Practically
Profound is an intelligent, thorough, clearly written book.  The preface is an excellent introduction to
some of the major tasks and approaches of philosophy and philosophers.  The author describes the nature of
philosophy this way:  "Indeed, for
the professional philosopher and the philosophical lay person alike, it is a
crucial means to a practical end: improving the clarity, scope, mesh, and
fertility of all our thoughts and beliefs so as to improve the performance of
all the tasks in which such thoughts and beliefs are involved"
(xxiii-xxiv).  To make the claim is one
thing.  To demonstrate how this plays
out in "everyday life," as the subtitle suggests, is quite
another.  The author and publisher
present Practically Profound book as
fare for the general reader, but the book reads like the typical Philosophy 101
textbook.  Furthermore, the idea that
philosophy is somehow ‘practical’ is never quite made explicit in the chapters.

The book is divided into four parts
consisting of 15 chapters.  Part I is
entitled ‘Belief’, Part II  ‘Knowledge’,
Part III ‘Human Nature’ and Part IV ‘Human Conduct’.  About one-half of the book (nine of its fifteen chapters, 164 of
its 312 pages) is dedicated to detailed discussions of knowledge and belief,
betraying a very specific orientation to the practice of philosophy.  The remainder of the book is dedicated to
discussions of perennial metaphysical and ethical topics.  The chapters include the usual sorts of
topics that one would expect to find in any textbook assigned for the college
introductory philosophy course: the nature of knowledge and evidence, free will
and determinism, the nature of mind, discussions of logic, relativism, the
meaning of life, human nature, god, theories of ethics, and the like.  There is a list of "Works
Mentioned" and an index as well.

As a textbook, although there are
scattered throughout its pages the occasional text box highlighting important
features of a chapter or raising interesting questions of puzzles to ponder, Practically Profound includes no review
questions or discussion questions for students associated with each
chapter.  Instead, a closing chapter
that summarizes key conclusions reached throughout the preceding pages is
included.  The discussions of the various
topics, though well organized and clearly presented, are fairly sophisticated
and would not likely be easy going for the newcomer to the field.  Again, this is not a book that the general
reader or novice student can handle alone, without the guidance of an
experienced teacher.  I am confident
that many such teachers would find this book useful in their introductory
philosophy courses.

The back cover of the paperback
edition claims that "Practically
Profound … introduces…techniques that readers of all ages can use to
enhance their own understanding of themselves and their world."  I will not fault the author for his
publisher’s overstatement. 
Nevertheless, it does highlight a fundamental concern I have regarding
the intended audience for this book. 
Clearly, the book reads much like the typical first-year college
philosophy course textbook.  This is not
the sort of book that browsers at Barnes & Noble are likely to pick up and
benefit from without the guidance of an experienced philosophy instructor.

©
2005 Ben Mulvey

Ben Mulvey, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of
Philosophy and Director of the Division of Humanities at the College of Arts
and Sciences at Nova Southeastern University.  He received his doctorate
in philosophy from Michigan State University specializing in political theory
and applied ethics.  He teaches ethics at NSU and is a member of the board
of advisors of the Florida Bioethics Network. 

Categories: Philosophical