Confessions of a Philosopher

Choice Outstanding Academic Book

Already called "a masterpiece" (Literary Review, London), this brilliant memoir introduces mainstream readers to all of the outstanding figures of Western philosophy.

Bryan Magee tells the story of his own discovery of philosophy and makes the subject not only come alive, but seem intensely relevant. He describes the fundamentals of philosophy as questions about the nature of reality encountered in the course of living, not as problems presented in the writings of the philosophers. Experiences of everyday life provoke discussions about why, through the ages, certain philosophical questions have persistently exercised our minds. Magee's memoir follows the course of his life, so that problems and philosophers are discussed in the order in which he came upon them, rather than in chronological order.  By the end of the book, we have been introduced to all the great philosophers and concepts, from the pre-Socratics to those of the twentieth century--from Ludwig Wittgenstein, , including two of the most important contemporary philosophers, Bertrand Russell and Karl Popper, both of whom the author knew personally.

Logically and with great fluency, Magee clarifies this sometimes obscure subject, revealing its richness to readers who may have considered it inaccessible. Intensely personal and brimming with intellectual enthusiasm, Confessions of a Philosopher is a fascinating introduction to philosophy by an outstanding writer and teacher.

"A fascinating and thoroughly absorbing masterpiece which can be reread from cover to cover, over and over again."  
--Literary Review

"As a populariser of philosophy, Bryan Magee is unsurpassed, having achieved the near-impossible feat of presenting for a mass audience the recondite issues of philosophy (past and present) without loss of either accessibility or intellectual integrity. The scale of this achievement can only properly be understood by measuring it against the abject failure of practically all other attempts to do the same."  
--The Sunday Telegraph

"By any standards Bryan Magee is a remarkable man. He is a recognized authority on Schopenhauer and Wagner and has written books on  philosophy, political science and music, several of which have had considerable impact. He has spent nearly a decade in Parliament as an MP.  Confessions of a Philosopher gives the story of the author's intellectual life [and] is interesting largely because he has looked to philosophy for real answers to real questions."  
--The Times (London)

"Magee is alive to philosophical issues in a way very few writers are; he writes about the thinkers and ideas which matter to him with an exceptional verve and boldness; he is, in fact, a brilliant animator of other people's ideas."  
--The Independent on Sunday

"Bryan Magee from an early age has had a passion for philosophy. He has also been an MP and a renowned television broadcaster on current affairs, as well as on the history of ideas. Such breadth of experience, together with Magee's great talent for exposition, gives this autobiographical book its extraordinary wisdom, authority and impact."
--The Daily Telegraph