The Great Philosophers: An Introduction to Western Philosophy / Edition 1

by Bryan Magee

Overview

Beginning with the death of Socrates in 399 BC, and following the strand of philosophical inquiry 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. With contributions from A. J. Ayer, Bernard Williams, Martha Nussbaum, Peter Singer, and John Searle, 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192893222
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/18/2001
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	7.81(w) x 5.06(h) x 0.74(d)

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.

Table of Contents

Preface, Bryan MageeDialogue 1. Plato, Myles BurnyeatDialogue 2. Aristotle, Martha NussbaumDialogue 3. Medieval Philosophy, Anthony KennyDialogue 4. Descartes, Bernard WilliamsDialogue 5. Spinoza and Leibniz, Anthony QuintonDialogue 6. Locke and Berkeley, Michael AyesDialogue 7. Hume, John PassmoreDialogue 8. Kant, Geoffrey WarnockDialogue 9. Hegel and Marx, Peter SingerDialogue 10. Schopenhauer, Frederick CoplestonDialogue 11. Nietzsche, J.P. SternDialogue 12. Husserl, Heidegger and Modern Existentialism, Hubert DreyfusDialogue 13. The American Pragmatists, Sidney MorgenbesserDialogue 14. Frege, Russell and Modern Logic, A.J. AyerDialogue 15. Wittgenstein, John Searle

Editorial Reviews

Magee has taught philosophy at Oxford, and in each of these volumes he attempts to make philosophy understandable to the lay reader. The DK book devotes just a few pages to each of the major thinkers and is lavishly illustrated. It would be suitable for high school, college, and public libraries. Great Philosophers is a series of conversations with important contemporary philosophers about the major historical figures, originally produced for the BBC. Confessions is an autobiographical excursion through Western philosophy. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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