Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers [Paperback]

S.E. Frost (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1962

A complete summary of the views of the most important philosophers in Western civilization. Each major field of philosophic inquiry comprises a separate chapter for greater accessibility. Includes Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, Dewey, Sartre, and many others.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A complete summary of the views of the most important philosophers in Western civilization. Each major field of philosophic inquiry comprises a separate chapter for greater accessibility. Includes Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, Dewey, Sartre, and many others.

From the Inside Flap

A complete summary of the views of the most important philosophers in Western civilization. Each major field of philosophic inquiry comprises a separate chapter for greater accessibility. Includes Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, Dewey, Sartre, and many others.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; Revised edition (September 1, 1962)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038503007X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385030076
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

101 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best single volume reference on philosophy, December 3, 2002

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers (Paperback)

I've read this volume cover-to-cover at least three times over the last two decades. In fact, I wonder if I was really all that well educated before I found it. Inspite of the fact that I was a university honors graduate I found that this book covered a whole universe of new ideas for me. Perhaps this is because I majored in one of the physical sciences and almost everything covered was from the narrow viewpoint of materialism and logical positivism.

I especially enjoyed the organization of the book. Each chapter covers a major topic: the nature of the universe; man's place in the universe; what is good and evil; the nature of god; fate versus free will; the soul and immortality; man and the state; man and education; mind and matter; ideas and thinking; and recent approaches to philosophy. The individual philosophers, from classical to modern, addressing the issue are listed right under the chapter heading, then each of their arguements is presented in order. You can't help but start to compare them- to start thinking for yourself at a significant level.

Since first reading this volume I've gone on to read more detailed works by the philosophers who appealed more to me such as Plato and Schopenhauer. Indeed, this book opened a whole intellectual world to me that my public university education totally ignored. I find myself wondering if a life lived without serious reflection of the topics presented here is really a life worth living....

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre - you can do better, January 16, 2007

By 

Christopher H. Hodgkin "chodgkin" (Friday Harbor, Wa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers (Paperback)

This treatment of philosophers is not terrible, but neither is it all that good. The treatment is cursory, which is inevitable for a work this brief, but is also not particularly insightful.

Of course, the ideal is to read the philosophers themselves. Anything other than that is third best (there is no second best).

But for those who want a survey without taking the time to read all the philosophers, there are better alternatives.

As a more scholarly but still quite readable alternative, consider Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy. His organization is different from Frost's, in that he doesn't deal separately with different issues, but he gives more coherence to each philosopher's approach. Another option is Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy. Although now more than 75 years old, it's still a magnificent introduction to philosophical thinking.

For a bit more depth on individual philosophers, consider the Paul Strathern's "in 90 minutes" series (Plato in 90 minutes, Aristotle in 90 minutes, etc.) These vary somewhat in quality, but are generally readable and will help you understand what these philosopheers were doing and their place in history.

If you like the topical approach that Frost uses, go to your library and see whether you can check out the Syntopicon volumes of the "Great Books of the Western World" series. These are excellent essays, usually about ten pages, on the "great ideas," outlining the train of thought over the centuries and containing extensive cross-references to what the primary philosophers and writers have had to say about these issues. These are superb and woefully underutilized volumes.

Other recommended general volumes for those who want an introductory look at philosophical thinking include Mortimer Adler's "Six Great Ideas" and "Ten Philosophical Mistakes," and Bertrand Russell's "The Problems of Philosophy."

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive But Dry Reference, August 1, 2002

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doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers (Paperback)

If you are in search of a handy reference work that gives fundamental summaries of the main theories of western philosophy, this book functions adequately. Most of the major philosophers, or at least the major philosophical movements in history, are consulted for their theories on fundamental questions. These include the basic college course stuff like the nature of the universe, good vs. evil, free will, and the like. The thinkers covered stretch from Plato, Aristotle and the other Greek immortals, to the lesser ancient schools, on through the middle ages to relatively recent philosophers such as Kant and Spinoza. A useful bonus is a biographical paragraph in the appendix on every thinker whose work is used in the book. The only flaw with this book is that it was written by a professor back in 1942, and is presented in the dry, humorless, and didactically professional writing style that prevailed in that day.