The Oxford History of Western Philosophy

by Anthony Kenny (editor), Oxford University Press

This splendidly written volume takes the reader on a magnificent chronological tour through the revolutions of thought that have forged the Western philosophical tradition from ancient times to the present. Throughout, the six contributors--an internationally renowned team of philosophers including Roger Scruton, Anthony Quinton, and Anthony Kenny--bring the astonishingly diverse, wide-ranging landscape of intellectual history into sharp focus, emphasizing how notions seen today as part of an inevitable march of ideas were in their own time often considered radical, if not revolutionary. Thus we are treated to lively accounts of how Plato's "theory of forms" and Aristotle's pioneering exercises in logic broke with the past to irrevocably alter the course of Western thought. The authors also reveal the relationships between landmark thinkers, and the ways they drew on their intellectual heritage. They show, for instance, how St. Augustine and Aquinas, though advancing the cause of
Christian doctrine, picked up where their pagan Greek forebears had left off. We witness how, during the Renaissance, the profound empiricist ideas underlying Descartes's famous utterance--"I think, therefore I exist"--lived in a tense but complementary relationship with Locke's rationalist theories. Moving into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the book explores how Hume greatly influenced Kant's conception of the "transcendental aesthetic," and how Hegel drew upon the lesser known (but groundbreaking) work of Fichte and Schelling. The authors bring the story up to our own time, vividly recounting the existential trend from Nietzsche ("God is dead") to Sartre, along with other increasingly fractious schools of thought.

Engagingly written and astonishingly far-reaching, The Oxford History of Western Philosophy provides the consummate introduction to the intellectual bedrock upon which Western civilization is built.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Nonfiction, Reference, Science, Politics, Canon

460 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Sir Anthony Kenny is an English philosopher whose interests lie in the philosophy of mind, ancient and scholastic philosophy, the philosophy of Wittgenstein, and the philosophy of religion.

Reviews

[Nāfiʿ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've never read a blander book in my whole life. Even The Fault in Our Stars, which was palpably worse than The Twilight Saga and contributed to my existential crisis, was better than this. But if one wishes to explore what Ibn Taymiyyah meant when he said that most of Philosophy consists of arguments over petty semantics—and the most useless points, if I may add—this book is a great work of reference, because that is really what the utter blandness would have you think.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is good. I read it in parallel with Bertrand Russell’s “The History of Western Philosophy”. I think I slightly prefer Russell’s style (haven’t finished that), but Kenny (I’ll refer to it as ‘Kenny’ even though there are other writers) gave better context in specific areas I was looking for. I’m certain that goes both ways, just depends on the section. Both are great for different purposes. If you can & if you care enough, it really is nice to read them together.

I admit I only read it partially (~200 pages) before returning it to the library, but that is just because I was intentionally jumping around seeking information on specific sections.

I read enough to see that it earns a 4 star on my bookshelf. I don’t mean to give the impression that this is a thrilling read…but it can be very useful when doing research. It does its job well. I’d probably give Russell’s a 4.5, just for ease of reading.

If I ever want to dig into the stuff again, I’ll probably buy a personal copy of this & read both the same way I did last time. (I already own Russell’s)

[Virginia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably the worst philosophy book I have ever read. Only when you have a clear idea of what each part of the book is about, then you can understand what each scholar means. There are plenty of other books that explain the though and the work of each philosopher in definitely a better way even for the most complex subjects. The book was proposed by the professors of the philosophical department of a well known university, one can only wonder...why did they choose this specific book?

[Robert Stevenson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read or rather skimmed & read for 10 hours, a classic one dam thing after another (ODTAA) history book, published in 1996, dated, boring and unconnected.

Ok as a reference on obscure philosophers such as Fichte, Schelling, Kierkegaard, Bergson, Croce, Brentano, Husserl, Heidegger, and Frege and their glorification of Wittengenstein’s Logical Atomism & Symbolism clearly showed how lost philosophical thinking was in the 1990’s under waves of traditionalism and conservatism.

And how can you call yourself a history of western philosophy and not include Erasmus one of the founders of humanism.

My favorite 1950’s philosophers of Kuhn and Popper were barely mentioned as well.

Happy again I didn’t buy this book, public libraries rock!

[Petros Lamprides · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good reference for getting a general idea of certain key points of western thought, but -even though i enjoyed it during the first pages- I found the choice of such a book being written by various writers problematic. It is a coprehensive and relatively easy way to get in touch with the work of many thinkers, but by no means enlightening in a life-changing way. Something like a written "philosopphy bites". Saying that, I have to say that I love the philosophy bites podcast for what it is and I also enjoyed reading this book, but it is what it is.

[Savage Mind · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really terribly written, I can learn more about philosophy by youtubers or podcasts.

[Malseer (Black Witch) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Brilliant book and accessible to all, enjoyable to read and perfect for the coffee table for guests to pursue. A good focal point for deeper reading too.

[George · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not recommended at all.

Hope that the 2 books of Dr Robert Zimmer (The Philosophy Gate and the New Philosophy Gate) will be translated from German to English soon. If you speak another language (apart from English), check if you can find them.

[Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a complete and authoritative history of philosophy in the western tradition. Each subject areas is written by experts within that particular field of philosophy, and then keenly edited by Anthony Kenny. The edits are not idealistic, but rather edited in a way that the reading is more pleasurable and less "dry" than the usual philosophical numbness. This book tells the story from the very foundations of ancient western philosophy up to the present day with a focus on the intellectual development of ideas.
This volume focuses on almost every great thinker as is evidence by the overwhelming 8 page chronology of philosophical thought leaders located in the book. Each major philosophical thinker including Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kante, Fichte, Hegel, Russell, Sartre, and Wittgenstein are given complete treatment and the "unpacking" of their major ideas, along with an analysis of them. Each of their personalities and ideas are carefully brought to life and explored in a fairly easily accessible way.
The last chapter is a very special treat in that it unpacks political philosophy as separate but not distinct from the ideas of these great thinkers. In doing this you are able to first focus throughout the book, on the main ideas, and then, understand those ideas from a political point of view. Each chapter, and each writer, bring a deep and careful understanding for their subjects.
The best way to sum up the completeness of this book is that it is authoritative, comprehensive, highly readable, and should enjoyed by anyone interested not just in philosophy, but in the history of ideas.