Reviewing Julian Baggini’s How to Think like a Philosopher: Twelve Key Principles for More Humane, Balanced, and Rational Thinking, John Wilson writes:

The first of the twelve “Key Principles” Baggini wants to impart to his readers is “Pay Attention.” Certainly paying attention is a good rule to follow, whether while making coffee or reading former President Barack Obama’s banal comments regarding book bans. But this is pretty thin gruel. After reading this chapter, I took another look at the gushing endorsements on the back of the book: embarrassing stuff. The “Key Principle” explored in the second chapter is “Question Everything (Including Your Questions).”

Here Baggini illustrates his point by citing the case of devoutly Catholic Michael Dummett, whom he describes as “a giant in the philosophy of language” who “was not as self-doubting as he should have been,” and for whom, “[p]hilosophical doubt stopped at the church door.” Wilson responds:

I don’t think Baggini has earned the right to patronize Michael Dummett, not to mention “religious believers” in general, but it’s particularly striking that he does so after telling readers to question their own questions, advice he fails to heed himself. A more accurate title for this book would have been “How to Think Like an Imaginary Generic Philosopher as Conceived for This Project by Julian Baggini.” But that isn’t very catchy.

One closing thought. Baggini begins every chapter with a quotation from Dostoevsky. I was baffled by this strategy, because there seems to be a flagrant contradiction between the anodyne advice Baggini dispenses and the sarcastic, twisty intelligence of the Russian novelist. If any reader solves this puzzle, I hope he or she will let me know.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.