
Nigel Warburton
Nigel Warburton is a freelance philosopher, writer and host of the podcast Philosophy Bites. Featuring short interviews with the world’s best philosophers on bite-size topics, the podcast has been downloaded more than 40 million times. He is also our philosophy editor here at Five Books, where he has been interviewing other philosophers about the best books on a range of philosophy topics since 2013 (you can read all the interviews he’s done here: not all are about philosophy). In addition, he’s recommended books for us on the best introductions to philosophy, the best critical thinking books, as well as some of the key texts to read in the Western canon. His annual recommendations of the best philosophy books of the year are among our most popular interviews on Five Books. As an author, he is best known for his introductory philosophy books, outlined here:
Books by Nigel Warburton
Philosophy: The Basics
by Nigel Warburton
"Bizarrely, when I first started writing philosophy books, in the late 1980s, there were hardly any philosophy books targeted at the general reader, and hardly any introductory ones. I was teaching undergraduates and 16-18 year olds philosophy at the time and I had lots of notes. The first book I wrote was partly based on my teaching — it’s called Philosophy: The Basics. It’s a general, topic-driven introduction to philosophy. It’s the kind of book that I hoped I would find, when I was 15 or 16, to help me understand what philosophy is. The publishers liked the format and title so much that they created a whole series of ‘Basics’ books with well over 50 titles now (unfortunately they forgot to credit me for initiating that!).
Argument is central to the kind of philosophy that I’m interested in—making a case for a position without being dogmatic about what that position is. It’s a book that doesn’t presume any prior knowledge of philosophy, but I’ve also tried to write it as clearly as possible. The structure of it is that I present an argument that’s been important in the history of philosophy and give some criticisms of it in each case. There’s an engagement with the ideas, not just simply a summary of them, it’s meant to encourage the reader to decide how good they think the criticisms are, and to carry on with further reading if they want to."
Thinking from A to Z
by Nigel Warburton
"The second book that I wrote was called Thinking from A to Z. This is about critical thinking, the kinds of informal logic that are central to the philosophical method: reasoning tools, that complement the first book."
Philosophy: The Classics
by Nigel Warburton
"The third book I wrote, Philosophy: The Classics, is slightly different. It’s approaching philosophy historically, looking at some key books in the history of philosophy, from the Republic to the present day. The book summarizes very briefly some of the key arguments from each book, and some possible criticisms of the approaches within the book. Again, it’s a book that’s meant to take you to the original books—not to be an excuse not to read them. Again, it’s written for a very general audience. I also edited an anthology of readings, called Philosophy: Basic Readings. That is meant to complement these three books. So that has short readings from a range of different places, on various topics and philosophers."
A Little History of Philosophy
by Nigel Warburton
"More recently I wrote A Little History of Philosophy, which is in the Little Histories series that was spawned from a book that Ernst Gombrich wrote called A Little History of the World. So it’s in that format, written for a general readership. It covers some of the same areas as Philosophy: The Classics, and Philosophy: The Basics, but in a more story-driven way. I think it’s more accessible for a general reader. I’ve tried to bring in some aspects of the philosophers’ lives and context, briefly. The idea was that an intelligent 14 or 15 year old could get a lot out of the book and there’d be nothing threatening in terms of language or presupposed ideas. That’s a book that has surprised me greatly in the way it’s been taken up. It’s been translated into over 20 languages and has sales all around the world. I’m delighted to have been part of that movement to popularize philosophy through this dispersal of ideas. It’s very encouraging that so many people are interested in philosophy today."
Philosophy: The Essential Study Guide
by Nigel Warburton
"Lastly, I also wrote two slim books for people studying philosophy at university. One is called Philosophy: The Essential Study Guide, which is to help philosophy students understand how to approach being a student of philosophy (my original title for this was ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Philosophy Students’, but the publisher didn’t like that). The other one is more general and is called The Basics of Essay Writing. It’s again a short book and applies particularly to writing philosophy essays, but to other subjects as well."
Philosophy Bites
by Nigel Warburton
A book of interviews from the Philosophy Bites podcast. Other books in the series include: Philosophy Bites Back, Philosophy Bites Again and Women of Ideas: Interviews from Philosophy Bites, edited by Suki Finn.
Women of Ideas: Interviews from Philosophy Bites
edited by Suki Finn
Women of Ideas is a collection of interviews with philosophers from the Philosophy Bites podcast. The interviews were selected and put together by Suki Finn, Lecturer in Philosophy at Royal Holloway, part of the University of London. It's a really fascinating collection, opening with an interview with Amia Srinivasan, Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory at All Souls College, Oxford, on "What is a Woman?"
Interviews with Nigel Warburton
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1
Being You: A New Science of Consciousness
by Anil Seth -
2
Critical Lives: Hannah Arendt
by Samantha Rose Hill -
3
The Case for Rage: Why Anger Is Essential to Anti-Racist Struggle
by Myisha Cherry -
4
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
by Oliver Burkeman -
5
Free: Coming of Age at the End of History
by Lea Ypi
The Best Philosophy Books of 2021, recommended by Nigel Warburton
The Best Philosophy Books of 2021, recommended by Nigel Warburton
Nigel Warburton—the philosopher, broadcaster and creator of the popular Philosophy Bites podcast—selects five of the best public philosophy books published in 2021, including a defence of righteous rage, an examination of the concept of ‘time management,’ and an intellectual biography of the political philosopher and Holocaust survivor Hannah Arendt.
Key Philosophical Texts in the Western Canon, recommended by Nigel Warburton
Even if you’ve never studied philosophy, it’s nice to be able to read a few books and get a sense of what it’s all about. Here, we asked our philosophy editor, Nigel Warburton, to talk us through five key works of Western philosophy—many of them in the public domain and available for free as ebooks—and explain why, despite one or two odd conclusions or quirky writing styles, they’ve played such an important role in expanding our understanding of the world.
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1
Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World
by Carl Bergstrom & Jevin West -
2
Thinking, Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman -
3
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About The World — And Why Things Are Better Than You Think
by Hans Rosling -
4
Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success
by Matthew Syed -
5
The Art of Thinking Clearly
by Rolf Dobelli -
6
Critical Thinking: Your Guide to Effective Argument, Successful Analysis and Independent Study
by Tom Chatfield
The best books on Critical Thinking, recommended by Nigel Warburton
The best books on Critical Thinking, recommended by Nigel Warburton
Do you know your straw man arguments from your weasel words? Nigel Warburton, Five Books philosophy editor and author of Thinking from A to Z, selects some of the best books on critical thinking—and explains how they will help us make better informed decisions and construct more valid arguments.
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1
The Philosopher Queens: The lives and legacies of philosophy's unsung women
by Lisa Whiting & Rebecca Buxton -
2
The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad
by Emily Thomas -
3
Frank Ramsey: A Sheer Excess of Powers
by Cheryl Misak -
4
The Murder of Professor Schlick: The Rise and Fall of the Vienna Circle
by David Edmonds -
5
Metazoa: Animal Life and the Birth of the Mind
by Peter Godfrey-Smith
The Best Philosophy Books of 2020, recommended by Nigel Warburton
The Best Philosophy Books of 2020, recommended by Nigel Warburton
2020 has been a great year for popular philosophy with many excellent books published. Here, Nigel Warburton, our philosophy editor and co-host of the Philosophy Bites podcast, picks his favourites and explains what he likes about them.
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1
The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad
by Emily Thomas -
2
Mean Girl: Ayn Rand and the Culture of Greed
by Lisa Duggan -
3
How to Live a Good Life: A Guide to Choosing Your Personal Philosophy
by Daniel Kaufman, Massimo Pigliucci & Skye C Cleary -
4
Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World
by Timothy Garton Ash -
5
The Plague
by Albert Camus
Summer Reading 2020: Philosophy Books, recommended by Nigel Warburton
Summer Reading 2020: Philosophy Books, recommended by Nigel Warburton
From reflections on travel and searching for a personal philosophy to live by, to books on important aspects of democracy and contagious diseases, here’s British philosopher Nigel Warburton’s 2020 summer reading list. All the books you need to keep you thinking over the summer, whatever it may hold and wherever you may be.
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1
Becoming Beauvoir: A Life
by Kate Kirkpatrick -
2
Socrates in Love: The Making of a Philosopher
by Armand D'Angour -
3
A Theory of Jerks and Other Philosophical Misadventures
by Eric Schwitzgebel -
4
Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness
by Philip Goff -
5
A Theory of the Aphorism: From Confucius to Twitter
by Andrew Hui
The Best Philosophy Books of 2019, recommended by Nigel Warburton
The Best Philosophy Books of 2019, recommended by Nigel Warburton
We live in a golden age for philosophy books that are accessible to a wide audience. In the pages of even quite short books, we can find new ways of reflecting on who we are and how we should conduct ourselves in the world, as well as learn more about the brilliant thinkers who trod these paths before us. Our philosophy editor Nigel Warburton talks us through some of the best philosophy books that came out in 2019.
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1
Socrates in Love: The Making of a Philosopher
by Armand D'Angour -
2
How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer
by Sarah Bakewell -
3
The Complete Philosophy Files
by Stephen Law -
4
The Prince
by Niccolo Machiavelli -
5
The Path: A New Way to Think About Everything
by Christine Gross-Loh & Michael Puett
Summer Reading: Philosophy Books to Take On Holiday, recommended by Nigel Warburton
Summer Reading: Philosophy Books to Take On Holiday, recommended by Nigel Warburton
Sea, sun and Socrates: what more could you want for the perfect holiday? Our philosophy editor Nigel Warburton, whose own book has had considerable success as a beach read, unveils his philosophy book holiday reading list.
The Best Philosophy Books of 2018, recommended by Nigel Warburton
What can Nietzsche and Aristotle teach us about how to live? Should everyone read Being and Nothingness? From a philosophical approach to misogyny to an interrogation of whether it’s morally acceptable to have a Facebook account, philosopher Nigel Warburton introduces us to the best philosophy books of 2018.
The Best Introductions to Philosophy, recommended by Nigel Warburton
How should we live? What is the nature of reality? Should pro golfers be allowed to use carts? British philosopher Nigel Warburton sets us off down the road of philosophical enquiry with an intriguing list of introductory philosophy books.
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1
The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought
by Dennis Rasmussen -
2
The Meaning of Belief: Religion from an Atheist’s Point of View
by Tim Crane -
3
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment
by Robert Wright -
4
How To Be A Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living
by Massimo Pigliucci -
5
Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction
by Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek & Peter Singer
The Best Philosophy Books of 2017, recommended by Nigel Warburton
The Best Philosophy Books of 2017, recommended by Nigel Warburton
How should we live our lives? How can we best help others? What is the meaning of religious belief? The philosopher Nigel Warburton introduces us to some of the best philosophy books published in 2017.
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1
At The Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails
by Sarah Bakewell -
2
Ethics in the Real World: 82 Brief Essays on Things That Matter
by Peter Singer -
3
The Dream of Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Philosophy
by Anthony Gottlieb -
4
Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, and Justice
by Martha Nussbaum -
5
The Path: A New Way to Think About Everything
by Christine Gross-Loh & Michael Puett
Best Philosophy Books of 2016, recommended by Nigel Warburton
Best Philosophy Books of 2016, recommended by Nigel Warburton
Philosophy raises fundamental questions about the world around us and how we should live our lives. Fortunately, a range of popular books now available mean you too can grapple with some of these issues. Philosopher and author Nigel Warburton picks his favourite philosophy books of 2016.