Philosophy 101

Does a reference to Descartes go right over your head? Use this cheat sheet to better understand the big ideas of some of history’s greatest thinkers.

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If you are interested in revisiting or learning about some of philosophy’s greatest thinkers, check out Real Simple’s reading list of introductory philosophy books.

• Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between, by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein (Viking, $20, amazon.com)
• Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein (Penguin, $12, amazon.com)
• The Consolations of Philosophy, by Alain de Botton (Vintage, $15, amazon.com)
• Story of Philosophy, by Will Durant (Pocket, $8, amazon.com)
• What Would Socrates Say?: Philosophers Answer Your Questions About Love, Nothingness, and Everything Else, by Alexander George (Clarkson Potter, $20, amazon.com)
• A Beginner’s Guide to Philosophy, by Dominique Janicaud (Pegasus, $19, amazon.com)
• Philosophy Made Simple, by Richard H. Popkin and Avrum Stroll (Butterworth-Heinemann, $40, amazon.com)
• Philosophy for Beginners, by Richard Osborne and Ralph Edney (Writers and Readers, $15, amazon.com)