The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers From Plato To John Dewey

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The Story of Philosophy:...

by
Will Durant

book data

664 ratings, 3.89 average rating, 61 reviews (more data...)

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published

September 11th 1971 (first published 2000) by Pocket

binding

Paperback, 541 pages

isbn

0671781464 (isbn13: 9780671781460)

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All ratings | 5 stars (158) | 4 stars (169) | 3 stars (113) | 2 stars (29) | 1 star (7) | avg 3.89

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Jessica

Jessica rated it:

(review of isbn 0671739166)

02/06/08

This is the most sensitive look at philosophy I've ever read. Will Durant is brilliant-- and who wasn't touched by his heartfelt dedication to his wife at the beginning? I think what really set this book apart is Durant's inclusion of just enough biographical information of the philosophers to remind you that they were just people like you and me who happened to think deep, amazing things about life and were deeply affected by their own childhoods and personal lives, i.e. Nietzsche and his les...more

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Amir

Amir rated it:

(review of isbn 067120159X)

09/15/07

bookshelves: five-stars, philosophical, will-durant

Read in September, 2007

ویل دورانت محقق خیلی برجسته ای بوده و در این کتاب هم تاریخ فلسفه رو خیلی خوب جمع آوری کرده... در کتاب تاریخ فلسفه ویل دورانت نظریات مجموعه ای از فیلسوفهای تاثیرگذار رو در موردشون نوشته... خوبی کتاب به این هست که نقل قولهای مستقیمی از کتابهای فیلسوف ها داره و این کمک می کنه به اینک...more

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Arezo....

Arezo.... rated it:

(review of isbn )

08/23/08

از متن كتاب:
زیبایی یکی از مفاهیم فلسفی است.

ویل دورانت عقیده دارد زیبایی زاده میل است. یکی از نشانه‌های برجسته اینکه زیبایی زاده میل است این است که شی مطلوب پس از ان که به دست آمد زیبایی خود را از دست می‌دهد. آن چه می‌خواهیم برای خوبی آن نیست، بلکه برای آن خوب است که آن را می�...more

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Arezo....

Arezo.... rated it:

(review of isbn 0671739166)

08/23/08

تاريخ فلسفه جلد اول از مجموعه تاريخ تمدن است ...و كتابي كامل براي كسي كه مي خواهد فلسفه را آغاز كند...
از افلاطون شروع كرده و ارسطو و علم يوناني را توضيح داده از فرانسيس بيكن و اسپينوزا و ولتر وكانت و ايدئاليسم و شوپنهاور و هربرت اسپنسر و نيچه و معاصراني چون برتراند راسل و كروچه و...more

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Andrew

Andrew rated it:

(review of isbn 0671739166)

02/26/08

bookshelves: philosophy

I read the chapter on Schopenhauer as a companion to his essays. It provides a fairly decent biography and overview of Schopenhauer's proto-Freudian philosophy, with lots of quotes and excerpts. (Though Schopenhauer ironically undermines the premise of Durant's work as he exhorts us to experience "life before books... and text before commentary. Read the creators rather than the expositors and the critics.")

Durant paints Schopenhauer's life as a series of footnotes on his central t...more

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Paulius

Paulius rated it:

(review of isbn 0671739166)

03/14/08

Read in January, 2005

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

The Story of Philosophy (1926)

Will Durant’s Story of Philosophy is a must-read volume. It is not a history of philosophy in the world, but stories of dominant personalities in western philosophy through their lives and work. He includes sections on Plato, Aristotle, Francis Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Kant, Schopenhauer, Spencer, Nietzsche, Bergson, Croce, Bertrand Russell, Santayana, William James, and his own teacher at Columbia University, John Dewey.

His joy of Plato’s style is expr...more The Story of Philosophy (1926)

Will Durant’s Story of Philosophy is a must-read volume. It is not a history of philosophy in the world, but stories of dominant personalities in western philosophy through their lives and work. He includes sections on Plato, Aristotle, Francis Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Kant, Schopenhauer, Spencer, Nietzsche, Bergson, Croce, Bertrand Russell, Santayana, William James, and his own teacher at Columbia University, John Dewey.

His joy of Plato’s style is expressed when he says, “the difficulty in understanding Plato lies precisely in this intoxicating mixture of philosophy and poetry, of science and art.” {p. 14} Namely, Plato as poet can be fun to read. Durant is amazed by the prodigious accomplishments of Aristotle but admits, “We must not expect of Aristotle such literary brilliance as floods the pages of the dramatist-philosopher Plato. Instead of giving us great literature, in which philosophy is embodied (and obscured) in myth and imagery, Aristotle gives us science, technical, abstract, concentrated: if we go to him for entertainment we shall sue for the return of our money.” {p. 46} With Francis Bacon, we have the ultimate blend of theory and practice that I begin to accept as an ideal for myself, for Bacon “felt that studies could not be either end or wisdom in themselves, and that knowledge unapplied in action was a pale academic vanity.” {p. 86} Spinoza was Durant’s first love in the literature of philosophy. He was so gentle and wise that if only the public could read and understand his message “perhaps in his name a world torn with suicidal wars of tongue and sword might find a unity of faith and a possibility of brotherhood at last.” {p. 127} Durant made me a believer in the incredible gifts of Voltaire and part of my appreciation of this Enlightenment genius is his staunch defense of tolerance where “the very first step towards social health was the destruction of the ecclesiastical power in which intolerance had its root.” {p. 180} And then there’s the incomparable wit of Voltaire. When Rousseau sent him a copy of a “back to nature” type of book he had written, with which Voltaire heartily disagreed, the master wit wrote back to him, “I have received, sir, your new book against the human species, and I thank you for it….No one has ever been so witty as you are in trying to turn us into brutes; to read your book makes one long to go on all fours. As, however, it is now some sixty years since I gave up the practice, I feel that it is unfortunately impossible for me to resume it.” {p. 188} Durant displays a talent for telling stories with many remarkable phrases we can treasure. In one of his essays, Francis Bacon wrote, “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” {p. 87} This book of Durant’s deserves to be chewed and digested.

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Jeremiah

Jeremiah rated it:

(review of isbn 0671739166)

04/10/08

Read in December, 2007

recommended to Jeremiah by: Mr. Dougweiler
recommends it for: The curious, period

The Story of Philosophy provides a background and setting for the development of ideas and the Europeans (only two Americans covered) that brought them to light. As stated in the introduction, not all of the philosophers appear in the book, but the greater seeds that sprouted ideas, or completed the process. The idealization of the scientific method persists through out and seems the main theme and argument, if not just the courage and wisdom to ask "why."

Although Durant d...more The Story of Philosophy provides a background and setting for the development of ideas and the Europeans (only two Americans covered) that brought them to light. As stated in the introduction, not all of the philosophers appear in the book, but the greater seeds that sprouted ideas, or completed the process. The idealization of the scientific method persists through out and seems the main theme and argument, if not just the courage and wisdom to ask "why."

Although Durant does not cover the eastern philosophies directly, a constant comparison, sometimes even competition, between western and eastern philosophies fuels some of the arguments and provides a different point of view.

By far the biggest strength of the book (as opposed to reading the texts directly) is the constant comparison, contrast and history of the ideas and how they formed. Understanding Nietzsche's writing as an exaggeration to compensate for the Romantic ideals helps to explain some of the shear bruteness. Using some of the past ideas presented in the book to help explain new ones also helps the reader to understand the differences of the new idea and the themes that bob up and down through out history.

Sometimes, Mr. Durant seems to speak for the philosophers themselves and the endless breaking quotations confuse the narrative voice and the long, broken sentences make choppy reading, but we are not quite reading this for the narrative and these exact devices that distract us, the reader, also make the piece academically viable. Over all though, the writing is excellent and provides many great quotations of its own and the ties through out history bring together the human struggle for placement into a common voice. I only wish the book was able to cover the coming decades including postmodernism and how hippies affected the world.

On a personal note, I have been trying to finish the book since high school. My social studies teacher recommended it to me when I expressed an interest in philosophy. I have read the beginning a few times (including this recent reading). It took some doing and I have to say it was the hardest reading I have done, but well worth it. I believe I could have obtained more from the book at a more researched level, but think that future readings will accommodate a deeper understanding, if not just revisiting the chapters when researching the specific philosophers.
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Rachelandthecity

Rachelandthecity rated it:

(review of isbn 0671739166)

11/04/07

Read in April, 1999

recommends it for: Everyone

A brilliant and concise account of the lives and ideas of the great philosophers - Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Kant, Schopenhauer, Spencer, Nietze, Bergson, Croce, Russell, Santayana, James and Dewey.

Things I highlighted while reading:

Leonardo called philosophy, "the noblest pleasure, the joy of understanding."

Emerson said, "In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him; and in that I am his pupil."

Socrates: "One thing only I ...more A brilliant and concise account of the lives and ideas of the great philosophers - Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Kant, Schopenhauer, Spencer, Nietze, Bergson, Croce, Russell, Santayana, James and Dewey.

Things I highlighted while reading:

Leonardo called philosophy, "the noblest pleasure, the joy of understanding."

Emerson said, "In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him; and in that I am his pupil."

Socrates: "One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing."

Plato: "But even democracy ruins itself by excess- of democracy. Its basic principal is the equal right of all ton hold office and determine public policy. This is at first glance a delightful arrangement; it becomes disastrous because the people are not properly equipped by education to select the best rulers and the wisest courses."

Plato: "Human emotion flows from three main courses: desire, emotion and knowledge."

Plato: Justice is simply that each man shall receive the equivalent of what he produces, and shall perform the function for which he is best fit."

Much of the politics of Catholicism was derived form Plato's "royal lies,"or influenced by them: the ideas of heaven, purgatory, and hell, in their medieval form, are traceable to the last book of the republic; the cosmology of scholasticism comes largely from the Timeous; the doctrine of realism (the objective reality of general ideas) was an interpretation of the doctrine of Ideas; even the educational "quadrivium" (arithmatic, geometry, astronomy and music) was modeled on the curriculum outlined in Plato.

Ultimately there are but three systems of ethics, three conceptions of the ideal character and moral life. One of that of Buddha and Jesus, which stresses the feminine virtues, considers all men to be equally precious, resists evil only by returning good, identifies virtue with true love, and inclines in politics to unlimited democracy. Another is the ethic of Machiavelli and Nietzsche, which stresses the masculine virtues, accepts the inequality of men, relishes the ricks of combat and conquest and rule, identifies virtue with power, and exalts an hereditary aristocracy. A third, the ethic of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, denies the universal application of either the feminine or the masculine virtues; considers that only the informed and mature mind can judge, according to diverse circumstance, when love should rule, and when power;identifies virtue, therefore, with intelligence; and advocates a varying mixture of aristocracy and democracy in government.

Basically this books is about why Plato was a badass....less

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Max

Max rated it:

(review of isbn 0671739166)

11/05/07

bookshelves: philosophy

Read in November, 2007

"The Story of Philosophy" is by far the most rewarding book I have read this year. It has also taken an *incredibly* long time to finish, but that owes more to my digesting it in small increments than to the density of the writing.
Nine chapters form the bulk of the book. Each one focuses on an individual philosopher, outlines a brief history of his time period, discusses his major works and closes with a criticism. Durant remains eloquent and enthusiastic without. Defending his choi...more

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Amir

Amir rated it:

(review of isbn 0671581104)

04/04/08

bookshelves: five-stars, philosophical, will-durant

Read in April, 2008

نام کتاب: لذات فلسفه
نویسنده: ویل دورانت
مترجم: عباس زریاب خوئی
تعداد صفحات کتاب: ۵19 صفحه
ویل دورانت محقق و نویسنده بسیار برجسته ای هست. هم اطلاعات فلسفی کاملی داشته و هم تاریخ رو خیلی خوب می شناخته. کتاب لذات فلسفه چندمین کتابی بود که از ویل دورانت خوندم و مثل بقیه نوشته هاش ب...more نام کتاب: لذات فلسفه
نویسنده: ویل دورانت
مترجم: عباس زریاب خوئی
تعداد صفحات کتاب: ۵19 صفحه
ویل دورانت محقق و نویسنده بسیار برجسته ای هست. هم اطلاعات فلسفی کاملی داشته و هم تاریخ رو خیلی خوب می شناخته. کتاب لذات فلسفه چندمین کتابی بود که از ویل دورانت خوندم و مثل بقیه نوشته هاش به نظرم کتاب عالی بود.
همونطوری که از اسم کتاب میشه برداشت کرد کتاب لذات فلسفه به یه پیش زمینه فلسفی احتیاج داره. اینکه خواننده کتاب اطلاعات خوبی در مورد فلسفه های مختلف و فیلسوف های مختلف داشته باشه. در بخشهای مختلف کتاب بر روی این فلسفه های مختلف بحث شده و یا از زبان فیلسوف ها گفتگوهای مناظره ای فرضی انجام شده یا مستقیما از نوشته های فیلسوف ها نقل قول مستقیم شده. کتاب در سال 1929 نوشته شده و با مقدمه ای از ویل دورانت دوباره در سال 1952 چاپ شده. کتاب در نه فصل هست که به ترتیب این موضوعات هستن:
1. جاذبه فلسفه
2. منطق و شناسایی نگری
3. فلسفه اولی
4. مسائل مربوط به اخلاق
5. زیبایی شناسی
6. فلسفه تاریخ
7. فلسفه سیاسی
8. دین: یک گفتگو
9. پایان نامه
فصل های 4 و 8 به نظر من فصل های فوق العاده عالی بودن. فصل های 1، 2، 3، 5 و 9 رو هم دوست داشتم. فصل های 6 و 7 کمتر برام جالب بودن.قسمتهای جالبی در بخش فلسفه سیاسی بر علیه دموکراسی وجود داره که با توجه به منش ملایم ویل دورانت اینقدر حساسیت نشون دادن از طرفش برام جالب بود. در مقدمه کتاب هم که در سال 1952 نوشته خود ویل دورانت اشاره کرده که با توجه به گذشت زمان اون بخشها خیلی هاش دیگه خنده دار به نظر میان.کتاب نزدیک به 80 سال پیش نوشته شده ولی با این حال برای من نکات جالب و آموزنده خیلی زیادی داشت و از خوندنش خیلی لذت بردم. دقیقا همونطوری که از اسم کتاب برمیاد لذتی هست که آدم از دانستن فلسفه در امور فکری مهم می تونه ببره.مترجم کتاب هم (عباس زریاب خوئی) به نظر من ترجمه خیلی خوبی انجام داده بود. فقط سبک ترجمه با توجه به زمانی که ترجمه شده سبک قدیمی هست و بعضی جاها تلاش کرده که سبک نوشته متن رو ایرونی بکنه. مثلا اصطلاحات ایرونی و ضرب المثل های ایرونی اضافه کرده در ترجمه که در بعضی از جنبه ها خوب هست ولی از اصل نوشته دور میشه.در مجموع این کتاب به نظر من کتاب فوق العاده ای بود که به کسایی که به فلسفه و مباحث فکری علاقه دارن توصیه میکنم.
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Kaveh

Kaveh rated it:

(review of isbn )

10/03/07

recommends it for: دوستداران فلسفه

شروع بسيار خوبي براي مطالعه ي فلسفه است. در مقايسه با خيلي از تاريخ فلسفه هاي ديگري که نوشته شده ساده تر و در عين حال جذاب تر است. با توجه به اينکه دورانت زندگي نامه نويس بي بديلي است و با جذابيت تمام نظريات فلاسفه را با زندگي آنها پيوند مي دهد. با اين حال از نظر فني پوشش خوبي روي �...more

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Sabrina

Sabrina rated it:

08/17/07

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: people with spare time

"I recently got a very nice email from a gentleman named Chris who complimented this website in its entirety, but singled out my book reviews as his favorite part of the site. I thanked him, and thought, well, y'know, I just finished a book, so there'll be another great book review!

The problem is this: the book I just finished is Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosopher's from Socrates to John Dewey. I've been reading this ...more

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Yahya

Yahya rated it:

(review of isbn 0671739166)

08/23/07

Read in January, 2004

خیلی ساده و خلاصه، می تونم بگم که عاشق این کتابم. هر وقت از کنار قفسه محقر کتابهام رد می شم، با دیدن این کتاب کلی خوشحال می شم. این که این کتاب، جریانهای مهم معاصر را مغفول گذاشته، ایرادی محصوب نمی شود؛ به این دلیل ساده که در زمان نوشتن این کتاب، هنوز این جریانات مهم نشده بودند (و...more

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Sunil

Sunil rated it:

(review of isbn 0671739166)

11/02/07

bookshelves: philosophy, reviews

This book is amazingly cheap priced for the wisdom is bestows. I remember- Me and C bought a copy each and started the reading sessions alternating with discussions during long walks, drives and evening teas during our internship days. I’m yet to find a better primer for philosophy than this book written by the delicately humorous Durant and whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone who wishes to acquaint themselves with the schools in philosophy.Personally I cherish my copy with all the wild and...more

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Michael

Michael rated it:

(review of isbn 0671739166)

11/25/08

Great start in philosophy. Durant breaks down really complex ideas into easily digestable pieces.

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jessica

jessica is currently reading it (review of isbn 0671739166)

11/29/08

bookshelves: currently-reading

I've been 'reading' this once since I lived in Florida...

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Marie

Marie rated it:

(review of isbn 1572704209)

09/01/08

bookshelves: for-me--the-adult, history

Read in September, 2008

A good overview of the lives and contributions of the major philosophers. Durant's writing is mostly beautiful, full of colorful metaphors, though sometimes a little stodgy (he wrote this in 1921, I think). There were dense places where I lost the thread, but then he engaged me again with descriptions of the really human characteristics of these great minds. I only fully appreciated what a great job Durant did when I tried to listen to the Teaching Company's recorded lectures on philosophy--what...more

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Witney

Witney added it (review of isbn )

11/25/08

Only I read it in English.

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Mohammad Hossein Khosh Bayan

Mohammad Hossein rated it:

(review of isbn )

09/14/08

bookshelves: half-read-, to-read

كتاب رو ميشه به يك دهم تقليل داد ... مثال هاي متعددي كه ميشه براحتي از كنارشون گذشت به نظرم نيازي نيست كه به خاطر بيان چند مسئله فلسفي از هر كدوم صد تا مثال بزنن

در بخش هايي كتاب نويسنده بسيار مغرضانه برخورد كرده كه البته خودش هم در مقدمه معترف اين امر شده

ولي در كل كتاب خوي و جذ...more

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Madmadam

Madmadam rated it:

(review of isbn 0671739166)

08/25/07

Read in August, 2007

This is a great book! I only have two qualms: first, the title would be more appropriate as "The Story of Western Philosophy" (Although, to be fair, in the intro to the book Durant apologizes and notes that this book is in no way complete as it ignores the eastern world). Secondly, I thought it in poor taste the jabs the author takes at Hindus in the final chapters. Otherwise, I can find no fault with this excellent introduction to a variety of western philosophers.

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