'The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts' Bertrand Russell 'Science is what you know. Philosophy is what you don't know' Bertrand Russell discovered mathematics at the age of eleven. It was, he recalled, a transporting experience: 'as dazzling as first love'. From that moment on, he would pursue his passion with undying devotion and fervour. Mathematics might succeed, he felt, where philosophy had failed, reducing thought to its purest form, and freeing knowledge from doubt and contradiction. And for a time, so it seemed. Russell's mathematical investigations effortlessly resolved at a stroke some of philosophy's most intractable problems. Yet if mathematics could be a liberating mistress, she was also an unreliable one... Opening up the work of one of our age's undisputed giants, Ray Monk's exhilaratingly clear, readable guide tells a compelling human tale too: a moving story of love and loss, of ecstatic triumph and deep disillusion.
The Great Philosophers traces the biggest and most influential thoughts in philosophy's long stride through history, beginning with the Ancient Greeks and Early Romans, the first philosophical thinkers in the West, to whom much is owed. How their concerns became the concerns of those who followed is clearly laid out, as is the way their answers shaped what we now recognize as philosophy. The medieval philosophers are also represented, combining their religious concerns with ancient thought and carrying it into the Renaissance. The modern era, the explosion of philosophy sparked by Descartes, is well represented here too. Founders and representatives of both rationalist and empiricist schools make an appearance, as do philosophy's sceptics, with their often-darker conclusions. Philosophy's long walk continues, and you will find here the thoughts which make its contemporary form what it is, and perhaps what it is on the way to becoming. Philosophy is very much still under way, and The Great Philosophers pays regard to both the discipline as it is practised now, and to the history which made contemporary philosophy possible.
A short book combining extracts from the work of one of the world's greatest thinkers with commentary from one of Britain's most distinguished writers on philosophy.
You have probably heard about Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. When it comes to ancient minds who created foundations in philosophy, science, and math, these three names would automatically come up. But what exactly did they do to warrant immense respect and admiration? Well, your fifth grader will soon find out from this biography book.
No matter how you view philosophy, regardless of what you think it is, this series from The Independent will give you a strong sense of the life and work of the very best thinkers in the philosophical neighbourhood, dealing carefully and rationally with the most human of questions, the hardest questions, the questions which matter most. William James, in his last great work Some Problems of Philosophy, wrote that philosophy 'sees the familiar as if it were strange, and the strange as if it were familiar. It can take things up and lay them down again. Its mind is full of air that plays round every subject . It rouses us from our native dogmatic slumber and breaks up our caked prejudices'. This series shows how philosophical argument can be profoundly disconcerting in this way; how it leads people to question everything they thought they knew about existence, knowledge and ethics.
Some of the most important principles of modern society were founded hundreds, even thousands, of years ago. Readers explore the lives of some of the greatest philosophers and thinkers of all time, from Socrates to Sartre. Topics covered include, how they lived, what their principles were, and what kind of an impact they have on modern society.
“Spectacular . . . A delight to read.” —The Wall Street Journal From bestselling biographer and historian Paul Johnson, a brilliant portrait of Socrates, the founding father of philosophy In his highly acclaimed style, historian Paul Johnson masterfully disentangles centuries of scarce sources to offer a riveting account of Socrates, who is often hailed as the most important thinker of all time. Johnson provides a compelling picture of Athens in the fifth century BCE, and of the people Socrates reciprocally delighted in, as well as many enlightening and intimate analyses of specific aspects of his personality. Enchantingly portraying "the sheer power of Socrates's mind, and its unique combination of steel, subtlety, and frivolity," Paul Johnson captures the vast and intriguing life of a man who did nothing less than supply the basic apparatus of the human mind.
*Analyzes the controversies and mysteries surrounding Socrates' life and death, including the debate over his portrayal in Plato's Socratic dialogues. *Discusses the philosophers' writings about knowledge, logic, metaphysics, science, reason, Forms, political science, rhetoric and more. *Includes busts and other art depicting the philosophers and other important people. *Includes a Bibliography on each for further reading. In 427 B.C., the Ancient Greek city-state of Athens was flourishing. Approximately 80 years earlier, the Athenians had formed the first self-representative democracy in history, the Peloponnesian War against Sparta had only just started, and Socrates was only beginning to lay the foundation of what would become Western philosophy. None of Socrates' works survived antiquity, so most of what is known about him came from the writings of his followers, most notably Plato. What is known about Socrates is that he seemed to make a career out of philosophy, and Plato was intent on following in his footsteps. Yet for all of the influence of Socrates' life on his followers, it was Socrates' death around 399 B.C. that truly shaped them. Plato was so embittered by Socrates' trial in Athens that he completely soured on Athenian democracy, and Aristotle would later criticize politicians who relied on rhetoric; when Aristotle's own life was threatened, he fled Greece and allegedly remarked, "I will not allow the Athenians to sin twice against philosophy." About a decade after Socrates' death, Plato returned to Athens and founded his famous Platonic Academy around 387 B.C., which he oversaw for 40 years until his death. One of Plato's philosophical beliefs was that writing down teachings was less valuable than passing them down orally, and several of Plato's writings are responses to previous writings of his, so Plato's personally held beliefs are hard to discern. However, Plato educated several subsequent philosophers, chief among them Aristotle, and his writings eventually formed the backbone of Western philosophy. Alongside Socrates and Plato, Aristotle is, without question, one of the most influential ancient Greek philosophers and arguably the greatest icon of ancient thought. His life and work expanded rapidly and extensively across the ancient world, helped in part by the fact he tutored Alexander the Great, he was a recognized and celebrated intellectual force during all of antiquity and the Middle Ages. Furthermore, after Aristotle, Greek thought and political influence began a rapid decline, and the cultivation of knowledge, so important during the classic period, slowly but surely began to fade, making Aristotle the last of ancient Greece's great philosophers. Aristotle's influence on Western philosophical thought is marked by an extensive list of crucial issues that both signaled the way forward but at the same time boggled philosophers' minds throughout the centuries. Aristotle's reflections on Being, as well as his rigorous Logic, were his most important philosophical legacy, but he was also an intellectual in the broadest sense of the word. His interests went beyond metaphysical questions and into practical life and practical knowledge, from ethics to politics, rhetoric and the sciences, all of which left a profound impact on Western political thought and ethics. Naturally, this has also made him one of the foundations of knowledge and philosophical thought that subsequent philosophers relied on when forming and refining their own philosophies. Antiquity's Greatest Philosophers chronicles the lives, works, and philosophies of all three philosophers in depth, while analyzing their enduring legacies. You will learn about Socrates, Plato and Aristotle like never before.
This book brings together the answers that the great philosophers of all times have offered to the problems which we think about today. They have toiled to form an answer that seems to them satisfactory. The book has bnrughtit to you. Our method is to bring together what each philosopher has written on each of these problems as briefly and concisely as possible. This is done so that you, busy as you are, do not have to read long discourses on philosophy to discover that which will help you in your ttiolthig By reading any one of the chapters in this book, you can get a clear picture of what the philosophers down through the ages have said about one of your real problems. Although each chapter is a unit to itself and can be read without reference to the other chapters, it is advisable for the reader to begin with the first chapter and go through the book. This will give you a wide view of the great philosophers and will help you to see each problem or group of problems in relation to the other problems and groups of problems in the book. At the end of the book, you will find Biographical Notes concerning the philosophers whom you meet in the pages of the book. This should be used as a quick reference when you want to know the exact dates during which the philosopher lived or other pertinent facts about him. Contents 1. The Nature of the Universe 2. Man's Place in the Universe 3. What Is Good and What Is Evil? 4. The Nature of God 5. Fate versus FreeWM 6. The ScrulamiImmortality 7. Man and the State 8. ManandEducation 9. Mind aluiMatter 10. Ideas and thinking
A part of Jaspers's planned universal history of philosophy, focusing on the four paradigmatic individuals who have exerted a historical influence of incomparable scope and depth. Edited by Hannah Arendt; Index. Translated by Ralph Manheim.
