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A History of Western Philosophy

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A History of Western Philosophy

By: Bertrand Russell
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy serves as the perfect introduction to its subject; it remains unchallenged as the greatest account of the history of Western thought. Charting philosophy's course from the pre-Socratics up to the early twentieth century, Russell relates each philosopher and school to their respective historical and cultural contexts, providing erudite commentary throughout his invaluable survey. This engaging and comprehensive work has done much to educate and inform generations of general readers; it is written in accessible and elegantly crafted prose and allows for an easy grasp of complex ideas.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©1945 Bertrand Russell (P)2013 Naxos AudioBooks History Philosophy Middle Ages Thought-Provoking Inspiring Funny Metaphysical Socialism Mathematics Morality Ancient History Capitalism
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This is a history of Western philosophy in relation to the changing social and political climate through the ages. The conclusion is that philosophers are mainly a product of their times, and politics and society are only shaped in a small part by philosophy.

Aside from the descriptions of philosophy in relation to historical events, the emphasis is mainly on metaphysics and epistemology, ie those aspects of philosophy that are now mainly the domain of the sciences. Where it does touch upon ethics the book is somewhat dated, especially with regard to Atistotle's virtue ethics, which barely get a mention despite their importance in modern philosophy.

Nevertheless this is a highly informative account of philosophy's social history. Most entertaining perhaps is the brilliant and scathing chapter on Nietzsche, in which Russell places the German philosopher in a dialogue with Buddha. And the account of the hereditary principle with regard to economics remains even today a fascinating and relevant insight.

A special mention must go to Jonathan Keeble and his brilliant reading throughout. He perfectly distills Russell's humour throughout, adding a tone of witty irreverence to the book. He also takes every opportunity to show off his acting chops; the Frankenstein's Monster excerpts were particularly entertaining.

Worth a listen if you have 38 hours to spare! Though perhaps worth it just for certain chapters, particularly, Pythagoras, The Hellenistic Period, Spinoza, and especially Nietzsche.

Great book, just remember when it was written

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I am an architect with a keen interest in philosophy and I found this book to be a great introduction to philosophy. Beautifully written, as it was to be expected from Russel, and great narration. I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone who did not study western philosophy but wants to have a general understanding of the subject.

I loved this book

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a common sense look at the whole of western philosophy.
This is the ideal framework for the study of philosophy.
Investigate a couple of works of the more notable thinkers in a little more detail you can lean the whole of western philosophy in a fair detail with this book.
Took me about two years, eight hours a day, six days a week.
You can learn the subject as well as you can at college, without spending hundreds of thousands.
I spent maybe two hundred pounds on books. A lot are available free.
Buy this book.

brilliant

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Incredible book with an obscene wealth of information. Russell's prose is detailed expansive and humorous. I listened to AC graylings history before this which I would put on par with this book although I think Russels command of the language surpasses that of Grayling. Grayling also does not entertain theological philosophy which Russel does include. Russel also gives much ancillary historical information which allows us understand the temporal attitudes of society foreach philosophy. will require many listens along with the text to absorb. I intend on using both this book and grayling to create summaries.

Leviathan of work.

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The History of Western Philosophy is a comprehensive work which looks at major philosophical developments in the western world over last two millennia. Russell is ambitious in what he wants to cover, and one has to agree that he manages to do justice to it, in most parts. His writing is wonderful. He remains engaging throughout the book, even through the more denser parts involving discussion of philosophy of St Thomas Aquinas and St Augustine. A special mention must be made of Russell's wonderful take down of some holy cows, such as,

"Rousseau was mad but influential, Hume was sane but had no followers."

Also, Mr Keeble must be complimented on the fantastic job he has done. His voice suits the theme of the book and his even tenor makes for a pleasant listening experience.

I do have one criticism to offer. It is concerned with Russell's dismissal of Avicenna and Averroes as minor philosophical figures whose value lies more in their commentary on Aristotle rather than any groundbreaking philosophical ideas. This criticism is repeated with regards to Avicenna's 'advancements' in medicine, which Russell described as mostly reworking of Galen. I think both criticisms are unfair and difficult to understand. Avicenna, in my opinion is among the masters for his work on Metaphysics and Theory of Knowledge.



Russell at his best

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