Reissue of “The Philosopher’s Alice”
“The Philosopher’s Alice: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass” was published in 1974 and has been out of print for quite some time. It has recently been reissued, with a new foreword.
This new edition features a 3 page foreword by Mark Burstein, president emeritus of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America.
As in the original edition, there is a 13 page introduction from Peter Heath in which he discusses how Carroll’s ‘Alice’ books should be seen or categorised (spoiler: not as nonsense, and perphaps more as a book for adults than for children).
Then follow the full texts of both “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there”, including John Tenniel’s illustrations. The story is supplemented with annotations from Heath, that explain the lines from a philosophical viewpoint, showing that there is in fact a lot of sense and reason in Carroll’s story. Through his comments, the reader learns about “philosophical blunders, logical fallacies, conceptual confusions, and linguistic breakdowns”.
The book ends with two appendixes: a bibliography of commentators and a list of philosophical authors who quote or allude to Alice.
The book is published by Angelico Press and can be ordered from Amazon and other bookstores.