What I liked most in this book on philosophy is a comprehensive and engaging description of Eastern traditions, like Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Shinto. I don’t have any structured knowledge of any of them, and this book is a great starting point for further explorations. There is also a description of Indian and Islamic traditions, but they didn’t strike me as very detailed or engaging. Maybe that’s because I’m into Asian cultures though. ☺️
There were great examples of Western approaches to life and knowledge, which helped me systemize my own knowledge. Thumbs up.
The author is a comparative philosopher and in How the World Thinks he views and compares the leading philosophies of the world according to their tools of finding knowledge, like insight, logic, divine message, etc., and their attitude toward such ideas as time, nature, self, virtue, harmony, morality, transience, impartiality, and so on. I liked that Julian Baggini views different cultures as having every idea and tool in them but to various degrees, which actually makes them different and focused on, sometimes, opposite values. I also liked his impartiality (yep, you’ve got me, that’s a Western value!) towards their differences.
What I really missed is, as the author himself conceded, more than a passing mention of Russian (or even Post-Soviet block) philosophy. I also admit that Indian and Islamic philosophy left me disinterested. I don’t know to what extent it is a lack of my interest or the author’s.
4/5⭐️ and recommending it if you are interested in world cultures and their ways of thinking and living.