Book Description

The Story of Philosophy sees philosophy for what it is: a passionate, exhilarating quest for human understanding that cannot be reduced to dry categories or simple definitions. Accessible writing, brilliant scholarship and over 150 colour illustrations combine to form a richly informative and highly entertaining work of narrative history. Packed with intriguing anecdotes and fascinating detail, James Garvey and Jeremy Stangroom bring us face to face with the most important philosophers in western history. The story begins with the Ancient Greeks, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, great thinkers who set the philosophical agenda to this day. It continues with Greek and Roman philosophers--slaves and emperors who found consolation in deep thoughts about life and death--and moves on to the religious thinkers of the Middle Ages. The origins of modern science, politics, and morality are examined, alongside theories of knowledge, logic, mind and matter. Along the way, you'll discover Descartes' evil demon, Locke on the limits of knowledge, Rousseau and Hobbes on human nature, Hume's scepticism, Kant on duty, Nietzsche's Superman, Marx on class struggle, Russell's logic, Wittgenstein on meaning, Sartre on bad faith, Foucault's take on power, and much more. Rigorous, refreshingly free of academic jargon, and highly accessible, this is the ideal introduction for anyone who wants to gain a new perspective on philosophy's deepest mysteries and most intriguing discoveries.