How do you know that you exist? What does it mean to have a future? Are you the same thing as your brain? What does it mean to be free? How can you know what knowledge is? A woman was advising her anguished friend, Be philosophical – then you won't need to think about it. Well, being philosophical is sometimes taken to mean that you should adopt a resigned attitude to the world – a quiet-ism – but the study that is western philosophy, starting with the ancient Greeks and continuing today in universities, bars and cafes – even bedrooms – is far from quiet. Philosophers think – but not just that, for they think about thinking and they think about how we think about the world, about how we conceive of ourselves, about how we possess a sense of right and wrong, about how we find meaning in life (if we do). How to Think Like a Bat might not help you to think like a bat, but it will certainly help you to think like a philosopher. Smart, witty and engaging, this is a superb introduction to the subject by one of Britain's most engaging philosophical writers.
