Philosophic Classics, Volume II: Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy (5th Edition) [Paperback]

Forrest E. Baird (Author), Walter Kaufmann (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0131585959 | ISBN-13: 978-0131585959 | Publication Date: April 29, 2007 | Edition: 5

The abundant selections in this anthology of medieval philosophical readings helps the reader put philosophical inquiry into context and features some of the best translations available today. The readings in this anthology represent the towering medieval thinkers-Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and William of Ockham-discussing a variety of topics, including questions on the nature of universals, the nature and essence of God, the relationship of God to time and creation, and the ability of humans to know God and creation. For anyone who wants a readable and accessible collection of metaphysical and epistemological selections from medieval philosophy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Students with little or no background in philosophy would likely find it difficult–if not impossible–to comprehend the works of many of the philosophers addressed in [each] volume on their own. However, this text's informative introductions and careful selection of readings make it possible for students to get a foothold in their primary texts....[S]tudents are afforded the opportunity to engage with the works of these illustrious but often inscrutable thinkers." – Jennifer McMahon, Centre College

"This collection is by far the best I have seen in this area....And I certainly prefer having all of my material together in one text rather than having students purchase half a dozen books, which then still require supplementation. I cannot imagine a better format or selection of materials that would tempt me away from this collection for another." – Ted Toadvine, Emporia State University

From the Back Cover

Forrest Baird's revisions of Philosophic Classics, Prentice Hall's long-standing philosophy series, continue the tradition begun in 1961, to provide generations of students with anthologies of high quality in the history of Western philosophy. Using the complete works or, where appropriate, complete sections of works, this series allows philosophers to speak directly to students.

This series includes texts central to the thinker's own philosophy, using the best available translations. Introductions to each reading are divided into three sections:

• Biographical – Provides a glimpse into the life of the philosopher;
• Philosophical – Presents a résumé of the philosopher's thought; and
• Bibliographical – Offers suggestions for further reading.

In addition, drawings, photographs, and time lines help put the readings into context. In short, every effort has been made to help the reader understand primary source materials.

Philosophic Classics is available in the following versions:

• Volume I: Ancient Philosophy Fourth Edition, c2003 (0-13-048556-X)
• Volume II: Medieval Philosophy, Fourth Edition, c2003 (0-13-048557-8)
• Volume III: Modern Philosophy, Fourth Edition, c2003 (0-13-048558-6)
• Volume IV: Nineteenth-Century Philosophy; Third Edition, c2003 (0-13-048550-0)
• Volume V: Twentieth-Century Philosophy Third Edition, c2003 (013-048563-2)
• From Plato to Derrida, Combined Edition, Fourth Edition, c2003 (0-13-048561-6)

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 5 edition (April 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131585959
• ISBN-13: 978-0131585959
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > History > Europe > Greece

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The anthology I use to teach 17th and 18th Century philosophy, November 30, 2007

By 

Nathan Andersen "film lover, philosophy profe... (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Philosophic Classics, Volume III: Modern Philosophy (5th Edition) (Paperback)

I don't usually like anthologies and rarely teach from them -- I tend to prefer a primary text approach, partly because it allows students to see the development of ideas in their full context and because I expect philosophy students to be interested in developing their personal library of philosophy. This volume, however, is an exception and I've been using this volume for several years (and three separate editions) to teach my "History of Philosophy: 17th and 18th Century." Since I try to cover quite a bit in the course (empiricism, rationalism, social contract theory, transcendental philosophy -- in the works of Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Pascal, Berkeley, Hume, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Kant), but don't have the time to read everything by every thinker, this volume is almost perfect. It has almost everything I cover and includes both good brief introductions and fairly broad excerpts from each thinker. There is enough, at least, to illustrate the general approach and broad themes and key issues from most every thinker it includes. I've looked at a few other anthologies of Modern philosophy and they are usually either too specific (e.g. focused on 17th but not 18th century philosophy) or too broad and narrow in their coverage. This one is just right, and would be an excellent volume to get for an orientation to the basic problems of modern philosophy that sets the stage for both 19th Century continental thinkers like Hegel and Schopenhauer and Marx and Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, as well as for 20th century developments in both analytic (that picks up from Hume and to a lesser degree Kant and largely bypasses the German Idealist movement) as well as continental philosophy (in Heidegger, Sartre, etc.).

One quibble: I do wish there was more from Rousseau -- the latest volume has excerpts from the Social Contract and while that may be his most historically important work it doesn't show as clearly as some of his other works his distinctive approach to thinking -- that does not fall clearly under a rationalist or empiricist label. To give a better flavor of Rousseau I supplement this volume with Hackett's translation of the Second Discourse (On the Origins of Inequality).

24 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars another example of the abuse of 'new' editions, October 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Philosophic Classics, Volume III: Modern Philosophy (4th Edition) (Paperback)

The fourth edition claims to have these advantages: it includes (1) a selection from Rousseau (2) additional material from Locke's Essay and (3) a new translation of the Meditations.

(2) consists of a short chapter on faith and reason. In exchange, we've lost II.11, on abstraction. Since there's little material from Book III, and nothing from III.vi, it's very hard for the reader to make sense of Berkeley's extended attack on abstract ideas in the introduction to the Principles.

Re. (3): Inexplicably, the editor has decided to replace John Cottingham's standard 1986 translation of the Meditations with a `new' translation by Laurence Lafleur, first published in 1951. Perhaps the editor had no choice, but it seems disingenuous to present this as an improvement.

Moreover, the third edition included a crucial selection from Kant's first Critique (the transcendental deduction); this has been deleted.

This is a big step down from the third edition.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't be fooled!, February 24, 2011

By 

vivian darkbloom - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philosophic Classics, Volume III: Modern Philosophy (5th Edition) (Paperback)

This anthology is an expensive attempt to clone Hackett's Modern Philosophy, edited by Ariew and Watkins. The Hackett reader is almost half the price of this one and includes far better translations.