If you never understood why Plato's philosophy of Ideal Forms is called Realism, Ideas of the Great Philosophers makes ideal reading. This compact book provides a veritable brief history of philosophy, offering precise descriptions of the major branches of philosophical thought and exploring the contributions of great thinkers to the various fields of philosophic inquiry. -- Amazon.

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

Since the beginning of time mankind has struggled with the big questions surrounding our existence. Whilst most people have heard of Socrates, Machiavelli and Nietzsche, many are less clear on their theories and key concepts. In The Great Philosophers, bestselling author Stephen Law condenses and deciphers their fundamental ideas. Avoiding the technical jargon and complex logic associated with most books on philosophy, Law brings the thoughts of these great thinkers, from Confucius and Buddha to Wittgenstein and Sartre, to life.

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.

Who am I? What is justice? What does it mean to live a good life? Fully illustrated throughout, this engaging and accessible hardback book invites readers to contemplate the ideas of 100 key philosophers within the Western intellectual tradition. Covering philosophical, scientific, political and religious thought over a period of 2500 years, 100 Great Philosophers Who Changed the World serves as an excellent guide to this history of philosophy and the progress that has been made in interpreting the world around us. These figures include: • Aristotle • Jean-Jacques Rousseau • Karl Marx • Simone de Beauvoir • Noam Chomsky • W.V.O Quine By presenting details of their lives and the concerns and circumstances that motivated them, this book makes philosophy come to life as a relevant and meaningful approach to thinking about the contemporary world.

Few people have failed at love as spectacularly as the great philosophers. Although we admire their wisdom, history is littered with the romantic failures of the most sensible men and women of every age, including: Friedrich Nietzsche: "Ah, women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent." (Rejected by everyone he proposed to, even when he kept asking and asking.) Jean-Paul Sartre: "There are of course ugly women, but I prefer those who are pretty." (Adopted his mistress as his daughter.) Louis Althusser: "The trouble is there are bodies and, worse still, sexual organs." (Accidentally strangled his wife to death.) And dozens of other great thinkers whose words we revere—but whose romantic decisions we should avoid at all costs. Includes an excerpt from Andrew Shaffer's new book Literary Rogues.

Based on a highly successful BBC television series, this book presents fifteen dialogues between author and broadcaster Bryan Magee and some of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. Isaiah Berlin considers the fundamental question, "What is philosophy?," A. J. Ayer reviews logical positivism, and Iris Murdoch talks about the relation between philosophy and literature. Moral philosophy, political philosophy, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of science are all treated in depth by the thinkers who have shaped these fields--including Noam Chomsky, W. V. O. Quine, and Herbert Marcuse. Written in an informal, conversational style, even the most difficult philosophical ideas are made accessible to the general reader.

Do we have free will? How can we know anything? What is justice? Why is there evil in the world? What is the source of truth? Is it possible for God not to exist? Can we really believe what we see? These are some of the questions that have intrigued the world's greatest thinkers over the ages. They are questions that make us think about the way we live, work, relate to each other, and see the world. In elegant and accessible prose, the eminent philosopher Leszek Kolakowski explores the essence of these ideas and their ongoing relevance as he introduces us to the great figures of Western thought: from Socrates to St. Augustine, Descartes to Nietzsche, and beyond. Reflecting on the great issues that animate our lives -- good and evil, truth and beauty, faith and the soul, free will and consciousness -- Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? offers a guided tour of Western philosophy by one of the world's greatest living experts.

In its vast scope, this book presents the continuum of Western philosophy. Ranging from ancient Greece to nineteenth-century America, it traces the history of our civilization through the seminal works of its most influential thinkers. Each philosopher in this volume made intellectual history; each created a revolution in ideas; each reaffirmed man’s view of himself as a sentient being capable of creating order out of the baffling contradictions of existence. And the most powerful reflections and speculations of each are represented here. Plato: Apology, Crito and the Death of Socrates, from Phado Aristotle: Poetics St. Ansem: The ontological Proof of St. Ansem, from Proslogium St. Thomas Aquinas: St. Thomas’ Proofs of God’s Existence, from the SummaTheologica René Descartes: Meditations on the First Philosophy David Hume: An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding Immanuel Kant: Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism William James: The Will to Believe