A History of Western Philosophy
ISBN 0-415-32505-6 | |
History of Western Philosophy
Background
The book was written during the
Summary
The work is divided into three books, each of which is subdivided into chapters; each chapter generally deals with a single philosopher, school of philosophy, or period of time.
Ancient Philosophy
- The Thales, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocles, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, Leucippus, Democritus and Protagoras)
- Socrates, Plato and Aristotle
- Ancient Philosophy after Aristotle (including the Cynics, Sceptics, Epicureans, Stoics and Plotinus)
Catholic Philosophy
- The Fathers (including developments in Jewish philosophy, Islamic philosophy (which he calls Mohammedan throughout, after the fashion of his time), St Ambrose, St Jerome, St Augustine, St Benedict and Pope Gregory the Great)
- The Schoolmen (including John the Scot and St Thomas Aquinas)
Modern Philosophy
- From the )
- From Rousseau to the Present Day (including )
- The last chapter in this section, The Philosophy of Logical Analysis, is concerned with Russell's own philosophical views at the time.
Reception
Contemporary reviews
According to British philosopher
In 1947 in the Journal of the History of Ideas, the philosopher George Boas wrote that, "A History of Western Philosophy errs consistently in this respect. Its author never seems to be able to make up his mind whether he is writing history or polemic.... [Its method] confers on philosophers who are dead and gone a kind of false contemporaneity which may make them seem important to the uninitiate. But nevertheless it is a misreading of history."[6] In 1948 in Isis, Leo Roberts wrote that while Russell was a deft and witty writer, A History of Western Philosophy was perhaps the worst of Russell's books. In his view, Russell was at his best when dealing with contemporary philosophy, and that in contrast "his treatment of ancient and medieval doctrines is nearly worthless."[7] Notwithstanding this, A History of Western Philosophy was praised by physicists Albert Einstein and Erwin Schrödinger.[5][8]
The philosopher Frederick Copleston, writing in A History of Philosophy (1946–75), described Russell's book as "unusually lively and entertaining", but added that Russell's "treatment of a number of important philosophers is both inadequate and misleading." He credited Russell with drawing attention to the logical side of Leibniz's philosophy, but questioned Russell's view that there is a sharp distinction between Leibniz's "popular philosophy" and his "esoteric doctrine".[9]
Later assessments
The critic George Steiner, writing in Heidegger (1991), described A History of Western Philosophy as "vulgar", noting that Russell omits any mention of Martin Heidegger.[10] In Jon Stewart's anthology The Hegel Myths and Legends (1996), Russell's work is listed as a book that has propagated "myths" about Hegel.[11] Stephen Houlgate writes that Russell's claim that Hegel's doctrine of the state justifies any form of tyranny is ignorant.[12] The philosopher Roger Scruton, writing in A Short History of Modern Philosophy (2001), described A History of Western Philosophy as elegantly written and witty, but faulted it for Russell's concentration on pre-Cartesian philosophy, lack of understanding of Immanuel Kant, and over-generalization and omissions.[13]
The British philosopher
Because of the partisan nature of its views, and the quick, witty style of their presentation, it has never been a staple as an academic textbook. Instead it has belonged to the amateurs of philosophy, in the sense of both those who love the pursuit and those who read it in their own time for their own instruction. Written late in life by one of the great contributors to philosophy and logic, who was also a man of deep and abiding liberal principles, it is a unique book. Highly readable, very amusing, full of instruction, even when it needs the correctives of closer scholarship, it is one of the monuments of twentieth-century philosophy and literature....[15]
See also
- A History of Philosophy by Frederick Copleston
- Lectures on the History of Philosophy by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
- A New History of Western Philosophy by Anthony Kenny
- The Dream of Reason (2000) and The Dream of Enlightenment (2016) by Anthony Gottlieb
Notes
- ^ Full title 'A History of Western Philosophy And Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day – the indefinite article was deleted in the British editions.
References
Citations
- The Folio Society, pg xi.
- ^ Russell, B: "A History of Western Philosophy", page xi. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1972
- ^ Grayling (2004), Op. cit., pg ix.
- ^ Monk p. 296
- ^ a b c Russell, B: "The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell", Routledge, 2000
- ^ Boas, G: "Review of History of Western Philosophy", Journal of the History of Ideas, 8(1947): 117–123
- ^ Roberts, L: "Review of History of Western Philosophy", Isis, 38(1948): 268–270
- ISBN 9780521575508.
- ISBN 0-385-47041-X.
- ISBN 0-226-77232-2.
- ISBN 0-8101-1301-5.
- ISBN 0-631-20347-8.
- ^ Scruton, R: "Short History of Modern Philosophy ", Routledge, 2001
- ^ Grayling, A. C.: "Russell: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)", Oxford University Press, 2002
- ^ Grayling (2004), Op. cit., pg xiv.
Sources
- Ray Monk (2000). Bertrand Russell: The Ghost of Madness. London. ISBN 9780743212151.)
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External links
Quotations related to A History of Western Philosophy at Wikiquote
- History of Western Philosophy (1947)