The Five-Minute Philosopher

This book is designed to help us shed our blinkers, put on our thinking caps, and come to conclusions we can really build on. Spend five minutes on any of the 80 questions and answers here and you will gain enormously in wisdom and insight. Gerald Benedict, a philosopher trained in issues of knowledge and faith, offers us a wealth of ideas that prompt us to think more seriously and systematically about those universal questions - with the help of quotations from great thinkers and writers through the ages. As we read and engage with a stimulating text, our minds are opened to new ideas and our lives enriched. This book provides nimble, wise and perceptive responses to questions that have no absolute answers: instead, the author aims to stimulate thought and discussion that will lead to deeper understanding and further exploration. The same question will prompt different answers for different people. Dr Benedict's masterly discussions, which are informal and not at all academic, draw on sacred texts, humanist writings and poetry from all over the world, all through the centuries, to illuminate the issues - leaving readers free to come to their own conclusions. Armed with this book you are equipped not only to reach your own informed conclusions about the big questions of life, but also to engage knowledgeably in the to-and-fro of debate with family and friends.