101 Philosophy Problems

"101 Philosophy Problems" is a book by Martin Cohen published by Routledge in 1999 .

It has run to three English editions and been translated into German, Dutch, Greek, Estonian, Korean, Chinese (Simplified and complex), Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and other languages, selling, according to the publisher, over 100 000 copies making it one of the most successful introductions to philosophy of recent years. [ see, for instance, the covers on Cohen's 'personal pages' hosted at "The Philosopher" website, http://www.the-philosopher.co.uk/reviews/using101.htm ] . The German translation has alone run to three editions, one by Campus and two by Piper, including a massmarket hardback edition [ http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/dokument/dokument.html?id=20452859&top=SPIEGEL ] . There is even an edition in Farsi (Iranian), in which, according to the translator, Cohen's discussion of political ethics and stories of 'Diktatia' are particularly appreciated.

The explanation for this popularity is that it introduces philosophy in a novel way. In a review for the Times Higher Education Supplement (London) [Times Higher Education Supplement, February 25 2000 ] , Harry Gensler, Professor of philosophy, at John Carroll University, Cleveland, United States makes this point and explains that:

"The book has 101 humorous little stories, each with a philosophical problem (not however, necessarily, the usual Unsolved problems in philosophy). For example, problem 54 is about Mr Megasoft, who dies leaving his fortune to his favourite computer. Megasoft's children take the matter to court, contending that the computer cannot think and so cannot inherit money. Mr Megasoft's lawyers claim that the computer can think. But on what grounds can we say that computers can or cannot think?"

Other stories deal with paradoxes, ethics, aesthetics, perception, time, God, physics, and knowledge and include problems from Zeno, Descartes, Russell, Nelson Goodman, Edmund Gettier and others. The 101 problems are followed by a discussion section (which tries to clarify matters) and a glossary (about key concepts and historical philosophers).

Gensler continues: 'Cohen continually delights or infuriates us with his irreverent opinions. He tells us, for example, that Kant reduced philosophy "to esoteric monologues of professionals" and that Aristotle "suffered from a particularly severe taxonomical disorder". Logic is irrelevant, a point he reinforces by not using it to clarify philosophical problems. '

Gensler adds that while some teachers may be pleased to have so much with which to disagree, others mayl be confused about how to use this unusual book. He reminds us that Cohen suggests that we read the book "as a philosophical journey" and not from cover to cover.

In a review for The Philosopher, Dr Zenon Stavrinides echoes this point:

"Both in regard to its structure and the style in which it is written, it is very unconventional. The first part of the book consists of a series of very short stories or narrative texts, grouped by subject-matter, setting out problems or puzzles of philosophical interest. Some of these problems are well-known in philosophical literature, e.g. the paradox of Epimenides the Cretan, who said: 'All Cretans are liars'. In the second part of the book, entitled 'Discussions', Cohen provides explanations and analyses of the issues raised by each of the problems, with some references to the treatment offered by particular historical philosophers. These discussions are intelligent and balanced, if (in most cases at least) inevitably inconclusive." [http://www.the-philosopher.co.uk/reviews/101revs.htm accessed 9 September 2008]

Martin Cohen has explained the thinking behind the book as an attempt to get away from the tradtional approaches to philosophy saying that "Fear, indeed, used to stalk the lecture rooms of a certain university I was a teaching in, when it was time for 'logic class'" and that:

" a similar sort of fear can be detected in more genial philosophical discussions and tutorials too. The so-called senior seminars work on this sort of 'macho' battle between intellects - or is it egos? - as philosophical facts are exchanged like barbed arrows and logical theories set like so many saw-tooth traps, waiting to snap shut on the ankle of the unwary." [ http://www.the-philosopher.co.uk/reviews/101pedagogical-notes.htm accessed 9 September 2008]

"101 Philosophy Problems" has also been reviewed 'The Philosophers Magazine' by Julian Baggini (Summer 1999); the 'Ilkley Gazette' (May 29 1999 ); 'The Guardian' (5.11.1999) and 'Der Spiegel' (2001) yet its success seems to have be more attributable to what publishers refer to as 'word of mouth'. A Google search finds many hundreds of websites referring to the book, or its 'sister' book, '101 Ethical Dilemmas'. [ http://www.the-philosopher.co.uk/reviews/101websites.htm ]

References

External links

* [http://www.the-philosopher.co.uk/101-links.htm 101 Philosophy Problems website pages] 'Reasons to be Cheerless', THES September 17 1993, article in which Cohen outlines the 'implacable march of logic'
* [http://www.the-philosopher.co.uk/101problems.htm Two extracts from the book available on the web]