than an endpoint, and pair it with a more modern introduction or primary texts for better results.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers curious about philosophy but with no background who want an overview first
Learners who need an accessible English introduction to familiarize themselves with basic philosophical terms
Readers who want to approach Western intellectual history through a low-cost ebook
Middle school or early university students using it for supplementary reading

Not a good fit for

Professional readers seeking a systematic study of cutting-edge contemporary philosophy
Philosophy majors who need rigorous argumentative training and detailed textual analysis
Readers expecting a Chinese translation or bilingual edition

Reading tips

Read the table of contents first, pick the chapters that interest you most, and don't feel obliged to go straight through in order.
After each chapter, write a three-to-five-line summary in your own words to check whether you have really understood it.
When you meet unfamiliar names or terms, look them up and jot brief notes, building your own index.
When you finish, choose a philosopher the book emphasizes and go deeper with a primary text or a modern introduction.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for readers with no philosophy background at all?

Yes. The author wrote for the general public, and the text is mainly overview and introduction; no knowledge of the history of philosophy is required. The book does mention many names and schools, however, so readers starting from zero should look things up as they go and use the philosophers mentioned as clues to gradually build their own framework of knowledge.

Is this the original English edition, and how difficult is it to read?

The available information lists the language as English, and it is a public-domain ebook. As an introduction for a general audience, its sentence structures are relatively plain, but philosophical texts still contain abstract expressions and technical terms. Readers with university-level English reading ability can finish it with a dictionary; beginners should slow down and work through it in sections.

How does this book differ from modern philosophy textbooks?

It was written long ago and carries the scholarly interests and expressive habits of the author's era; its coverage leans toward overview rather than finely detailed discussion of contemporary issues. Modern textbooks usually come with fuller explanations of terms, references, and discussion questions. Treat this book as an introductory map and pair it with a contemporary introduction to combine readability with accuracy.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Faguet, Émile, 1847-1916 Author

Émile Faguet (1847–1916) was a French literary critic and essayist. His writing centres on literary-historical criticism and intellectual commentary, with a clear style and a gift for tracing the development of ideas through specific works. Eight of his works are held in the collection, spanning literature, philosophy, and social and political questions: they include studies devoted to literary education and the interpretation of classics, such as Études Littéraires dix-huitième siècle and Corneille expliqué aux enfants, as well as introductory works like Initiation into Literature and Initiation into Philosophy. L’Anticléricalisme and Le féminisme show his engagement with the public debates of his day, while The Cult of Incompetence reflects his criticism of social and institutional problems. These works range widely in subject and combine scholarly criticism with guidance for general readers. Public information is limited, and details of his life and a full assessment of his work remain to be further verified.