Fifty Major Philosophers

by Diané Collinson, Kathryn Plant

A comprehensive update of the best-selling first edition, this revitalized new text presents readers with a series of clear, well-written entries focusing on fifty of the most influential philosophers from the last two thousand years. Chosen to present the traditional mainstream of European philosophy, the text also provides a critical survey that meets the needs of readers seeking a broad basic understanding as well as a foundation for further philosophical enquiry. Encompassing a wide range of ancient, medieval and modern philosophers, features of the second edition Authoritative and highly readable, this book is a vital reference tool for all those wishing to improve their understanding of some of the world’s most fascinating intellectual figures.

Genres: Philosophy, Reference, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1987

Reviews

[Daniel Jansky]

Good resource and guide to 50 of the major deceased Western philosophers. It follows the train of philosophy chronologically. The author does a fairly good job of remaining objective and pointing out the problems and inconsistencies in each view. Even after finishing the book I do not know what her personal philosophical position is. Good book, would recommend.

[Robert]

Very patchy in places, i.e. some personal lives of philosophers covered in detail (William James) and others (Gottlob Frege) barely a mention other than he taught at University of Jena. Coverage of the philosophers' works very patchy too; otherwise good for research into those persons of (personal) interest from major sources.

[Marcos]

No surprises here, a straightforward description of the top philosophers. Plenty of links and further reading provided.

[Douglas Mcleod]

Kathryn Plant, my favourite philosopher. The book was great and gives a reliable context to whatever thinker you are reading/studying. Very readable too.

[Sharon Lin]

I don't have much time to complete the reading of this book, so I randomly chose one to read on. The philosopher that I have chosen to read is Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). He worked on the Principle of Utility and using this principle to reform laws and constitution. He asserted that human behaviour is driven by pain and pleasure, each person acts to secure his own happiness or pleasure. However, morally, each person also acts in a way that brings about the greatest happiness of the greatest number. He wanted a legislation that unite individual and societal interests. It isn't a long section to read. But the content is very interesting. The most interesting thing that I learn about him is that he came up with a mathematics which he called 'felicity calculus' to calculate the quantity of happiness likely to result from action. He identified 7 properties that he believed to be quantifiable: intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity and extent. I am so overwhelmed by what he did, the courage and bravery in tackling humongous ideas like happiness.

[Moses Allen]

excellent reference book

[Aya]

A good intro to major philiosophers, good for a beginner to philipsophy

[Craig Bolton]

Fifty Major Philosophers (Routledge Key Guides) by Diane Collinson (2006)