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.
Read more on First Things: https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/07/thinking-doesnt-stop-at-the-church-door