Description
Book SynopsisAUTHORITATIVE AND ACCESSIBLE, THIS LANDMARK WORK IS THE FIRST SINGLE-VOLUME HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY SHARED FOR DECADES
''A cerebrally enjoyable survey, written with great clarity and touches of wit'' Sunday Times
The story of philosophy is an epic tale: an exploration of the ideas, views and teachings of some of the most creative minds known to humanity. But there has been no comprehensive history of this great intellectual journey since 1945.
Intelligible for students and eye-opening for philosophy readers, A. C. Grayling covers with characteristic clarity and elegance subjects like epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, logic, and the philosophy of mind, as well as the history of debates in these areas, through the ideas of celebrated philosophers as well as less well-known influential thinkers.
The History of Philosophy takes the reader on a journey from the age of the Buddha, Confucius and Socrates. Through Christianity''s dominance of the European mind to the Renaissance and Enlightenment. On to Mill, Nietzsche, Sartre, then the philosophical traditions of India, China and the Persian-Arabic world.
And finally, into philosophy today.
Trade ReviewA cerebrally enjoyable survey, written with great clarity and touches of wit . . . The non-western section throws up some fascinating revelations * Sunday Times *
Grayling has written a masterful and often entertaining chronicle of the epic intellectual journey we humans have taken, in different periods, countries and cultures, to understand ourselves, our world, and how we ought to live. An extraordinary accomplishment that transcends the usual bounds of academic specialization -- Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University
Accurately offers itself as a successor to [Bertrand] Russell's classic survey . . . No other popular survey possesses this range . . .
The History of Philosophy isn't just worth buying; it's worth scribbling in and dog-earing. For a work of scholarship, there can be no higher praise. -- Michael Dirda * Washington Post *
He's more historically-minded than Russell, less dogmatic than Dawkins and less in thrall to the charms of his own fluency than Hitchens -- Prospect on The Challenge of Things
Undeniably thought-provoking
Grayling is particularly good at illuminating the knottiness of moral discourse
Lucid, informative and admirably accessible
Grayling writes with clarity, elegance and the occasional aphoristic twist
Five minutes with any passage will have you contemplating all day
I find the clarity of his thinking so refreshing
If there is any such person in Britain as The Thinking Man, it is A. C. Grayling
The History of Philosophy is an excellent overview of great philosophical thought by an insightful practitioner of the field. It is a credit to Grayling's abilities that he has penned such a perspicuous book on some very difficult subjects-giving the a reader a clear overview of the complexities of Scholastic logic, Analytic philosophies of language and mind, and much else besides is no easy feat, but Grayling has achieved it. This is a book to be treasured, both as a guide to the subject and as a beautiful piece of writing in itself, containing great insight and wisdom. It is a testament to the continuing importance and value of philosophy. * Aero Magazine *
