Dumbed-down

IT was Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) who first coined the phrase 'self-help,' although I doubt he would be too impressed if he unexpectedly stepped out of the ether and discovered that the 'philosophy' shelves of the average modern bookshop have since degenerated into the 'self-help' sections of yesteryear. In fact with the rise of sanitised reading lists and the closure of public libraries few people have retained the ability to think, let alone get by without The Kantian Guide to Car Maintenance, Nietzsche's Thoughts on Contemporary Kitchenware or How to Apply Kierkegaard's Leap of Faith to the Perils of Buying a New Sofa. Saying that, I have absolutely no objection whatsoever to the recent publication of The (Very) Violent Man's Introduction to Modern Philosophers.