In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Philosophical Conversations
  • Brian Garrett (bio)
Robert M. Martin. Philosophical Conversations Broadview. 351. $24.95

Robert Martin's latest introductory text, Philosophical Conversations, is a wonderful read. The text is divided into seven conversations between a variety of characters representing different philosophical views. Topics covered in their order of appearance are religion, social philosophy, ethics, mind and body, determinism and free will, knowledge, and finally, identity and meaning. The conversations are clear and well written and the debate is fair and often penetrating. All the standard philosophical moves are covered and then some, yet Martin also shows his teaching experience, for often the initial arguments of the dialogues sound awfully similar to students' in-class responses to the puzzles. The student is drawn in by the easy, everyday language and the initial 'commonsense' move or request for further information, but by the end of the dialogue has had to master material of considerable complexity. The last chapter on identity and meaning is really quite sophisticated. The order of the subjects is well chosen, beginning with the more 'accessible' topics such as religion, social philosophy, and ethics, and only then moving to the more abstract theorizing regarding mind, body, and metaphysical subjects generally. The text is suitable for an introductory course, but it might also make a good gift for the curious who wish to know what philosophers have been up to.

In addition to the dialogues, the text includes an introduction, an epilogue of quotations from Bertrand Russell, and a glossary workbook in which the key terms and argument titles are listed, waiting for the student to enter definitions and brief summaries. The workbook is ideal for tutorials and could be used as tutorial assignments, or just as homework. The introduction impressed me. Martin discusses philosophy and how it is different from other disciplines. Unlike most disciplines that leave controversial topics to the experts, philosophy demands that the student delve into controversy immediately. Martin makes this explicit and notes how, for some students, this may be quite difficult, but others may 'find it exhilarating: everything is up for grabs!' Everything is up for grabs, but this comment doesn't reflect some ineffectual pedagogical relativism: Martin reminds us that the positions may be plausible and the answers not yet discovered, but that not all of the positions can be true together! The thrill is in figuring out what is not yet known.

Martin's sense of humour is not lost in this text and he exhibits the cheeky side of philosophers rather well. The inside cover has a delightful [End Page 304] picture of a flying pig, resonating with the dialogue on religion in which the atheist challenges his collocutors to choose to believe in flying pigs. My favourite line of the introduction is this piece of humorous irreverance: 'The concepts and the reasoning in philosophy are sometimes more complex and difficult than the simple stuff you'd run into in an introductory class in, for example, the CENSORED Department.'

What are the drawbacks of Martin's text? Well, despite the fact that Plato's dialogues are a common choice for introductory texts, and dialogues have often been the choice of great philosophers, contemporary philosophers and students have trouble teaching and reading dialogues. Perhaps the problem comes from the need to keep track of what positions and arguments a speaker maintains, and if that's the issue Martin effectively combats it by simply naming his characters after the positions they advocate. How might one use this text? It can be used as a stand-alone text or, as I suspect many will use it, as a companion text that provides an accessible commentary on the primary sources; thus it could be added to a course for which one has already prepared material.

But a review of an introductory text is something like an a priori analysis – the real test of excellence for such a book is found in the classroom, so we will have to wait and see. The challenge for authors of such books is to write one that is sufficiently engaging to sway teachers, stuck in their ways, to choose a new text. But Martin's Philosophical Conversations...

pdf

Share