The Story of Philosophy

The other reviewers have already said what should be said about the book. In my case, i will be brief and concise. it is suffice to say that thanks to God that i have come across this fabulous work. There are at least three benefits that you will obtain from it. 1. It is an amazingly lucid introduction for beginners. You can easily follow the flow of philosophical thoughts in a logical order. Pieces will fall into places. 2. You can learn the primary works, basic ideas and main contributions of great philosophers in an accessible way . 3. You will have a very clear road map by which you can easily navigate your way around. And then, you can focus on the philosophers that you liked most in detail by reading their original works.

If you want a book that covers the main points of the major western philosophers, get this book. It is readable, and stimulating. It is written for the non academic, yet covers enough to stimulate your own thinking. This book will take a person with little knowledge on philosophy and give them enough on each of the western philosophers, to be able identify their contribution to modern thought, and relevance within their societal influence.

I love this book. Such a good introduction to philosophy. I love the format, the knowledge, the illustrations ... everything. It is the sort of book you can come back to again and again. The author is highly knowledgeable about his subject but just spends a couple of pages on each of the greats (maybe 4 pages) eg Copernicus, Kant, Nietzche etc..

One problem with the book is the statement that the Achilles and the Tortoise argument is an impeccable logical argument and that the paradox does not as yet have a resolution. The argument can only be considered in Predicate Calculus, since the conclusion "Achilles never actually overtakes the tortoise" involves time: the proposition must be expressed as follows: "there does not EXIST a time when Achilles overtakes the tortoise". This is a proposition in Predicate Calculus which cannot be deduced from the given argument. The argument can only involve time up to the time at which Achilles indeed overtakes the tortoise and not time beyond that time. The invalid argument may also allude to the false notion that an infinite process cannot occur in finite time.

I've always loved this book. I bought this new print for my son and it doesn't disappoint . The new format and binding is good. I've been reading philosophy for over twenty years and can assure anybody that's new to the subject that this is an excellent place to start. Many 'so called' beginners books on the subject are enough to put someone off of philosophy for life. Highly recommended.

Bryan Magee has previously produced some wonderfully clear explanations of the work of important philosophers such as Schopenhauer and Karl Popper, and has brought off the extraordinarily difficult task of presenting philosophy in two BBC television series. He is a populariser only in the sense that he remains clear: he does not skimp on anything. However, I was worried when I saw that he had brought out a book of about 40 short essays on major philosophers - from the Greeks onwards - in the Dorling Kindersley format. The lavish illustration would not leave enough room for a serious text, I thought. Happily I was wrong. For the lay reader, there is illumination in every essay, not only about the philosopher in question, but about the links between his thought and that of others. The short box-lists of key works by each thinker are almost worth the price of the book by themselves.

My daughter used this for A level Philosophy and Ethics. must have been of some use, as she achieved an A! Now three years on and a graduate, she brought a lot of books home and my husband discovered it - dog eared and water stained. He's always been interested in the subject and liked the book so much that he asked me to order one for him - hence this review!

Excellent additional resource for those studying philosophy or simply interested in the story and history of philosophy. It definitely gets the reader wanting to explore and learn more. Bryan Magee is a brilliant writer too and manages to present the history of philosophy and key philosophical topics in a very comprehensive manner.

Everyone should read this book!

Excellent primer for those starting out to learn philosophy and its history through the zges

It is a great book, briefly goes through the time and highlights all important concepts. I recommend everyone to have one in their library. It could also be a great gift. However the book itself came a little damaged, probably because it came all the way from the US. I don't know if it was my bad luck or not but I am not happy with it, hence the 4 stars.

The Story of Philosophy is a facinating and highly informative introduction to the history of western philosophy. It is a book that would be fun to read either from start to finish or just skipping around. It is written in a way that is understandable to readers new to the subject, while not being dumbed down. The book is visually appealing with many photographs and illustrations, along with sidebars on nearly every page introducing the reader to subjects relating to the main text. My only complaint is that I think the title should be "The Story of Western Philosophy", because it only lightly covers eastern and arabic philosophy, which is rather odd considering that my copy promonently features the Buddha on the cover. However, it does provide a helpful "For further reading" section that includes works on those subjects. Altogether, this is an excellent book that I am glad to add to my library. I also recommend as a good companion to this book DK's "World Religions" by John Bowker.

Edizione molto curata, bella impaginazione e ben fatto, contenuti davvero molto interessanti e utili per approfondire la conoscenza dell'inglese, collana editoriale che non delude mai le aspettative del lettore, spedizione rapidissima e imballaggio buono, davvero molto soddisfatto.