Things That Bother Me

Galen Strawson is one of the cleverest men alive. --Ian McEwan In this collection of essays, Strawson enables lay readers to see a philosopher at work....Strawson's skill at argument, highly personal views, and immense learning make this book ideal for anyone interested in philosophy. Comparable to Thomas Nagel's The Last Word. --Library Journal, starred review Galen Strawson's Things That Bother Me is, despite its title, no collection of complaints. Rather, Strawson invokes the notion of being bothered in the largest sense, engaging with the ideas, or conditions of living, that will not leave him alone. He is that most unlikely of thinkers, the pragmatic philosopher...The book is accessible and intelligent, written for a diverse range of readers, engaged in both the author's personality and his ideas. --David Ulin, 4Columns I found Things That Bother Me captivating, not only for its philosophical insightfulness but also for its wit and pathos. Strawson, by not hiding behind the facade of the impersonal point of view, manages to draw a reader close, even while discussing some rather abstruse topics. It is a rare and wonderful philosopher who can make almost anybody be bothered by the things that bother him. --Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away Galen Strawson has a marvelous gift for untangling even the most complex lines in philosophical thinking and laying them straight. He writes with humor, clarity and always from a recognizably human place. Even the most complex and controversial areas in modern philosophy come into the light when you are in his benign company.... He opens windows and finds light-switches like no other philosopher writing today. --Stephen Fry