Philosophy: The Classics [Paperback]

Nigel Warburton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0415239982 | ISBN-13: 978-0415239981 | Edition: 2nd

The second edition of this best-seller includes four entirely new chapters on classics by Boethius, Machiavelli, Spinoza and Rawls. In his inimitable style, Nigel Warburton takes us on a guided tour through philosophy's greatest works, from Plato's Republic to Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations. Each chapter explores a key classic text, identifying and explaining core themes as well as subjecting them to critical scrutiny.
These classic texts deal with problems that are as important today as when they were written, and Philosophy: The Classics offers an accessible introduction for all those who hesitated to approach them - until now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The challenge is to convey to the modern reader the perennial freshness of ideas. Nigel Warburton rises to the challenge with admirable skill.' - Roger Scruton, The Times

A highly accessible introduction. - Network

About the Author

Nigel Warburton is a lecturer in philosophy at The Open University. He is also the author of Philosophy: The Basics (1996) and Thinking from A to Z (2000), both available from Routledge.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 2nd edition (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415239982
• ISBN-13: 978-0415239981
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,119,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nigel Warburton (1962 - ). Nigel Warburton is a senior lecturer at the Open University and bestselling author of several popular introductory Philosophy books including Philosophy: The Basics, Thinking from A to Z, Philosophy: The Classics, Philosophy: Basic Readings, Freedom: An Introduction with Readings, and The Art Question. He is an Honorary Associate Research Fellow of the Institute of Philosophy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He can be found blogging, podcasting and twittering via his popular philosophy blog, Virtual Philosopher.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Now a word from Phil O. Sopher, November 4, 2000

By 

"christianskeptic" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philosophy: The Classics (Paperback)

This book is easy to read. I like books that are easy to read. Therefore, I like this book. PTC is an introduction to twenty great works in the history of philosophy. They are: Plato's Republic; Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics; Descartes' Meditations; Hobbes' Leviathan; Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Second Treatise of Government; Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion; Rousseau's The Social Contract; Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals; Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Idea; Mill's On Liberty and Utilitarianism; Kierkegaard's Either/Or; Marx and Engel's The German Ideology; Nietzche's On the Genealogy of Morality; Ayer's Language, Truth and Logic; Sartre's Being and Nothingness; Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations. The point of each chapter is simply to introduce each book and present the important ideas. Each chapter usually consists of ten to twelve pages, enough space to provide the pertinent details without overwhelming the reader (Warburton assumes that his readers will have had little or no previous experience reading or studying philosophy). He ends each chapter with common criticisms of each work presented, a glossary of terms, and a reading list for further study.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction, November 2, 2000

By 

R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Philosophy: The Classics (Paperback)

This short book is an excellent introduction to a number of philosophic classics. This book is intended to stimulate interest in these texts. Warburton has chosen about 20 important texts, beginning with The Republic and concluding with Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations, and written a short chapter, approximately 10-15 pages, on each. The chapters contain a brief history of the text, a gloss of the text containing a summary of the principal arguments, criticisms of these arguments, and short bibliographies suggesting further reading. Warburton is a clear writer, skilled at presenting ideas concisely. I can't claim familiarity with all these works, but those I know are treated fairly. The choice of texts, naturally, reflects Warburton's own interests (and perhaps his teaching responsibilities) and is heavy on British philosophers. I bought this book for my teenage son, who is reading excerpts from some of these works in an AP history course. Both of us have found this book interesting.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction, March 26, 2004

By 

Bill Kong (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philosophy: The Classics (Paperback)

PTC is my first book which I seriously read about philosophy. This is an excellent introduction to this difficult subject which will never reach the daily life if there is no effort in its popularization made by someone like Mr Warburton. He is successful in highlighting the theme of each classic work of a wide range from Plato's Republic to Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigation. He never fails to present the argument of each philosopher from different angles and focus on the crux. The book in itself provides a great reading but if you follow the list of further reading of each chapter recommended by Mr Warburton, you even can learn more about the philosophers concerned. Some of the books as recommended are even classics of their own.

In passing, if you like to learn more about Mr Warburton's philosophy of the popularization of the subject, please do not miss an interview with him in another book New British Philosophy - The Interviews by the same publisher.