[Philo]

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Warning: Hijack!

(OK, so I read the 6 word title to this thread, and understood 3 of them, the longest of which was 'was'. I have a deep interest in philosophy, but am very poorly read, and work 70hrs/week so don't have much time to read either. Can anyone recomend 1 book that would give the best simplistic overview of the subject? I know it's an impossable task, just thought I'd throw it out there.)

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The short answer of course is "no," but a slightly longer answer is try reading Fifty Major Philosophers: A Reference Guide, by Diane Collinson. It's only about 160 pages long and includes the ancient Greeks up to 20th Century figures like Russell, Moore, Wittgenstein, Carnap and Sartre. Unfortunately it does not cover anyone in the analytic tradition more contemporary than Russell.