The Story Of Philosophy: From Kant To William James And The American Pragmatists [AUDIOBOOK] [CD] [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD)

~ Will Durant (Author), Grover Gardner (Narrator)

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

Product Description

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.

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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: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #84,925 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.