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Philosophers Who Changed History
An illuminating celebration of the world’s most important and influential thinkers, this book explores the fascinating stories of their lives and pioneering ideas.
Introduced with a stunning portrait of each featured philosopher, entries trace the ideas and beliefs, and the relationships and rivalries that inspired the great thinkers and influenced their work, providing revealing insights into what drove them to question the meaning of life and come up with new ways of understanding the world.
Lavishly illustrated with photographs and paintings of their homes, friends, studies, and their personal belongings, together with pages from original manuscripts, first editions, and correspondence, this book introduces the key ideas, themes, and working methods of each featured individual, setting their ideas within a wider historical and cultural context.
Charting the development of ideas across the centuries in both the East and West, from ancient Chinese philosophy to the work of contemporary thinkers, Philosophers Who Changed History provides a compelling glimpse into their lives and loves, and the influence of other great philosophers as they probed into life’s “big ideas.”
Introduced with a stunning portrait of each featured philosopher, entries trace the ideas and beliefs, and the relationships and rivalries that inspired the great thinkers and influenced their work, providing revealing insights into what drove them to question the meaning of life and come up with new ways of understanding the world.
Lavishly illustrated with photographs and paintings of their homes, friends, studies, and their personal belongings, together with pages from original manuscripts, first editions, and correspondence, this book introduces the key ideas, themes, and working methods of each featured individual, setting their ideas within a wider historical and cultural context.
Charting the development of ideas across the centuries in both the East and West, from ancient Chinese philosophy to the work of contemporary thinkers, Philosophers Who Changed History provides a compelling glimpse into their lives and loves, and the influence of other great philosophers as they probed into life’s “big ideas.”
368 pages, Hardcover
Published February 20, 2024
18 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
D.K. Publishing
10.3k books2,122 followersDorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 16, 2024
The library cleverly hooked me to grab this as an impulse "buy" at checkout. Kudos to them it worked. This time. I'll be more skeptical I suspect as a result though.
If one is looking for the simplest surveys of a select group of philosophers throughout selected aspects of civilization, then the brief summaries in this book might be interesting. I found myself wondering who the target audience for the publication might be. It's almost junior encyclopedia-ish but not. Maybe someone with a good memory that wants to appear well read in philosophy at a party of other pseudo intellectuals or maybe a gathering of university faculty as the non-affiliated spouse. Either way, pretty boring.
I thought I would be piqued to read works of some philosophers I didn't know previously, or I would see the evolution of philosophic thought (like the tree of life or something) but instead its a chronological presentation with the publishers' favorites getting larger and longer coverage than some also-rans.
If one is looking for the simplest surveys of a select group of philosophers throughout selected aspects of civilization, then the brief summaries in this book might be interesting. I found myself wondering who the target audience for the publication might be. It's almost junior encyclopedia-ish but not. Maybe someone with a good memory that wants to appear well read in philosophy at a party of other pseudo intellectuals or maybe a gathering of university faculty as the non-affiliated spouse. Either way, pretty boring.
I thought I would be piqued to read works of some philosophers I didn't know previously, or I would see the evolution of philosophic thought (like the tree of life or something) but instead its a chronological presentation with the publishers' favorites getting larger and longer coverage than some also-rans.
October 29, 2025
Wherefor art thou, Singer?
DK books are a gold standard for getting into a field of study, and their texts are usually both comprehensive and approachable, as well as informative and entertaining. I own over a hundred books from this publisher, so it’s safe to say I’m a fan.
Please consider revising this book to include Peter Singer. Not only is he widely regarded as the greatest living philosopher, but he is the founder of the effective altruism movement, he is one of the pioneers and philosophical backbones of the animal rights movement, and he has spoken widely (and at times, controversially) on issues ranging from medical ethics to disability to AI. He’s had a renowned career and has contributed greatly to the field.
I’d also recommend adding Noam Chomsky’s critique of behaviorism, as the book elsewhere mentions behaviorists and Chomsky is widely regarded as key to taking down the field. He also advocated for civil rights, including at the March on Washington. The entry here was otherwise excellent.
Thank you for your consideration.
DK books are a gold standard for getting into a field of study, and their texts are usually both comprehensive and approachable, as well as informative and entertaining. I own over a hundred books from this publisher, so it’s safe to say I’m a fan.
Please consider revising this book to include Peter Singer. Not only is he widely regarded as the greatest living philosopher, but he is the founder of the effective altruism movement, he is one of the pioneers and philosophical backbones of the animal rights movement, and he has spoken widely (and at times, controversially) on issues ranging from medical ethics to disability to AI. He’s had a renowned career and has contributed greatly to the field.
I’d also recommend adding Noam Chomsky’s critique of behaviorism, as the book elsewhere mentions behaviorists and Chomsky is widely regarded as key to taking down the field. He also advocated for civil rights, including at the March on Washington. The entry here was otherwise excellent.
Thank you for your consideration.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews