The Great Philosophers: The Lives and Ideas of History's Greatest Thinkers

by Stephen Law

The biographical portraits of the 50 most important philosophers in history of Western thought are presented here. Each biography is accompanied by an iconic image of the philosopher, a timeline of key events, and a memorable quotation from a key philosophical concept.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, History, Religion

366 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Stephen Law is a philosopher who teaches at Heythrop College in the University of London. He also edits the journal THINK, a source of philosophy aimed at the general public, affiliated with The Royal Institute of Philosophy.

Reviews

[ash | songsforafuturepoet · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Law introduces too many philosophers in too little pages in a rather simplified and rushed manner. He presents each philosopher with one or two of their most important ideas in chronological order, but he does not link them to each other. Philosophy as I understand it is a rather broad field with little distinctions between schools or philosophers, and much of these schools of thought are overlapping, and hence it's important to know the interactions of ideas, the arguments for and against those ideas, who supports and who disagrees, and the cultural context in which the particular school of thought originated and flourished, and so on.

I found it rather surprising that the book only introduced one key concept per philosopher, which I felt was insufficient. Descartes' key concept was of course "I think, therefore I am", but I felt that it is important to link that with the Cartesian theater, because after all, it has shaped very drastically the way future thinkers view the mind and reality.

The language and explanation of the concepts were oversimplified. I managed to get through the philosophers I have learned about, but when I was introduced new philosophers I found it impossible to understand their ideas because of the way it was explained.

I wouldn't recommend this to someone looking for a good introduction to philosophy. I have not yet read many books myself, and if anyone has better suggestions, feel free to comment.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the very first philosophy book I ever got, picked up at Border's by a starry eyed youth (me) after realizing that those weird stories his dad (my dad) told him (me) were actually Zeno's Paradoxes.

If you're looking for a comprehensive book on philosophy you've come to the wrong place; each philosopher here only has a couple page spread; only enough room to just barely cover one or two of their ideas, and it never even takes the necessary time to talk about the ways in which the philosophers were students of each other and spent much of their time arguing with each other. That disconnect is pretty major and it's not a good thing.

So why the heck then am I giving it 5 stars? Because it's beautiful, full of information and snippets on some really incredible people throughout the history of the world. And if you're an inquisitive child looking through this book you'll be full of all sorts of questions, and if you're living in the modern era you have access to the internet and can look things up further. In that sense this book is the perfect introduction to philosophy as a whole, the absolute perfect book for that kid in your life who asks a lot of "why" questions to you at the dinner table. Take this review and print it out and use it next year when you need to buy Christmas gifts for your favorite niece.

[Lilah Gran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book gave birth to a pile of tbr books. I enjoyed how short every chapter is, and every chapter is one philosopher. This is a great meal companion. I enjoyed the summarization and there is practical application in every theory/ philosophy so it's easier to understand and interpret. Sometimes, the author gives examples too and speaks sarcastically so there's a hinge of humor. I can tell which theories he agrees and disagrees with though, but point to him for giving both sides an equal opportunity to explain.

Like I said, reading this book took me this long because I end up reading another book in between. Books that this book inspired, like when I read about Zeno, I immediately got interested in Stoicism so I bought Seneca's book about Stoicism and I finished that one first.

I learned a lot of insights which I can use in daily conversations. Especially when I read Nietzsche's chapter. His part was the most eye opening and by far the most controversial. Well personally, Aquinas is also controversial (hmmmmm it was hard to read).

Personally the latter part was a drag, I didn't find any interesting theory, or ones I can relate to or find interesting. The best ones are from the start to middle.

Truly recommend this book to catch a glimpse about the most famous philosophers. Each chapter is 3-4 pages average so no pressure to finish it in one sitting.

[Boykie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some early morning reading.

Funnily enough some of these ideas and thoughts came up in one form or another over the weekend.

Learning about Simon de Beauvoir and her thoughts regarding feminism for example tied in with a brief discussion on the "witch trials" and a more nuanced understanding of the patriarchy. The discussion was more around the attempt to get rid of the 'medicine' women, but tied in with the fact that big pharma is a patriarchal institution.

On the whole though, I find it fascinating that almost all of the ideas in the book have come up in independent discussion or thought in one form or another.

Because a lot of the ideas are also in conflict with each other, I'm reminded of being back in school and being told to simply discuss.

At the time, on always felt the need to pick a side, but over time you get to learn you can actually keep conflicting ideas in head.

I see this becoming a quick reference book I'll be returning to time and again.

[Doctor Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very entertaining and sufficiently informative read. The only thing that bothered me was that there were only three women among the 50 thinkers included in the book.

Some reviewers criticize the writer because (1) the people he talks about are not necessarily philosophers (2) he doesn’t discuss all the ideas of the thinkers included in the book. I don’t really see why this is a problem, considering that he states in the beginning that by philosopher, he means thinker, and that he only discusses the ideas that interest him the most.

It’s a light read though. Don’t expect an in-depth study of “great philosophers”.

[Sadiq Bhanbhro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is an excellent introduction of philosophy & philosophers for beginners. The book has exposed male dominance in philosophy. The author has introduced 50 great philosophers in the book 48 of them are men - only two women Hannah Arendt & Simone de Beauvoir. It would have been good if the author would have included it on of the popular philosophers of our time Martha Nussbaum.

[Daniel Clemence · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Great Philosophers offers a good overview of history's great thinkers. Focusing on a more western viewpoint, The Great Philosophers gives an overview of historical developments within philosophy and how different philosophers thought over history. Each philosopher has an overview which varies in length and may have a criticism of their viewpoint. A good overview of philosophy.

[Lone Wong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book comes in handy for me rather as a reference book. The author summarizes the thoughts of all the eminent thinkes since pre-socratic until modern period such as Jean-Paul Satre.

Do not expect to get a lot of idea from this but as a guidebook or reminder about philosophy.

[Ance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast and curious - the philosophy drift.
In short, concise chapters Law drags you through history of thought, not stopping for a moment. Still, it feels enough, as every chapter contains also counter-arguments and references to past and future. A book that makes you open many other books.

[SF · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good encyclopedia-esque book. The most famous philospheres (Marx, Nietzsche, etc were all very interesting people), but the more recent philosophers are slightly boring. Oh well. But this took me one hell of a long time to get through.

[VENKATRAMAN C K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent synopsis of key ideas from major figures in the field of Philosophy. The author explains tough concepts using very lucid examples.

[Magda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um bom começo para quem se interessa por este tema. Trata-se de uma síntese, claro, mas dá-nos o conteúdo necessário para entender as escolas a que cada pensador pertencia

[Armands Putnieks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very brief introduction of greatest philosophers of all time. Amazing book for learning and seeing the minds of these great thinkers. Each with their own unique perspective and life story. GREAT !

[Jamie Alexander · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad.

[Emīls Ozoliņš · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book breaks down thousands of years of philosophical ideas and thoughts to a dense 360-ish pages. What more could one ask for?

[Abbas Zubir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great entry level for those who are interested in philosophy or those who wanted some refresher.

[Nikola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome rundown,cantask formore

[Shirley Erstad · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0

[Charlie Rogers]

very interesting

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Noemi Valics · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good collection of short introductions to notable philosophers and a helpful way to gauge what to dive into in more detail.

[Ain Atila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book quite hard to comprehend, despite I am familiar with almost the philosophers mentioned, except the contemporary ones. It might due to his way of writing.

3.5/5 ⭐️

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked how the author focused on one contribution from each philosopher included in the book, and took the time to explain that one contribution and offer arguments against it instead of merely listing a bunch of philosophical ideas without giving explanation. I also liked the way he compared the various philosophers where comparisons were relevant, bringing up names and references again and again throughout, so that information had more of a chance of being understood, compared, and retained. The text offers a decent(and easily understandable) look at philosophy, and is an adequate introduction to the subject, in my opinion

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the major philosophers of history and their ideas. The further along the book you go, the more you see of Law's preferences in philosophy. It would have been hard to decide on names that you do and don't put in to this book. For example, Machiavelli is an important figure in this book, but I would never have classed him as an actual philosopher, and much more of a strategist or military combatant: he didn't care too much for the fundamentals of philosophical thought.

Still, a good book nonethless.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a philosophy book this is quite an easy read but probably best used as one to dip into now and again. Fifty philosophers are covered in 365 pages so don't expect depth or range. Instead one key idea from each philosopher is described followed by criticism of that idea from others. Each philosopher is given a rudimentary biography. By the end you get a feel for the development of (Western) philosophy. Clearly written.

[Agamemnon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very basic book. Do not expect depth. Although, this is a decent and quick gloss over some philosophers. My biggest complaint with this book is that the author is often too specific. The author presents just a peek at each philosopher that he covers. The peeks that he presents tend to fall short of being adequate summaries. Reading this book is like talking to a friend about what he read. Your friend will just tell you about the things that he liked.

[Erroll Treslan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb introduction to philosophy for anyone seeking an accessible primer. If you have 20 minutes to spare, you can sit down and learn about 2 or 3 of the world's greatest thinkers at a time. I highly recommend this one for any library, particularly one that high school kids will eventually be thumbing their way through.

[Sean Chick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a bad book for what it does (although it should be titled Great Western Philosophers). The trouble in part lies with the book's later sections, where the philosophers such as Singer and Thomson, seem more like proponents of pet causes. This book is the final nail in the coffin for me concerning metaphysics and abstract philosophy.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book serves as a great introduction to some of the key areas of philosophy, unlike other books of this nature it doesn't require lots of adjacent texts to get through. The author is very good at put ideas in layman's terms and each chapter/philosopher comes with a mini bio and list of key works should you want to read further.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what I was looking for. 50 of the most important philosophers in 360 pages. From Confucius to Peter Singer, each chapter presents their main idea/contribution as well as the objections, followed by a short biography and major works. Great as a starting point to figure out who you'd like to read more about.