Philosophy for Life: Teach Yourself

Mel Thompson is an English writer and philosopher. He was formerly a teacher, editor and A level examiner. Born in 1946, he was educated at King Edward VI School, Chelmsford and King's College London where he received a BD in 1969 (Shelford Prize for Philosophy of Religion; Tinniswood Essay Prize), MPhil (as an external student) in 1973, and a PhD in 1979. He worked for some years as an ordained minister within the Church of England before resigning to work within Religious Education and as a freelance writer. From 1990 to 1998 he was editor of the Religious Education list at Hodder Education. He is a member of the Society of Authors, London, and was formerly a member and Chair of the Educational Writers Group. He is interested in exploring ways in which new technology can enhance opportunities for writers, particularly with reference to self-publication. His many publications include philosophy titles published by Teach Yourself books(Ethics, Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Eastern Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Science) and textbooks for Religious Studies, including Ethical Theory, Religion and Science and An Introduction to Philosophy and Ethics in Hodder Education's Access to Philosophy series. He published The Buddhist Experience in 1993.He has contributed to Nelson Thornes’ Understanding Philosophy for A2 Level, edited a large-format, illustrated handbook of philosophy entitled World Philosophy and has co-authored with Nigel Rodgers a book about some less well-known aspects of philosophers’ lives, entitled Philosophers Behaving Badly published by Peter Owen). Other publications include Me in Acumen's ‘The Art of Living’ series, exploring issues of personal identity, Understand Existentialism, co-authored with Nigel Rodgers, The Philosopher's Beach Book, published by Hodder Education in 2012, giving an easy introduction to 35 philosophical questions, and he has contributed to The Religions Book published by DK.