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piratequeen's review
5.0
It took me awhile to get through this, because I read it carefully and took notes, but it was well worth the effort. Durant presents an excellent overview of Western philosophy, explaining the different viewpoints in clear and concise language as well as providing suggestions for further reading. This is an excellent introduction to philosophy for anyone who is looking to dive into the subject, like I am.
poetryamano's review
4.0
A great survey of Western philosophy. Durant is a great guide for not only his subject but his time as well. Where his commentary is dated, it is in a way that frames the book in its time yet still relevant to ours. A great book to dip into and walk away with an idea of which philosophers you want to delve into more.
jahangeer's review
5.0
A wonderful read, the story of philosophy is a brilliant book for anyone who is new to philosophy. After reading this book one will only be getting start in philosophy.
The book is written so well that your interest in philosophy will he touching the sky after reading it, and you will be wanting to read more books on philosophy.
This book as the title suggests isn't the history of philosophy but it is the story of philosophy, so it doesn't involved any ancient Indian, Chinese philosophy.
It covers 9 great philosophers, two of them are of premodern time, plato and Aristotle.
And other 7 philosophers are of modern time, start from Francis bacon, to spinoza, Spencer, Voltaire, Immanuel kant, scophenour Friedrick Nietzsche.
Other than that it also covers 6 contemporary philosophers, 3 of each of European and American which include Bertrand Russel, croce, bergson, to Santayana, James and dewey.
All the ideas, philosophies, and concepts of these philosophers are discussed very lucidly and eloquently, each book that jas been written by above philosophers has been discussed thoroughly in the books.
Whatever great thinkers, writers of the time wrote about the social, ethical, moral, politics, education, and others issues are enlightened in the book and there is also a critical chapter on each of the philosopher.
The book has more than that, one of the best book on philosophy. I would recommend It to anyone who want to start reading the philosophy genre. That's the book to do it.
The book is written so well that your interest in philosophy will he touching the sky after reading it, and you will be wanting to read more books on philosophy.
This book as the title suggests isn't the history of philosophy but it is the story of philosophy, so it doesn't involved any ancient Indian, Chinese philosophy.
It covers 9 great philosophers, two of them are of premodern time, plato and Aristotle.
And other 7 philosophers are of modern time, start from Francis bacon, to spinoza, Spencer, Voltaire, Immanuel kant, scophenour Friedrick Nietzsche.
Other than that it also covers 6 contemporary philosophers, 3 of each of European and American which include Bertrand Russel, croce, bergson, to Santayana, James and dewey.
All the ideas, philosophies, and concepts of these philosophers are discussed very lucidly and eloquently, each book that jas been written by above philosophers has been discussed thoroughly in the books.
Whatever great thinkers, writers of the time wrote about the social, ethical, moral, politics, education, and others issues are enlightened in the book and there is also a critical chapter on each of the philosopher.
The book has more than that, one of the best book on philosophy. I would recommend It to anyone who want to start reading the philosophy genre. That's the book to do it.
zephora's review
3.0
This was a good review. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Voltaire. Most of the philosophers come off in a negative light, but it’s fairly well deserved. Nineteenth-century philosophers have some wild opinions on women. I’m looking at you, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.
As a narrative, this is still fairly enjoyable for a 95-year-old nonfiction text. I’d give it 4 stars, but I got too bored after the Nietzsche chapter to say I enjoyed the book.
As a narrative, this is still fairly enjoyable for a 95-year-old nonfiction text. I’d give it 4 stars, but I got too bored after the Nietzsche chapter to say I enjoyed the book.
tlockney's review
2.0
Really had to work to finish this one. I guess having been a failed student of philosophy (that is, I gave it up rather early on), I can't criticize this with too much precision, but this piece of work really felt like it was misnamed. If anything, it should have been "here are some philosophers, some you should know about and others you can quickly forget." Not really, but.... The gaps felt like bigger pieces of the story than the story itself, in many cases. Of course, I know this was first published in 1926, so the perspective on the overall picture was a fair bit different. Nonetheless, I can't say that I'd recommend this to anyone.
ejazhusseini's review
4.0
A journey with the most profound thinkers and their revolutionary ideas.
Study this, don't just read, and you will begin to understand philosophy.
Study this, don't just read, and you will begin to understand philosophy.
thepavand's review
5.0
Everyone is a philosopher in some capacity. We all have some belief as how the world works, how we should live and what we should live for. Some of us acquire it from parents or elders or other role-models or even movies. Some take it from religion. It's easy really, because it is passive mostly. But for others things start to lose sense. All the certainties they had in their youth start crumbling away. Or maybe they never were truly comfortable with the world they were living in. It is these personal crises that drive one to search for a new truth based on all the wonderful models of it made by her predecessors.
So here we have comprehensive introductions to nine such models from history and their proponents, and shorter introductions to contemporary (in 1926) philosophers. We have the lives these masters led, their influences and their impact. We have everything important that they said and what they thought about everything important. You could see these were the minds that determined the course of western civilisation and represent a wide range of philosophies, including Eastern ones through a couple of proxies.
Plato was the original master. He was extremely ambitious and he had the sort of command over everyone to realise his utopia. Every subsequent philosopher either reproduced his conclusions through their ideas or reacted strongly against his ideas.
Aristotle practically created logic. He drove Western philosophy for a long time; his theories were dogmatised by the Catholic Church and the aristocracy.
Francis Bacon fathered the scientific method and materialism and shaped England's destiny as the pioneer of industrial societies.
Spinoza was "the greatest philosopher of modern times". He sought to create a set of ethics not centered on God. "To be a philosopher, one must be a Spinozist first."
Voltaire taught us how to read history and why we should value liberty as our highest ideal; something we take for granted now.
Immanuel Kant was big on epistemology. He made us take several steps back in assuming what we know. He tried to make religion go back to its rightful space and not fight a battle with science it was certain to lose.
I loved Schopenhauer. He has just the kind of mix of depression and purpose in his writing that appeals to me. There's a lot of influence of Eastern, especially Buddhist, philosophy in his work. Maybe that's why it appealed to me so much. It's familiar.
Herbert Spencer was incredibly boring. His philosophy was based on the theory of evolution and it didn't do much for me. It felt like he lacked the conviction to take his premises to their logical conclusions which Nietzsche would do later. Apparently his celebrity dwindled soon after this book was written.
Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy is deplorable but so very charismatic. It characterises all the horrors of late 19th and early 20th centuries. God is dead, he says. Of course, he didn't mean there was actually an entity alive called God who later died, but that we didn't need God for morality anymore and he sought to replace Him with his Übermensch.
Then there are Bergson, Croce and Bertrand Russell from Europe, and Santayana, William James and John Dewey from America. Important thinkers from 20th century. Dr. B R Ambedkar studied under John Dewey at Columbia University.
Philosophy is ultimately generalisation. You pick the ones that work for you, make you happy and give a meaning to the chaos. Will Durant guides admirably in helping you understand the various philosophies you may take a shine to while gently nudging toward ones he values. Keep an open mind and jump into the shallows. Let the current that feels the strongest to you guide you to the depths.
P. S. : This is my hundredth read book on Goodreads. Yay for an accomplishment.
So here we have comprehensive introductions to nine such models from history and their proponents, and shorter introductions to contemporary (in 1926) philosophers. We have the lives these masters led, their influences and their impact. We have everything important that they said and what they thought about everything important. You could see these were the minds that determined the course of western civilisation and represent a wide range of philosophies, including Eastern ones through a couple of proxies.
Plato was the original master. He was extremely ambitious and he had the sort of command over everyone to realise his utopia. Every subsequent philosopher either reproduced his conclusions through their ideas or reacted strongly against his ideas.
Aristotle practically created logic. He drove Western philosophy for a long time; his theories were dogmatised by the Catholic Church and the aristocracy.
Francis Bacon fathered the scientific method and materialism and shaped England's destiny as the pioneer of industrial societies.
Spinoza was "the greatest philosopher of modern times". He sought to create a set of ethics not centered on God. "To be a philosopher, one must be a Spinozist first."
Voltaire taught us how to read history and why we should value liberty as our highest ideal; something we take for granted now.
Immanuel Kant was big on epistemology. He made us take several steps back in assuming what we know. He tried to make religion go back to its rightful space and not fight a battle with science it was certain to lose.
I loved Schopenhauer. He has just the kind of mix of depression and purpose in his writing that appeals to me. There's a lot of influence of Eastern, especially Buddhist, philosophy in his work. Maybe that's why it appealed to me so much. It's familiar.
Herbert Spencer was incredibly boring. His philosophy was based on the theory of evolution and it didn't do much for me. It felt like he lacked the conviction to take his premises to their logical conclusions which Nietzsche would do later. Apparently his celebrity dwindled soon after this book was written.
Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy is deplorable but so very charismatic. It characterises all the horrors of late 19th and early 20th centuries. God is dead, he says. Of course, he didn't mean there was actually an entity alive called God who later died, but that we didn't need God for morality anymore and he sought to replace Him with his Übermensch.
Then there are Bergson, Croce and Bertrand Russell from Europe, and Santayana, William James and John Dewey from America. Important thinkers from 20th century. Dr. B R Ambedkar studied under John Dewey at Columbia University.
Philosophy is ultimately generalisation. You pick the ones that work for you, make you happy and give a meaning to the chaos. Will Durant guides admirably in helping you understand the various philosophies you may take a shine to while gently nudging toward ones he values. Keep an open mind and jump into the shallows. Let the current that feels the strongest to you guide you to the depths.
P. S. : This is my hundredth read book on Goodreads. Yay for an accomplishment.
tazx4's review
5.0
An overview of philosophy in chronological order. Durant discusses the basic ideas of the philosophers he has chosen, but also provides some historical and biographical background. This book would be for the casual reader who feels a need to begin exploring this subject.