Since 1961, Philosophic Classics has provided a generation of students with an anthology of quality in the history of Western philosophy. Using complete works, or where appropriate, complete sections of works, this series allows the philosophers to speak directly to the reader. This series includes texts central to the thinker's philosophy, using the best available translations. Introductions to the readings are divided into three sections: Biographical - provides a glimpse into the life of the philosopher; Philosophical - presents a resume of the philosopher's thought; and Bibliographical - offers suggestions for further reading. In addition, drawings, photographs, and time lines help put the readings in context. In short, every effort has been made to help the reader understand the primary source materials.
Walter Arnold Kaufmann was a German-American philosopher, translator, and poet. A prolific author, he wrote extensively on a broad range of subjects, such as authenticity and death, moral philosophy and existentialism, theism and atheism, Christianity and Judaism, as well as philosophy and literature. He served for over 30 years as a Professor at Princeton University.
He is renowned as a scholar and translator of Nietzsche. He also wrote a 1965 book on Hegel, and a translation of most of Goethe'sFaust.