A Map to the End of Time: Wayfarings with Friends and Philosophers
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Tales both playful and profound exploring answers to life's Big Questions.Library JournalThis is a book about aging, teaching, and philosophy itself. On the surface it is a running narrative of Manheimer's experiences teaching philosophy to the elderly. His students and his own teachers appear as characters in a dialog; as in his earlier book (Kierkegaard as Teacher, 1977), his message is partly that the complexity of philosophy is best presented as an interplay of voices. But here a minor theme from the earlier book becomes dominant: philosophy is an expression of the need to make sense of one's own life. The elderly have a special contribution to make, for their long lives demand reflection. In complementary fashion, philosophical reflection may reveal the significance of growing old. Manheimer writes with charm and humility, but teaching readers to philosophize is difficult. Stanley Cavell (A Pitch of Philosophy, LJ 5/1/94) almost succeeded in combining narrative and system, but Cavell's is a much more egocentric book. Manheimer's is a good choice for any public library.--Leslie Armour, Univ. of Ottawa, Ont.
