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hamstercups 's review for:
A History of Western Philosophy
by Bertrand Russell
Despite being 80ish years old at this point, it's still one of the best primers on Western Philosophy. I've tried quite a few books as a layperson to get a general idea of things and this is the only one that's able to get through everything with some sort of speed. Russell takes care to reduce everything to it's basics rather then delving into every nook in cranny of the arguments.
Russell is not without his biases, but they are not hidden. He does come out and frankly tell the reader how he feels. In other guides, you can detect that the Author seems to be overly enamored with a particular philosopher, and it's hard to tell if that's a personal preference or wide held regard.
I did particularly enjoy how much ire Russell had for the greeks. So many books hold them sacrosanct, and spend so much time lauding them. Russell, I think, takes the time to properly examine them but still make sure to remind the reader that their ideas no longer hold water.
More than merely recounting the beliefs of each school of thought, Russell presents the evolution of conceptions of truth. Overtime we move from pure reason to perception as the source of knowledge, ending with Russell's own argument for a synthesis of the two.
Russell is not without his biases, but they are not hidden. He does come out and frankly tell the reader how he feels. In other guides, you can detect that the Author seems to be overly enamored with a particular philosopher, and it's hard to tell if that's a personal preference or wide held regard.
I did particularly enjoy how much ire Russell had for the greeks. So many books hold them sacrosanct, and spend so much time lauding them. Russell, I think, takes the time to properly examine them but still make sure to remind the reader that their ideas no longer hold water.
More than merely recounting the beliefs of each school of thought, Russell presents the evolution of conceptions of truth. Overtime we move from pure reason to perception as the source of knowledge, ending with Russell's own argument for a synthesis of the two.