Warburton, Nigel 1962-

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WARBURTON, Nigel 1962-

PERSONAL:

Born 1962, in England. Education: University of Bristol, B.A.; Cambridge University, Ph.D. (philosophy), 1989.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Educator and author. Nottingham University, Nottingham, England, former lecturer in philosophy; Open University, Milton Keynes, England, senior lecturer in philosophy, 1994—.

WRITINGS:

Philosophy: The Basics, Routledge (New York, NY), 1992, third edition, 1999.

(Editor) Bill Brandt: Selected Texts and Bibliography, G. K. Hall (New York, NY), 1993.

Thinking from A to Z, Routledge (New York, NY), 1996, second edition, 2000.

Philosophy: The Classics, Routledge (New York, NY), 1998, second edition, 2001.

(Author of text, with Bill Jay) Brandt: The Photography of Bill Brandt, introduction by David Hockney, Harry M. Abrams (New York, NY), 1999.

Philosophy: The Basic Readings, Routledge (New York, NY), 1999.

Freedom: An Introduction with Readings, Routledge (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Derek Maltravers and Jonathan Pike) Reading Political Philosophy: Machiavelli to Mill, Routledge (New York, NY), 2001.

The Art Question, Routledge (New York, NY), 2003.

Ernö Goldfinger: The Life of an Architect, Routledge (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Although his interest in aesthetics has prompted a biography of architect Ernö Goldfinger and several books that focus on the photography of artist Bill Brandt, British educator Nigel Warburton has concentrated much of his writing efforts on aiding college students in grappling with theoretical rather than visual complexities. He has authored several books that, while written to provide college students an introduction to the work of the world's major philosophers, have also been praised by critics as excellent resources for more general readers. Philosophy: The Basics presents the topics, vocabulary, and thinkers that figure most prominently in the study of philosophy, and its author was praised by Philosopher reviewer Ashley Frank for his ability to present challenging material "with a remarkable lucidity, enhanced by exemplary presentation of arguments and a thoroughly engaging style." Noting that Warburton encourages readers toward independent conclusions in such areas as Politics, Science, God, and the concepts of Right and Wrong. Individual philosophers from Aristotle and Rene Descartes to Sjoren Kierkegaard and Jean-Paul Sartre are represented in Philosophy: The Classics, which includes excerpts, critical summaries, and brief backgrounds on the twenty philosophers included, while Thinking from A to Z is a dictionary of key terms used in the discussion of philosophic concepts, and includes definitions of such things as informal fallacies, circular and other types of arguments, paradoxes, and Ockham's Razor.

While Philosophy: The Classics allows readers to follow the development of intellectual thought up to the present, Philosophy: Basic Readings focuses primarily on contemporary works that present new views of the concepts that have occupied philosophers for centuries, god, the meaning of existence, morality, and the imperatives of human society among them. In its organization, it serves as an effective companion volume to the third edition of Philosophy: The Basics. Writing in the Times Educational Supplement, Julian Baggini noted that while Warburton avoids organizing his text around the four classic philosophical centers—metaphysics, logic, epistemology, and language—these "elements … are not so much missing as concealed—lurking in the background of much of the text. Warburton has chosen not to put the spotlight on them, perhaps," Baggini supposed, "so as not to frighten the reader." Noting the difficulties inherent in compiling a collection of representative readings for beginning philosophy students, the critic added that Philosophy: Basic Readings is of such quality that it is "surely sufficient to silence the doubters who continue to believe philosophy cannot be popularised without being deformed." Warburton's "well-edited" book, Baggini added, "can be recommended without caveat or qualification."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

New British Philosophy, Routledge (London, England), 2002.

PERIODICALS

American Reference Book Annual, 1998, John P. Stierman, review of Thinking from A to Z, p. 584.

Choice, January, 1993, P. K. Moser, review of Philosophy: The Basics, p. 813.

Contemporary Review, June, 1999, review of Philosophy: The Classics, p. 335.

Library Journal, February 15, 2000, David Bryant, review of Brandt: The Photography of Bill Brandt, p. 154; March 15, 2003, David A. Berona, review of The Art Question, p. 81.

Philosophy in Review, December, 2000, Brian Richardson, review of Philosophy: Basic Readings, pp. 446-447.

Times Educational Supplement, June 18, 1999, Julian Baggini, review of Philosophy: Basic Readings, p. 12.

Times Literary Supplement, April 18, 1997, A. C. Grayling, review of Philosophy: The Basics, pp. 10-11.