Confessions of a Young Philosopher: A Special Feature

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Abigail

“I wanted to be conscious of the purposes behind my choices, not let them guide me unawares. It was a point of honor not to profess views if I was not prepared to put them to the test of living them.”

With these words, Pulitzer-nominated author Abigail L. Rosenthal sets the tone for Confessions of a Young Philosopher, her groundbreaking memoir. Blending philosophical reflection, and a deeply personal narrative with illustrations by Caroline Church, Confessions is an intimate exploration of a life lived with purpose, courage, and unrelenting curiosity.

Asked how long she’s been writing Confessions, Abigail says it’s been a lifetime. And indeed each chapter is the culmination of years spent grappling with life’s biggest questions—testing ideas, reflecting on choices, and distilling wisdom from raw experience.

A Life Examined

Born in Manhattan to “interesting parents,” profoundly shaped by the shadow of the Holocaust. Abigail’s intellectual and emotional journey begins in Paris on a Fulbright grant. Beyond academic trophies, she was pursuing meaning.

This memoir chronicles the writer’s determination to live with authenticity and integrity, even when the world demanded compromise. Questions of identity, love, truth and the choices that shape us are examined, unearthing insights that resonate beyond the writer’s own life.

Tackling the Timeless and the Timely

Explored in Confessions of a Young Philosopher:

  • Gender and societal expectations
  • The search for meaning
  • Anti-humanism and identity politics
  • The enduring scourge of anti-Semitism

In Confessions, these are not abstract questions. They are illustrated as they intersect with Abigail’s journey. Philosophical principles are tested by living them.

A Book Critics Can’t Ignore

Readers have hailed Confessions of a Young Philosopher as a profound and courageous work:

  • “Since the Enlightenment, a number of people have tried to tell the truth about their own lives … Boswell, Rousseau, Stendahl, Celine—are there other women who have tried to do the same? I suppose Augustine was a pioneer … I think what [Abigail L. Rosenthal] has done is a most splendid and courageous addition to the literature of trying to tell the truth about oneself.” — David M. Armstrong, Author, Sketch for a Systematic Metaphysics (2010) and Truth and Truthmakers (2004).

  • “This powerful book will gradually make its way into Bildungsroman-like permanence.” — Cynthia Ozick, Author, Antiquities (2021) and Critics, Monsters, Fanatics, and Other Literary Essays (2016).

  • “In this remarkable and deeply instructive book, a gifted woman philosopher records and criticizes her youthful attempt, as strenuously lived as it is argued, to frame a path through life capable of engaging her talents without denying or distorting her female identity. She explores to the limits of liveability a string of contemporary world-views ranging from romantic love in the French literary manner, by way of Marxist/Castroist political commitment, to a disastrous engagement with a charismatic advocate of ‘Christian Gnosticism.’… Profoundly philosophical as her argument is, Rosenthal writes with a vigor and liveliness that owe little to the drowsy circumlocutions of much academic prose. The book is a page-turner.” — Bernard Harrison, Author, Blaming the Jews: Politics and Delusion (2020) and What is Fiction For? Literary Humanism Restored (2015).

A Gift of Wisdom for Readers

In a seamless blend of storytelling and philosophical inquiry, Confessions of a Young Philosopher is for any reader yearning to think deeply, live authentically, and face life’s complexities with clarity and courage.

Join this extraordinary journey. Copies can be ordered at amazon.

Get the Book

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About Abigail

Abigail Rosenthal is Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Brooklyn College of CUNY. She is the author of A Good Look at Evil, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, now available in an expanded, revised second edition and as an audiobook. Its thesis is that good people try to live out their stories while evil people aim to mess up good people’s stories. Her latest book, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, illustrated by Caroline Church, explores the thesis in her own life. She writes a weekly column for her blog, “Dear Abbie: The Non-Advice Column” (www.dearabbie-nonadvice.com) where she explains why human lives are in fact quite interesting. She’s the editor of the posthumously published Consolations of Philosophy: Hobbes’s Secret; Spinoza’s Way by Henry M. Rosenthal, her father. Some of her articles can be accessed at https://brooklyn-cuny.academia.edu/AbigailMartin . She is married to Jerry L. Martin, also a philosopher. They live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
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