Philosophy in Focus

An outstanding primer in the philosophy of religion for Advanced level students Some primers in philosophy never quite manage to get the reader to think philosophically. They feel like tourist guides that only look at the surface and never really force you to go deeper. This cannot be said of this very fine book. It is characterised by 'teacherliness' borne of experience and, I suspect, a serious study of original sources. There is a subtle and nuanced exposition of the all too familiar topics in the philosophy of religion, underpinned by real understanding of the issues. I applaud the welcome and explicit distinction at the outset between God who is worshipped and the god of the philosophers, though they could have developed this more in the section on the problem of evil, in my view: a God who suffers with his creation is surely crucial to a Christian theodicy. Endnotes tempt the genuine student and teacher to engage with the masters rather than stic RE Today Excellent - the best text book for A level Philosophy yet published! Rev Alan Pierce Can Slade School [About Philosophy in Focus Series] Each book provides a measured analysis of its respective subject area. Although the reader is not overloaded with information, each topic is covered at a level of detail which does justice to the philosophical ideas at issue...The layout of the books facilitates reading, and a novel feature which is likely to appeal to AS/A2 students is the provision of activity and "experimenting with ideas" sections throughout each book. ... The overall effect is to produce three engaging texts which are enjoyable and informative to read. The authors are clearly not arguing for particular philosophical positions in relation to the topics covered in these three books, but seeking rather to provide the reader with sufficient material to be able to think about the topics in constructive and rewarding ways. Gary Retallick, WEA Philosophy Now