Coming December 2024:Â Immerse yourself in knowledge, not snippets.
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- Discover how 30 influential philosophers shaped our understanding of the world.
- Explore the concepts that continue to influence science, art, and culture today.
- Get your copy now and start thinking like the greatest minds in history!
Book Status
“I started writing this book, well, a book similar to this in the 1990s. I finally finished “a version” of it during the pandemic in 2020. My wife passed in August of that year. I then spent two years grieving, figuring out who I was, and in 2023 wrote this manuscript. The publishing process for a book this size is almost a year and I turned in the final manuscript in December 2023. It should be out in time for Christmas this year.” –Mike Prestwood.
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About the Book
Explore the evolution of human thought from 2600 BCE to the present. Harness and apply the most transformative ideas from the past five millennia to enhance your life today. This fast-paced journey through time delivers profound insights without the dry details.
Step into the shoes of giants and the epic saga of human thought.
Meet history’s intellectual titans, reborn for a new era.
Mike Prestwood’s 15th book delves into the collective wisdom of humanity. Tracing our journey through history, this book harnesses the insights of 30 anchor philosophers to illuminate fourscore of pivotal ideas—80 steppingstones towards the future. These touchstones span the evolution of human thought, offering a pathway across the murky waters of our past. Journey with these 80 touchstones and harness our best accumulated knowledge to forge a deeper understanding of our world.
About Touchstones
Embark on a transformative FAST PACED journey through the minds of thirty pivotal philosophers. This book intertwines the wisdom of the ages with contemporary insights, offering a unique exploration of philosophical thought. From the ancient echoes of Plato to the modern musings of today’s thinkers, this book weaves a tapestry of knowledge, challenging conventions and presenting fresh perspectives on timeless ideas. Dive into the depths of human thought and emerge with a renewed understanding of the world.
Book Companion Material
The following companion material makes for a great refresher. Compressed materials crafted to trigger and deepen the impressions 30 Philosophers made on your mind.
- Companion Timeline: Encapsulates the lives and contributions of the philosophers discussed within the book, offering a curated overview aligned with the book’s content.
- Fourscore Touchstones: This panoramic perspective serves as an essential refresher and a concise snapshot to complement your journey through the book.
Bonus Companion Timelines for “30 Philosophers:”Â
Included below are three additional timelines that extend the exploration begun in “30 Philosophers.” They serve as bridges between the philosophical discussions within “30 Philosophers” and the broader scientific context that frames our quest for understanding.
- Philosophy Timeline: An expanded exploration of philosophical history.
- Big Bang Timeline: Chapter 1 delves into humanity’s origin story, beginning with the Big Bang. This timeline expands on that narrative, tracing the cosmic events that set the stage for our existence.
- Evolution Timeline: Although Charles Darwin does not serve as the anchor of a specific chapter, his ideas and their implications permeate the book. This timeline highlights key moments in the story of evolution, underscoring our understanding of life’s complexity and diversity.
- The Future Timeline: This one helps with the impermanence of life. By understanding the future, you can learn to embrace the now.
Feedback Wanted!
First, thank you for reading my new book. If you have feedback or wish to communicate directly with me, use this Book Feedback Form.
Comments
Here some of the comments so far:
5/25/2023: This is great. I would like to use the first part about the 3 different intellects to preface the school year with my advisees and ethics class. The part about sports will definitely be useful in engaging their interest as a handful of my students are pro athletes! Maybe this is in the previous part of the book, but maybe give some background on who Al Farabi was at the very beginning? For my assignment, I copied and pasted a little paragraph about him from Wikipedia and put it in there. Also, it would be interesting to mention he was a music theorist and mention that when you write about the teaching of drumming.
I also like how you very occasionally reference your personal life, giving it a bit of a memoir feeling. because when you read it, it sounds academic (which is a good thing) but then when it mentions ¨my wife Lisa¨ it´s like, oh yeah this is a real person! it makes it more personable.
The bridging to modern science part can definitely be used in my psychology class too. I mainly talk about neuroscience and biopsychology because it is what I am most into.
For now I have posted the article in my Google Classrooms and students can do something with it for extra credit. Maybe a couple of them will.
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