Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers (Mass Market Paperback)

by Will Durant (Author) "IF YOU look at a map of Europe you will observe that Greece is a skeleton-like hand stretching its crooked fingers out into the Mediterranean..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Francis Bacon, Bertrand Russell (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Easily the most engaging writer of Western intellectual history in the English language, Will Durant breathes life into philosophers and their ideas. He is colorful, witty, and above all, informative. Beginning with Socrates and ending with American philosopher John Dewey, Durant summarizes the lives and influence of philosophy's greatest thinkers, painting them with humanity and adding a few of his own wise platitudes. Seventy-some years after its first printing, The Story of Philosophy still stands as one of the best of its kind. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
The New York Times A delight. -- Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (January 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671739166
• ISBN-13: 978-0671739164
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,807 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

204 of 208 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Think twice before ordering the Mass Market publication, January 25, 2001

By	Leonard R. Reitz (Baker City, OR USA) - See all my reviews

I did a search for ''The Story of Philosophy'' and only the Mass Market version of this book came up (ISBN 0-671-73916-6) which I ordered. The print was so unreadable due, at least to my copy, of a very heavy, black, flared type-setting. There was no chance of reading the book with any enjoyment....lo and behold I find a second book (ISBN 0-671-69500-2) which is excellently type-set, and very readable. Even though this second book format is twice the price of the cheaply done Mass Market format, it is eminently worth it. I make these comments, in order to save some poor soul from the hassle I went through to get a readable copy of this most excellent book.

84 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The words of the wisest men in history, March 19, 2002

By	Christopher (Denver, Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

There is no pre-requisite to the enjoyment of philosophy, and there is no pre-requisite to the Story of Philosophy. Simply bring a mind that is famished for an injection of joy.

"That is very good; but there is an infinitely worthier subject for philosophers than all these trees and stones, and even all those stars; there is the mind of man. What is man, and what can he become?" (Durant summarizing Socrates)

Philosophy is the night that you looked up at those 100 billion stars and 100 billion galaxies and realized that you were beginning to ask the right questions. "To know what to ask is already to know half." (Durant summarizing Aristotle) Philosophy is the one great conversation in your past that echoes in every conversation since. When will that time come again? "All excellent things are as difficult as they are rare." (Durant summarizing Spinoza)

That phenomenon of wonder will return when you open the "Story of Philosophy". A further taste of Durant's warming liquor:

"Every science begins as philosophy and ends as art; it arises in hypothesis and flows into achievement."
"How many a debate would have been deflated into a paragraph if the disputants had dared to define their terms."
"Political science does not make men, but must take them as they come from nature."
"The chief condition of happiness, barring certain physical prerequisites, is the life of reason--the specific glory and power of man."

Durant's approach is linear in time, but immense in breadth. Beginning with Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, we are not only granted access to their treasure chests of wisdom, we are also given insights into the men. Durant introduces the era before he introduces the philosopher, for humanity inspires humanity, and these giants have benefactors of their own. Durant considers history as important an aspect of philosophy as metaphysics, and here he shines with a polished historian's touch (see Will Durant - "Story of Civilization").

"Athens became a busy mart and port, the meeting place of many races of men and of diverse cults and customs, whose contact and rivalry begot comparison, analysis, and thought."
"Traditions and dogmas rub one another down to a minimum in such centers of varied intercourse; where there are a thousand faiths we are apt to become skeptical of them all."

Durant runs the gauntlet of great thinkers (Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Kant, Nietzsche), and introduces you to some odd-looking but strong-eyed and delightful strangers (Schopenhauer, Spencer, Bergson, Croce, Russell, Santayana, James, Dewey).

"How can we explain mind as matter, when we know matter only through mind?" (summarizing Schopenhauer)
"We often forget that not only is there a soul of goodness in things evil, but generally also a soul of truth in things erroneous." (summarizing Spencer)
"In ourselves, memory is the vehicle of duration, the handmaiden of time; and through it so much of our past is actively retained that rich alternatives present themselves for every situation. As life grows richer in its scope, its heritage and its memories, the field of choice widens, and at last the variety of possible responses generates consciousness, which is the rehearsal of response... Free will is a corollary of consciousness; to say that we are free is merely to mean that we know what we are doing." (summarizing Bergson)

How many of these men have you missed in the crowd of history? And how many days will pass before you make their acquaintance? What will your future be like once you hold their wisdom in your hands? Durant believes it will be a far richer one.

The Story of Philosophy actually contains more summary than quote, and we would normally cringe at such an announcement. Only the bravest of souls would wade into the brine of further philosophical precis. But Durant is the encapsulation of the finest teachers you have met in this lifetime, and his abridgements multiply the reader's comprehension while encouraging cross-referencing with the originals, making the entire experience savory and thoroughly digestible. Durant is the rare case of a man who can interpret wisdom and also construct it anew. The result is maybe the highest ratio of wisdom-to-words of any book in the Library of Humanity.

Compare his extractions of Kant with an original text of the babbling scholar:

"Sensation is unorganized stimulus, perception is organized sensation, conception is organized perception, science is organized knowledge, wisdom is organized life: each is a greater degree of order, and sequence, and unity." (summarizing Kant)
"The real church is a community of people, however scattered and divided, who are united by devotion to the common moral law." (summarizing Kant)
"Kant was too anxious to prove the subjectivity of space, as a refuge from materialism; he feared the argument that if space is objective and universal, God must exist in space, and be therefore spatial and material."

After 50 pages of Durant on Kant, you will be praying for the entire translation. But Durant moved on to other fine thinkers, and, after 500+ pages of wisdom, you will rejoice that the balance of his substantial catalog is over 10,000 pages (Lessons of History, Story of Civilization - 11 vols.).

Within one year of the original printing (1926), the work found its way onto the nightstands of the scholarly and the coffee tables of the middle-class. It inspired a flood of "Story of ..." books whose words are now lost to the past. It was, and still is, the primary text for many university philosophy curricula. For those who have read it, Story of Philosophy is probably their "trapped on a desert island with one book" selection. That the work remains in print and in demand three generations later is a testament to the author and to the subject... both mighty fine creations.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful introduction..., June 13, 2000

By	Guy Cutting (Montgomery, AL USA) - See all my reviews

I usually look down on philosophical "collections" because they tend to give an inadequate picture of any single philosopher and they also tend to lack cohesion. But this book is not just a collection - it is more like a narrative. The name "The STORY of Philosophy" indicates the focus, which is not just to present the work of various philosophers but to weave them together. Durant's choice of philosophers may seem to be unreasonable, but it serves his purpose. He presents a wide range of thought, from ancient Greek to modern. His analysis is always deep - his insights are fascinating. His understanding of the nuances of these thinkers is not in question. Each section presents Durant's analysis alongside material quoted directly from the philosopher being discussed. In this way both the original material and thoughtful analysis are given. In broader terms, Durant brings all this diverse thought together. He describes the progression of thought through careful comparison and contrast and gives each of these philosophers a position in reference to one another and to a unified picture. Each of these thinkers is put into a broader context than simply their own writings; parallels between these philosophers emerge alongside a portryal of their historical significance. All in all a real achievement and a worthwhile read for almost anyone (as an introduction to philosophy or as a valuable new perspective on material you're already familiar with). Recommended...