The Truth about Everything An Irreverent History of Philosophy, with Illustrations

The Truth about Everything is an approach to the history of philosophy from well outside the modern institutional framework of knowledge. With an unusually frank and irreverent style, using parables, imaginary dialogues, and illustrations, Matthew Stewart picks apart the myths which make up widely accepted versions of the history of philosophy and offers in their place a realistic assessment of individual philosophers and schools and their contributions to the advance of human knowledge and happiness. This dramatic recasting of the history supports two theses: First, rational consciousness is not, as the usual story has it, the outcome of a historical process and the sole property of the Western tradition. Second, philosophy is not a specialized, professional discipline with privileged access to reason, knowledge, and/or virtue. Stewart suggests instead that philosophy is a general disposition, an attitude of respect and love for knowledge, which can be made a part of anyone's life, at any time.