Lewis Carroll
Books by Lewis Carroll
“One reason to choose it is not only that it has both volumes in it—Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass together—but it also has annotations by Martin Gardner, who wasn’t a philosopher, but a mathematician. The annotations are really so cool. Since the author Lewis Carroll—whose actual name was Charles Dodgson— was a mathematician you have many mathematical ideas in it. But you also have weird philosophical ideas about the philosophy of language, like, ‘Do cats eat bats or bats eat cats?’” Read more...
The Best Illustrated Philosophy Books
Helen De Cruz, Philosopher
“I love Alice’s growing sense of wonder at the topsy-turvy universe she enters. Wonder, as Plato and Aristotle tell us, is the beginning of philosophy, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a deeply philosophical book. Alice is besieged by humans, some enraged, others just plain eccentric. Surrounded by falling objects, bewildered by beasts, and doing her best to stay afloat in a pool of tears, poor Alice is so disoriented that she’s in a state of permanent existential crisis. In the end, she stands up to all the outlandish creatures in Wonderland, and then skips off to have a cup of tea, leaving you wondering about Alice and her close encounters with nonsense, disorder, and lawlessness.” Read more...
Maria Tatar, Literary Scholar
Interviews where books by Lewis Carroll were recommended
Talismanic Tomes, recommended by Maria Tatar
The stories we read as children and as adults really do change us and how we see the world around us. Here Maria Tatar, Emerita Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures and of Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University, speaks about the power of five ‘talismanic tomes’ that had a meaningful influence on her life.
Children’s Books About Relationships, recommended by Jean Webb
Children’s literature research is one of the most dynamic fields of literary criticism today, says Jean Webb, professor of international children’s literature at the University of Worcester. She picks five books from around the world that shed light on ‘childhood and relationships.’
The best books on Comic Writing, recommended by Larry Doyle
What makes for great comic writing? Is it possible to say? The author and former Simpsons writer gives us his personal choice of five pitch-perfect examples
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1
The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry -
2
The Annotated Alice
by Lewis Carroll & Martin Gardner (Editor) -
3
Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H Papadimitriou -
4
The Way of Nature (The Illustrated Library of Chinese Classics)
by Zhuangzi (aka Chuang Tzu), C. C. Tsai (illustrator) and Brian Bruya (translator) -
5
The Philosopher Queens: The lives and legacies of philosophy's unsung women
by Lisa Whiting & Rebecca Buxton
The Best Illustrated Philosophy Books, recommended by Helen De Cruz
The Best Illustrated Philosophy Books, recommended by Helen De Cruz
Philosophy is a very verbal discipline with much effort made to express meaning through the very precise use of language. You might think that pictures wouldn’t get much of a look in, but you’d be wrong, as philosopher Helen de Cruz explains. She chooses five books where the philosophical meaning of the subjects under investigation are given greater depth and clarity with the use of illustrations, from ancient Chinese philosophy through to the philosopher queens of the 21st century.
The Best Philosophy Books for Children, recommended by Peter Worley
What is fairness? What does it mean to be brave? Can you step in the same river twice? It is not only adults who can discuss philosophical issues. Peter Worley picks the best philosophy books for children
