Knowledge is a great treasure, but there is one thing higher than knowledge, and that is understanding, says philosopher Anthony Grayling in The Mystery of Things (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), published this week. These essays on science, the arts and history examine what they offer to our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. “For the working parts of the day”, Grayling concentrates on Descartes’ Philosophical Essays and Correspondence (Hackett, 2000) because he is writing a biography of the great thinker. He reviews books, and is reading Edward Said’s essays Power, Politics and Culture (Bloomsbury) and Michael Cook’s A Brief…
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from 51¶¯Âþ
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending 51¶¯Âþ articles
1
Mathematicians stunned by AI's biggest breakthrough in mathematics yet
2
The distant world that is our best hope of finding alien life
3
Photos reveal unexpected details from the world's first atomic test
4
We may finally know why dinosaurs like T. rex evolved tiny arms
5
The Selfish Gene at 50: Why Dawkins’s evolution classic still holds up
6
How I used psychology to come back from the worst year of my life
7
The 3 things you need to know about protein, according to an expert
8
Putting CO2 into rocks and getting hydrogen out is climate double win
9
Mystery of the ancient giant stone jars of Laos may have been solved
10
CAR T-cell therapy bolstered by stiffening up cancer cells first
