One Hundred Philosophers: The Life and Work of the World's Greatest Thinkers

Product Details

For some of the world’s great thinkers, including Aristotle, Aquinas, and Hegel, philosophy is a vast system of fixed, capital-T Truth for humankind to discover, explore and comprehend. For others, even among those with philosophies as diverse as William James and Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosophy is simply a tool, or a process for ascertaining individual factual truths specific to a given time and place. It is often said that if you ask any ten philosophers to define their subject, you’re likely to get ten different answers. Here, presented for non-specialist readers, is an easy-to-understand survey of ideas put forth by 100 important philosophers, from the pre-Socratics of ancient Greece to the analytic philosophers of the present day. Each thinker is summarized in a single illustrated page, or in many instances, in a two-page spread. Each entry includes the philosopher’s birth and death dates, titles of major works, major influences, a capsule biographical sketch, and a brief summary of his or her most important ideas. In addition to philosophers in our own Western tradition, readers will find Chinese sages, including Confucius and Lao-tzu, the Indian Buddhist philosopher Ngrjuna, and thinkers representing other cultures. Just a few of the 100 important thinkers represented in this book are:

Plato

Aristotle

Augustine of Hippo

Roger Bacon

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Hobbes

John Locke

Rene Descartes

Baruch Spinoza

Immanuel Kant

G.W.F. Hegel

Friedrich Nietzsche

William James

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Martin Heidegger

Jean-Paul Sartre

Alfred Jules Ayer

Willard V.O. Quine

Thomas Kuhn

Donald Davidson

and many othersThe text is enhanced with more than 250 illustrations and a glossary of philosophical terms.

• ISBN13: 9780764127915
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Customer Reviews ::

Ok as far as it goes,,, - Ray R - Sacramento, CA USA
This book was far too brief for me. I was disapponited because I could not capture the essence of the ideas expounded by each philosopher. The pages are divided into three columns. One column on each page is for quotes or antedotes. The top fifth of the page is used for birth and death, main interest, influences etc, there are pictures of the philospher, and occasionally other art works. This doesn't leave much room for discussion. I'm still looking for something readable and useful. Strangely, I did not find Voltaire in this book. Overall, it did not do it for me