The Story Of Philosophy: From Kant To William James And The American Pragmatists [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Will Durant (Author), Grover Gardner (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 2004

From German idealism to American pragmatism, Volume Two examines the lives and ideas of Kant, Schopenhauer, Herbert Spencer, Nietzsche, Henri Bergson, Benedetto Croce, Bertrand Russell, George Santayana, William James, and John Dewey. Durant's witty, eloquent prose and brilliant analyses make the subject of philosophy both approachable and inspirational.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Companion and guide, the golden-voiced Grover Gardener gives a bravura performance. He never drops a line, nor overplays one." -- AudioFile 2005, winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award

From AudioFile

[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with THE STORY OF PHILOSOPHY: From Plato to Voltaire and the French Enlightenment.]--"Most of us have known some golden days in the June of life when philosophy was, in fact, what Plato calls it, 'that dear delight.'" So writes Durant in the introduction to this immensely entertaining history of thought. The book is larded with savory bits of information. Aristotle thought the brain "an organ for cooling the blood." The German clergy so hated Kant for the blows he struck at God that they named their dogs after him. Plus, we learn an enormous amount and--perhaps more importantly--we sense again that learning matters. Companion and guide, the golden-voiced Grover Gardener gives a bravura performance. He never drops a line, nor overplays one. It's June again. B.H.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America; Unabridged edition (September 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572704209
• ISBN-13: 978-1572704206
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,473,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Philosophy 102, July 30, 2006

By 

George R Dekle "Bob Dekle" (Lake City, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Story Of Philosophy: From Kant To William James And The American Pragmatists (Audio CD)

This Audio CD is the second half of Durant's 1947 revised edition of "The Story of Philosophy" a book originally published in 1927. Not only has the text aged well, the narrator reads it well. Durant waxes a trifle poetical at times, but he delivers the goods.

The book works chronologically through the history of philosophy, summarizing much, but stopping to give the biographies (and synopses of the thought) of all whom Durant considers major philosophers. Along the way the auditor learns some interesting tidbits: E.g. Creationists weren't the first to conceive of Intelligent Design. That honor belongs to the French philospher Henri Bergson (b. 1859). In his heavily-researched book "Creative Evolution" Bergson rejects both natural selection and an omnipotent God as the creative force behind evolution, opting for a pantheistic creative force in all life.

The philosophers whom Durant profiles are a who's who in the pantheon of thinkers:

Chapter VI: Kant

Chapter VII:Schopenhauer

Chapter VIII: Spencer

Chapter IX: Nietzsche (Nietzsche?)

Chapter X: Contemporary European Philosphers (Bergson, Croce, & Russell)

Chapter XI: Contemporary American Philosophers (Santayana, James, & Dewey)

Chapters I-V are set forth in Volume I of this audiobook, "The Story of Philosophy: From Plato to Voltaire and the French Enlightenment." If you have a CD with MP3 capacity, you might rather buy the entire book in that format.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Bit Tiresome and Dated, May 17, 2010

By 

Daniel J. Jensen "gawia" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Story Of Philosophy: From Kant To William James And The American Pragmatists (Audio CD)

There is certainly much to be learned from this book, but there are parts that might have been trimmed, such as the coverage of Spencer (yawn), and there are parts that are quite unimaginative, such as Durant's typically postwar take on Nietzsche. I appreciate Durant's Hegelian vision of men as products of their age, but I think Durant overdoes it a trifle. The book is worth reading, but the reader should keep a salt shaker handy. Durant, too, was a product of his time.