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Product Description
Product Description
Beginning with the death of Socrates in 399 BC, and following the story through the centuries to recent figures such as Bertrand Russell and Wittgenstein, Bryan Magee's conversations with fifteen contemporary writers and philosophers provide an accessible and exciting account of Western philosophy and its greatest thinkers. The contributors include A. J. Ayer, Bernard Williams, Martha Nussbaum, Peter Singer, and John Searle, so that the book is not only an introduction to the philosophers of the past, but gives an invaluable insight into the view and personalities of some of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century.
About the Author
Bryan Magee is a Visiting Professor at King's College London and has published sixteen other books including Modern British Philosophy, and Creators of Contemporary Philosophy.
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First Sentence
Magee Any attempt to tell the story of Western philosophy should begin with the ancient Greeks, who produced not only the first but some of the very greatest of Western philosophers. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Magee Any attempt to tell the story of Western philosophy should begin with the ancient Greeks, who produced not only the first but some of the very greatest of Western philosophers. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bryan Magee's 'Introduction to Western Philosophy' is a brilliant analysis of the works of the most important Western philosophers from Plato to Bertrand Russell.
This book is based on a BBC TV series which was presented as a discussion between the author and one of the leading authorities on every philosopher.
During the discussions all the most important philosophical problems were tackled. To name a few: causality, determinism, free will, freedom, the existence of the self, the body-mind problem, the subject-object relationship, the problem of induction, tolerance, the problem of the just war or the basics of human nature ('the would-be knower is a biological organism struggling for survival').
This book is written in very clear, straightforward and very comprehensive prose, rather exceptional for this kind of work.
It gives a magisterial summary of the basic ideas of every philosopher. Into the bargain, it can be consulted easily for every chapter can be read independently.
I have only a few remarks. First, I miss one great philosopher of the 20th century: Karl Popper. I suppose that he was left out because he was still living when the book was published. On the other hand, Bryan Magee filled the gap by writing a separate book on Popper, which I recommend to everyone.
Secondly, I don't share his enthusiasm for the 'second' Wittgenstein and the latter's disastrous sliding into the morass of linguistics with his language games.
All in all, this book is a magisterial summary of 2500 years of Western philosophy. A must read.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book contains the transcripts of interviews that Bryan Magee conducted on television with some fellow philosophers. In them they discuss all the main philosophers that you have heard of but assumes you know nothing about. It is therefore more like listening to Philosophy than reading it: it lacks the long verbose sentences for which philosophy books are famous and which scare beginners off; the dialogue is fluid and highly interesting and all in all makes a perfect introduction to anyone who has never studied philosophy before and wants to know what it's all about. People who have studied philosophy will not gain anything from it at all [try the Oxford Encyclopedia for that] as nothing is covered in great depth, but that is not the aim of the book. It is deep enough to dip your toe into though, and it achieves that aim wonderfully. Read it, find out which philosophers light your flame and then read more!!!
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The most important feature of this book, is that it provides a well written and easily understanable guide to some of the greatest thinkers of philosophy. The author invites eminent experts in their field to discuss the work and lives of the great philosophers; from Plato to Witgenstein.This he then turns into a chronological account. A great introduction to anyone like myself starting on the philisophical road.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An Introduction to Western Philosophy
We know the famous books of Bryan Magee on Karl Popper, Schopenhauer, Wagner, and his illustrated presentation of the history of philosophy. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Mr. Francois Marcognet
Unmatched
This is an outstanding book. As an introduction to philosophy it remains unmatched. The book is worth buying just for Hubert Dreyfus's marvellously illuminating discussion on... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Terry Byrne
Difficult Enough...
"The Great Philosophers" is an interesting book, but unlike some other reviewers I would hesitate about recommending it to beginners in the subject like myself. Read more
Published 6 months ago by L. Davidson
Philosophical and historical introductions to the great philosophers
A great, clear and concise introduction to some of the greatest philosophers. Short introductions followed by exposition and discussion with contemporary philosophers (of the... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Bob Breckwoldt
The great philosophers
A must read for anyone interested in philosophy or just wanting to expand their own knowledge of the world. Read more
Published 7 months ago by HMPS64
Eureka, I think
The Great Philosophers
By Bryan Magee
A review by the Cote d'Azur Men's Book Club
The world of the philosopher is one of vision and insight. Read more
By Bryan Magee
A review by the Cote d'Azur Men's Book Club
The world of the philosopher is one of vision and insight. Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2010 by Ivor R. B. Hibbitt
extremely interesting but the style demands concentration and...
The book is a wonderful introduction to the major philosophers but, due to its transcript nature, it is an unusual and sometime tiresome book to read. Read more
Published on 7 April 2007 by Killian
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