Customer Reviews

A Short History of Philosophy

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had recently read the Norwegian novel "Sophie's World," which is a short history of philosophy thinly disguised as a novel. It's the same as dozens of histories of philosophy written in the first part of this century . . . or AS IF in the first part of this century. Under the pretense of "taking no position," it takes the position that all of Western philosophy from Plato onward remains alive today as current thought.

I read "A Short History of Philosophy." with that peculiar joy one has in finding a book one would like to have written (which is no indication that one COULD have written it). Solomon and Higgins, who write with a single and masterful voice, have here painted a loving portrait of a long series of beliefs, the vast majority of which Solomon and Higgins probably do not share. They are able to convey the significance, at the time, of disputes that are now dead, and also the importance of appreciating those disputes now, not only in order to diagnose vestigial remains of them in current culture(s), and not only for the benefit of future thought, but for their own sake as beautiful, if abandoned, human creations.

Most histories of philosophy present a series of philosophers as isolated individuals, one passing a torch neatly to the next. At most the reader is informed of the nationality of each. Solomon and Higgins correct for this by placing philosophers in their cultural and political contexts. But they do not go to the opposite extreme and make the mistake of thinking that philosophy does not in its turn have a great effect on the rest of culture. Similarly, they strike a good and sophisticated balance between emphasizing individuals and minimizing them as parts of general trends. More importantly - and this is an obvious reason why I could not have written this book, though I learned from other parts of it as well - the authors include non-Western (mostly Eastern) philosophy. They address what has been influential, but also what they hope will be more influential, drawing out elements of Western thought that they see as badly neglected, and pointing to non-Western notions that they see as good antidotes (or correctives, not places to rest but useful tools for change) to Western ones. The book points out both actual points of contact between historic cultures, and similarities between them regardless of any known influence. This is helped by the method of interweaving numerous stories as required by chronological order. But I should note that similarities are mentioned as an aid to understanding, not at all as an attempt to hint at any a-cultural "truth."

Also helpful is the refusal to distinguish between religion and philosophy, and the consequent inclusion of a Short History of Religion scattered through the book. As the authors point out, the idea of such a distinction is a very recent one, and is thus not helpful in describing past traditions. Various thinkers not always labeled philosophers are included as well. There are some excellent passages on Montaigne.

The Short History is written in ordinary American English loaded with turns of phrase the authors may themselves find questionable: "the very nature of," "objectivity," "subjectivism," "reality itself," "essential," "rationally," "irrationality." The origins and dubitability of many of these notions are discussed in the book (early comments on the expression "natural" set the tone), and yet elsewhere they are used as if we are all agreed upon their comprehensibility and usefulness. One can find on one page a good discussion of problems with the notion of rationality, and on another the word "irrationality" used without explanation to refer to the Nazi Holocaust. The book is thus, in a very broad sense, written, as Derrida would put it, "under erasure." Words are used because they are part of the language of the book's intended audience, despite the fact that the authors might prefer to abandon (or change the meaning of) those words. In only two cases do I find this troublesome. On the whole it seems to me both wise and unavoidable. The most troublesome case is the phrase "commonsense." Numerous discussions of the misuse and abuse of this phrase are here published together with numerous uses of it, some of them rather unhelpfully scare-quoted and others not. The other case that bothers me is a single instance of the phrase "from a philosophical point of view," in a work that seems largely devoted to opening up the question of what thing or things that has meant and can mean.

In the preface Solomon and Higgins state their intention to "keep our own biases out of the text." But I credit them with near-recognition of the near-meaninglessness of that statement. The last sections of the book, dealing with the interaction of diverse cultures, point out the all-too-common danger of taking one's own point of view for an absence of bias. This book would offend a great many philosophy professors, especially in the English speaking world. Various beliefs are described as so absurd that the philosopher must have been joking. Other ideas are lamented for the damage they've done.

I am not complaining. I share the authors' biases, and imagine that a great many other people do too. The book is excellently written, clear, rich, dense. A good bibliography is provided.

I bought the hardcover version as a bargain book/remainder at a local bookstore--probably the best bargain book purchase I've made in years, come to think of it.

I read this book after finishing my M.A. thesis in German Literature. The arduous production and defense of my Thesis left me psychichally drained and had shattered my intellectual confidence completely. I turned to this book in the hope of performing what I like to liken to a full "cold" systems re-boot on a computer...start over from the very beginning and do a "full check of all systems"...the book was a sheer joy to read, opened my eyes afresh to new facets of philosphy I'd never considered before...such as the profound humanism contained in Protagoras' "Man is the measure of all things". I also appreciated Solomon & Higgins' offering of the Philosophical olive branch to Psychology & psychoanalysis, apparently feeling that a practice of Philosophy which ignores the insights of psychoanalysis, et. al. is so much the poorer for it. Having just now finished Peter Gay's _Freud: A Life for our Time_(1988), however, I think it can be safely said that the real historical Freud would have rejected this rapprochment (In terms of time-line, it wasn't the Philosophy who rejected Freud so much as Freud who rejected as unsatisfactory the condition of the contemporary state of Philosophy of his time and sought to make Psychoanalysis a clear and distinct science, set apart from formal academic Philosophy which Freud had already given up on) But I think subsequent events down to the present day make this suggested rapprochment of Solomon & Higgins correct and appropriate, and Freud deserves his own seat in the canon of Western Philosophy. (IMHO, Psychology without Philosophical insight is itself vacuous) In any event, as a whole to book restored my faith in Philosophy and led to a renewal and re-discovery of my own intellectual confidence.

In a final note about the authors, I have had the pleasure to listen to some of Prof. Robert Solomon's lectures via audio cassette -- specifically a lecture series entitled "No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life", produced for The Teaching Company (TM). I am happy to report that Dr. Solomon is just as engaging "live" as he is in print. I look forward to listening to his lecture series on Nietzsche which was done in collaboration with his co-author, Prof. Higgins, also for The Teaching Company.

I could have chosen Bertrand Russell or Will Durant's books on the same topic, but I went with the Solomon and Higgins combo instead. They purposely write for the novice and include often-ignored philosophical traditions in the East and elsewhere. Unlike most accounts, the book is quick read at 300 pages. The curious reader will find it a thorough introduction to the "wonder" of philosophy.

This is a much better-written book than one would expect from philosophers. Considering the number of philosophers and complexity of their thought, A Short History of Philosophy is marvelously clear and concise.

Another plus to the book is that is really does give you the *whole* story. Normal surveys just handpick a few of the authors' philosophical favorites, but Solomon and Higgins give us just about everybody. Further, they don't rule out a thinker just because s/he doesn't fit within the bounds of what some narrowly define as real philosophy -- Confucius, Jesus, and Muslim theologians all get a place at the table, so there is no bias toward the West or against 'religion.'

This inclusiveness is part of the book's goal to constructively redefine philosophy. Our authors want philosophy to be ultimately about the love of wisdom, which gives them a very different agenda than that which is most common in America today. Pervasive Enlightenment rationalism often dismisses issues of wisdom and morality and trumpets reason and proof, but in so doing it must both cover up its foundations (which are terribly un-Enlightened) and, worse, give up the very reason for rational inquiry. This book's vision of/for philosophy and its subsequent treatment of the various philosophers is truly admirable.

Unfortunately, the problem with talking about everybody is that, well, you end up talking about *everybody*. That means that after you've put the book down you will have been so inundated with individuals that you won't remember anything in particular. For this reason, I highly recommend coming to this book with a bit of a background in philosophy. Grab an overview that will introduce you to a few of the big names -- Plato, Aristotle, and so on -- and then use this book to fill in that story.

In sum: The writing is readable, its orientation is commendable, and its content is superb. You can learn a lot from this book, even if you won't come away from it remembering all the details of which philosopher said what.

I started reading this book for general interest, and by the end, I was reading for the enjoyment of it. Solomon and Higgins are witty and informative. This book is not a comprehensive volume on all philosphical thought; however, it does pay attention to many of the key debates and issues. I enjoyed it thouroughly and would recommend it highly.

Not sure about phiosophy or philosophers? This might just be the book for you. Easy to read and witty, the book covers Western philosophy well. The philosophical development of other cultures is also covered less completely for comparison.

A well written comprehensive summary of philosophy's historical development.
The author's write in a clear, engaging and personal way without sacrificing academic integrity.
I am now re-reading it! A treasure.

This is a brilliant history of philosophy. Robert Solomon writes well, thinks broadly as well as in depth - and the index and bibliography are inclusive.

Hard to go wrong with Robert Solomon and (his wife) Kathleen Higgins as your guides. This short history of philosophy can be wholeheartedly recommended to those looking for exactly what the title promises. Short maybe, but the book covers a lot of ground. It is up to the high standards of the authors.

It should be known to all students that Professor Solomon did excellent courses with an "adult education" company called The Teaching Company that offers the public college level courses on DVD, CD and audio download. His course on existentialism titled "No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life" and his course on Nietzsche are both excellent. And no I don't work for the company but I am a customer and can strongly recommend Solomon's courses.

As an additional but interesting side note, Solomon appeared in "animated" form in the film "Waking Life" directed by Richard Linklater who is a former student. For his part Solomon discusses the continued relevancy of existential philosophy and contrasts it with the vacuity of postmodern thinkers whose work leaves out the 1st person perspective and essential agency of the individual. Anyway, fun little film.

Robert Solomon died in 2007 but his work will serve students well for years to come.

As engagingly written as is Russell's A HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY (please see my review on this one), yet far more compelling as far as being less biased and covering much of the terrain not covered by Russell. Solomon and Higgins are thoroughly intimate with the history of world philosophies, and thus write with authority, fairness, and some well placed humor that keep the narrations lively.

This excellent book is meant to be a brief history of ideas, and it is certainly that; yet, it is also an engaging survey of the world's history of ideas as they are embedded in the life and times of the thinkers too. The tone of the writing is succinct and straightforward, punctuated with some sophisticated wit at the appropriate moments. You can tell both authors are very comfortable with their styles, and the reader is pulled along into the current of the book (they have written six books together, so the flow is excellent.)

I especially enjoyed the discussions of Socrates, Montaigne, Pragmatism, and the all-to-brief sketch of Postmodernism. Since the readability factor is high, the authors even bring life to such ponderous subjects as Immanuel Kant and the Scholastic philosophers. Even though this is a cursory survey of philosophical thought, these lively, condensed versions of the life and times of the philosophers provide a lucid and satisfying excursion into the former epochs of our intellectual history.

Most highly recommended.

Parataxis

The Cloud Reckoner

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts