The Great Philosophers

by Ray Monk, Frederic Raphael

Brief, accessible, and affordable, these pocket-sized volumes offer the essential introductions to the great philosophers of the Western tradition-from Plato to Wittgenstein.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

1536 pages, Hardcover

First published July 14, 2000

About the author

Ray Monk is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton, where he has taught since 1992.

He won the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the 1991 Duff Cooper Prize for Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius. His interests lie in the philosophy of mathematics, the history of analytic philosophy, and philosophical aspects of biographical writing. He is currently working on a biography of Robert Oppenheimer. (Source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only took me 12 years to finish. Clearly my philosophy is to take my time.

[Ania · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 really. It's unfair to rate a book low just because you didn't understand it well enough to rate it well. The format was also a problem, reading philosophers back to back leaves no room for the ideas to sink in and separate. I took to reading this a chapter at a time in between other books which, psychologically, unfortunately turned it into a slog. I am certain I will re-read parts of it in future for reference. On the plus side each chapter was obviously written by a knowledgeable, passionate fanatic and sometimes it's nice to not be spoken down to...

[Sa Crou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book many times. I finally completed it this year.

This book was profound in my understanding of some section of the Western philosophical canon as interpreted by experts in each realm.

It covered Socrates on virtues and how to live an examined life, Plato on society and metaphysical forms and truth, Spinoza on a mathematical formal logic to god and the universe, Descartes on self-doubt, Berkley on Empiricism, Hume on skepticism of induction of reality, Marx on Economics and class and philosophy as a means of change not explanation, Russell on Mathematical truth, Heidegger on ??, Wittgenstein on philosophy being grammar and theory of non-duality of mind, Popper on falsifiability and a repudiation of historicism, Turing on computability and theory of mind and machine differences or overlaps.

My take away form this was understanding how my values/morals overlapped with some of the approaches and questions asked by different philosophers. Specifically, what I found myself resonating with was Socrates on virtues, Wittgenstein on philosophy being basically just grammar and that the mind is not separate from the body, and Popper on falsifiability and understanding the limits of historicism.

[Daniel Clemence · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Philosophers is a book which lays out multiple different philosophers within a 2500 year timeframe. Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Berkeley, Hume, Marx, Russell, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Popper and Turning are all philosophers who are looked at in this book. Each philosopher has an essay dedicated to their theories written by an expert on that philosopher.

What I do find odd is the 1500 year gap between Plato and Descartes that I can only assume is because philosophy in that timeframe is mostly religiously inclined which I could take as an excuse, except for the fact they have Berkeley whose theories are heavily reliant on God.

The essays also vary in their clarity and thoughtfulness. The essays on Plato and Socrates are rather difficult to read and understand the basics of their theories. It is also worth pointing out as some have said it is hard to know where Socrates ends and where Plato begins.

There is a good deal of information put into the book and it is a good start for people who are interested in philosophy.

[Arbab Taimoor]

This book presents twelve incredible philosophers, Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Berkeley, Hume, Russell, Wittgenstein, Spinoza, Marx, Popper, Heidegger, and Turing. There are twelve unique essays about these philosophers by the vary of writers.

The way they defined these philosophers are so eased and reliable, that anyone, even a person with basic knowledge about philosophy will get the root knowledge about their metaphysical, empiricist and materialist philosophies.

This book I think is very really important part of our daily lives, because without being known about the philosophy we wouldn't live the considerable and concerning life.

[Cole · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good introduction to a series of famous philosophers and, helpfully, each one seems to influence the last so it runs on pretty well.

It's not the easiest introduction though and unfortunately the philosophers chosen are quite dry and usually linked to analytical strains of philosophy. The Heidegger chapter was as impenetrable as actually reading the source material too, which is a major gripe of mine.

Good chapters on Popper and Wittgenstein though, both of which provided food for thought.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to some of the greatest philosophers of the Western world. All in all a joy to read; most of the contributors' pieces on their respective philosophers were lively and engaging, while remaining informative and erudite. There were certainly some writers who were better than others. It would have been nice for a woman or a non-European/Caucasian (or both) to be included. I greatly enjoyed it.

[Jp Connelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some excellently written chapters (Gottlieb on Socrates) other abstruse, verbose entries that I found poorly written and barely digestible (Ree on Heidegger ).

[Stuart Rushbury · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tough read but I think that was more me than the book.

[Samantha Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for someone who wants to refresh their knowledge of Philosophy. As each essay is written by a different author, it was difficult at times to go from one essay to another. Unfortunately, some essays were not written very well, which is why I only gave this book three stars. Having a degree in Philosophy, I enjoyed refreshing my knowledge of Plato and Decartes but would have liked something on Aristotle and Kant.

[Vik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book just before a long flight hoping it would help me sleep, how wrong I was! A good introductory and accessible book to the philosophers covered and in fact you could probably use it as a bluffers guide although thats not the intention of the authors.

Each philosopher and their main themes are explained in a manner designed to make you want to find out more. Very well done.

[Mjaballah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really connected. The book is actually broken into different chapters for each Philosopher, and different authors for each philosopher :/.
So it can be too shifty at times. However, a great book if you want a fast picture a philosopher's theories, world outlook and if you are lucky their life and successors.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book full of knowledge about Philosophers that makes you want to go out and read more about each individual in more depth.

[Sajid Chauhan]

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[Wilhelm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mmmm! A little at a time. Handy book to have to waiting.