The Story of Philosophy - Softcover

Magee, Bryan

 
9780789479945: The Story of Philosophy

Synopsis

An accessible interpretation of the subject of philosophy from a world-renowned philosopher and author offers readers a fundamental introduction to the history of ideas and human thought from around the world. Reissue.

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Review

As a bright adolescent, Magee discovered--see his Confessions of a philosopher --that the kind of thinking he liked to do was called "philosophy". The great disappointment of his life was the realisation that, incapable of great original thoughts, he was condemned to be a populariser all his life. His loss is our gain, and this admirable illustrated book is his very partial account of philosophy for other adolescents and adults who need a handy crib. This is Whiggish history, in which everything leads to a selective group of 20th-century Greats--Wittgenstein, Russell and Popper--two of whom were Magee's personal friends; contemporary French thinkers like Foucault and Derrida are relegated to the sidelines and linguistic analysis treated as a slightly irrelevant game. It is also Eurocentric history in which we leap from Stoics and Epicureans to Thomas Aquinas taking in only Saint Augustine on the way--Muslim thinkers are no more than mentioned and the Buddha is only here as an influence on Schopenhauer. Illustrations and sidebars give a useful cultural context; Magee writes well about his intellectual heroes and this is a personal enough book to be both more and less than a mere introduction. --Roz Kaveney

Review

"This gloriously illustrated and accessible book enables readers to embark on an adventure in philosophy.Young adults will find that the often closed doors of philosophy are now open and inviting." School Library Journal

"Lavishly illustrated." Library Journal"

"This gloriously illustrated and accessible book enables readers to embark on an adventure in philosophy.Young adults will find that the often closed doors of philosophy are now open and inviting." -- School Library Journal

"Lavishly illustrated." -- Library Journal

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Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781465445643: The Story of Philosophy: A Concise Introduction to the World's Greatest Thinkers and Their Ideas (DK a History of)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  1465445641 ISBN 13:  9781465445643
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley, 2016
Softcover