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New History of Western Philosophy #1-4
A New History of Western Philosophy: In Four Parts
This book is no less than a guide to the whole of Western philosophy—the ideas that have undergirded our civilization for two-and-a-half thousand years. Anthony Kenny tells the story of philosophy from ancient Greece through the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment into the modern world. He introduces us to the great thinkers and their ideas, starting with Plato, Aristotle, and the other founders of Western thought. In the second part of the book he takes us through athousand years of medieval philosophy, and shows us the rich intellectual legacy of Christian thinkers like Augustine, Aquinas, and Ockham. Moving into the early modern period, we explore the great works of Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Leibniz, Spinoza, Hume, and Kant, which remain essential readingtoday. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Hegel, Mill, Nietzsche, Freud, and Wittgenstein again transformed the way we see the world.Running though the book are certain themes which have been constant concerns of philosophy since its early the fundamental questions of what exists and how we can know about it; the nature of humanity, the mind, truth, and meaning; the place of God in the universe; how we should live and how society should be ordered. Anthony Kenny traces the development of these themes through the we see how the questions asked and answers offered by the great philosophers of the pastremain vividly alive today.Anyone interested in ideas and their history will find this a fascinating and stimulating read.
1076 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2007
680 people are currently reading
3536 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Kenny
177 books115 followersSir 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 14, 2021
This is an extremely good optimization of what may be deemed a history of philosophy. Having recently read various popular attempts at exploring all of philosophy, only this one seemed thorough yet clear. The contents vary from events in society, the lives of the individuals, the ideas themselves, the periods or movements in general, and the various relations and interactions among these factors. In particular, enclosed in here are explanations of philosophies that go beyond good introductions and actually explain, summarize, and clarify philosophies (for example, I finally started to understand Kant). In regards to periods and movements, multiple times Kenny made helpful points of clarification such as, among other examples, points at the beginning or end of presenting each period or philosophers having been credited for saying things they had not.
However, having read The Story of Philosophy by Durant, I do wish Kenny used more direct quotes of the ideas of philosophers. Furthermore, I feel as though not enough was said of the lives of philosophers. Perhaps this is a good thing in order to focus on the ideas, however this may have been able to help with another issue which is that of presenting by topic rather than by philosopher within each period. Since many philosophers would have influential ideas in multiple domains, the same names would come up again and again. The issue with this then is that it may not have been the order the philosopher themselves created the idea, or Kenny having explained the philosopher died after presenting something in a previous topic. As such, I associated the ideas presented more with the topic and time rather than the philosopher. Nonetheless, I prefer this organization by Kenny and simply think it could be improved by adding more context about philosophers for better continuity.
Among the books on the history of philosophy, it seems Kenny is the most optimal. A History of Western Philosophy by Russell is essentially out of the question by many philosophers today due to the bias and inaccuracies present in it. Beyond single book histories, arguably the gold standard for thoroughness is the series by Copleston. Lastly, another alternative may be an ordered approach to philosophy companion or handbook series such as by Cambridge, Oxford, or Blackwell.
Typically, I aim for thoroughness and would gladly have gone through the series by Copleston. However, I am glad I did not. For my context, and at this time, I believe there would simply have been diminishing returns if I had done so. For a truly in depth history of philosophy would not only include important philosophies and their influences, but also every minor, true or false and good or bad, philosophy espoused by whomever and whenever. Nevertheless, in the far future, I may return to read the series by Copleston as well.
What more can be said? A history of philosophy is at least partially a history of the core of every other discipline. It is well worth the effort to learn such.
However, having read The Story of Philosophy by Durant, I do wish Kenny used more direct quotes of the ideas of philosophers. Furthermore, I feel as though not enough was said of the lives of philosophers. Perhaps this is a good thing in order to focus on the ideas, however this may have been able to help with another issue which is that of presenting by topic rather than by philosopher within each period. Since many philosophers would have influential ideas in multiple domains, the same names would come up again and again. The issue with this then is that it may not have been the order the philosopher themselves created the idea, or Kenny having explained the philosopher died after presenting something in a previous topic. As such, I associated the ideas presented more with the topic and time rather than the philosopher. Nonetheless, I prefer this organization by Kenny and simply think it could be improved by adding more context about philosophers for better continuity.
Among the books on the history of philosophy, it seems Kenny is the most optimal. A History of Western Philosophy by Russell is essentially out of the question by many philosophers today due to the bias and inaccuracies present in it. Beyond single book histories, arguably the gold standard for thoroughness is the series by Copleston. Lastly, another alternative may be an ordered approach to philosophy companion or handbook series such as by Cambridge, Oxford, or Blackwell.
Typically, I aim for thoroughness and would gladly have gone through the series by Copleston. However, I am glad I did not. For my context, and at this time, I believe there would simply have been diminishing returns if I had done so. For a truly in depth history of philosophy would not only include important philosophies and their influences, but also every minor, true or false and good or bad, philosophy espoused by whomever and whenever. Nevertheless, in the far future, I may return to read the series by Copleston as well.
What more can be said? A history of philosophy is at least partially a history of the core of every other discipline. It is well worth the effort to learn such.
December 22, 2014
While intellectual history is a bird’s eye view of the intellectual landscape, a history of philosophy is a x-ray version of that landscape. A Gothic church has her beautiful stained glass windows, paintings and all other exquisite adornments but they merely suggest or altogether fail to tell us the underlying structure that supports the church itself. The relation between ideas and philosophy is similar. Philosophy reveals what is the underlying flows behind the intellectual ideas. It is, therefore, an x-ray version of the intellectual history.
Books on the history of philosophy are not in short supply. Bertrand Russell‘s History of Western Philosophy is a classic but it is biased and too outdated to include any philosophical views after 1945. A History of Philosophy by Frederick Copleston is more objective and much more exhaustive but it runs more than several thousand pages. There are numerous other philosophy books in the market, with titles like ‘Philosophy for Dummies’ or ‘100 Philosophical Ideas You Must Know’. As their very titles suggest, one cannot hope to get much from them. Anthony Kenny‘s A New History of Western Philosophy provides a viable option.
From Thales in the fifth century BC to Quine in the twentieth century, Kenny introduced us the ideas of all the major philosophers in the Western civilization. He combined his narrative with his earlier four volumes: Ancient Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Rise of Modern Philosophy and Modern Philosophy. In each volume, he divided the narrative into two sections. The first section concerns with the intellectual history that gave some brief summaries of and historical background behind the philosophical views. The second section is divided into a number of thematic chapters. Depending on the different periods, some topics were treated extensively, while others disappeared totally. Logic, for example, was briefly absent in Rise of Modern Philosophy but reappear in the later volume. Physics is no longer a stand-alone philosophical subject after Newton and accordingly Kenny was silent on it in Modern Philosophy.
Whether this two-sections approach is appropriate is open to question. Kenny explained that a reader who is concerned with intellectual history can look at the chronological survey in the first section. The second sections are for readers who are interested in specific philosophical issues. However firstly, his account of intellectual history is less than satisfactory. Secondly, his thematic treatments have torn coherent philosophical ideas into pieces. Thirdly, general readers might find it difficult to read specific philosophical issues. Let me explain each in turn.
Kenny’s intellectual history is a little better than ‘who’s who’ in philosophy. He briefly described the lives of the philosophers, and then outlined their ideas. Historical, cultural, social, scientific and a host of other factors are absent from the discussions. This section merely serves to provide a very short summary of the ideas that will be elaborated in the later thematic chapters. Kenny should learn from other masterpieces to learn how to write intellectual history better.
Philosophers’ views may not be so tight-knit as to form a system of thought, but certainly their takes on different issues should form a coherent view that are distinctive to that particular philosopher. For example, Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is one closely-argued thesis and is then followed by his two other critiques on practical reason and judgment. Yet the impression that Kenny gave me is that Kant’s philosophical views are torn into different pieces in different thematic chapters, so that terms like a priori, a posteriori, analytic, synthetic, antinomies and mathematical/dynamic sublimity are, to me, loosely connected words with Kant’s views but their relationships with each other remain obscure to me.
A related problem is that general readers are perhaps less interested in such careful comparisons of philosophers’ view on one topic. General readers are one of Kenny’s target audiences since he hoped to write for people’s ‘own information and entertainment’. In this respect, Bertrand Russell’s treatment of presenting philosophers’ views may be more suitable.
Beside the shortcomings of the two-sections approach, I am also puzzled by Kenny’s selections. He gave equal attention to medieval philosophy as to philosophy from 1500s onward but the former’s impact on the modern world is much less significant. This might be due to Kenny’s own specialities in medieval philosophy. I am also disappointed that after mentioning Heidegger and Sartre in the so-called intellectual history, they received no attention in the subsequent chapters. It would have been recommended to cut down parts of the medieval philosophy to make room for the existentialism of Heidegger and Sartre.
Nevertheless, I would stress that these are relative minor criticisms in comparison to the task that Kenny has set for himself and has, to certain extent, succeeded. Kenny can write in lucid prose and supplied his own examples to concretise the abstract ideas. He did not attempt to ‘dumb down’ his materials to suit the tastes of some casual readers. Very substantively, he outlined the philosophical concepts that one might encounter in a philosophy course, albeit in a much more interesting and readable prose.
More importantly, he presented the materials under very critical scrutiny, so that the narrative is filled with shrewd observations. He criticized Descartes to have made himself handicapped by radically abandoning Aristotelean notions. He was also not afraid to present Derrida as a pseudo-philosopher. Opinions and observations of such kind are littered in many places in his narrative and are a particular boon for a general reader.
It should be reminded, however, that one should be prepared to read this work with patience and diligence. As said, Kenny introduced substantial philosophical concepts and so it can be very academic at times. His logic chapters are, for example, very difficult to understand for a general reader who has never undertaken any formal logic course. I myself relied extensively on other secondary materials (e.g. Very Short Introduction series and Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) to make sense some of the ideas.
As a result, the work can be in an embarrassed position. An academic scholar will find the work too simplistic while a casual reader will find it much too difficult to handle. A general reader well-versed in philosophy or a senior philosophy student already specialized in one branch of the philosophy will find the work welcoming for presenting philosophy in a panoramic picture.
The issue remains: whether Kenny’s A New History of Western Philosophy provides a x-ray version of intellectual history. The verdict will be a qualified yes. Although his two-sections treatment may not be the most desirable approach, his concrete introduction surely gives readers a very solid understanding on the Western philosophy. His learnt opinions in many instances are special gems. Anyone who read it from cover to cover will find it deeply rewarding.
From: http://1989nineteeneightynine.wordpre...
More reviews from: http://1989nineteeneightynine.wordpre...
Books on the history of philosophy are not in short supply. Bertrand Russell‘s History of Western Philosophy is a classic but it is biased and too outdated to include any philosophical views after 1945. A History of Philosophy by Frederick Copleston is more objective and much more exhaustive but it runs more than several thousand pages. There are numerous other philosophy books in the market, with titles like ‘Philosophy for Dummies’ or ‘100 Philosophical Ideas You Must Know’. As their very titles suggest, one cannot hope to get much from them. Anthony Kenny‘s A New History of Western Philosophy provides a viable option.
From Thales in the fifth century BC to Quine in the twentieth century, Kenny introduced us the ideas of all the major philosophers in the Western civilization. He combined his narrative with his earlier four volumes: Ancient Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Rise of Modern Philosophy and Modern Philosophy. In each volume, he divided the narrative into two sections. The first section concerns with the intellectual history that gave some brief summaries of and historical background behind the philosophical views. The second section is divided into a number of thematic chapters. Depending on the different periods, some topics were treated extensively, while others disappeared totally. Logic, for example, was briefly absent in Rise of Modern Philosophy but reappear in the later volume. Physics is no longer a stand-alone philosophical subject after Newton and accordingly Kenny was silent on it in Modern Philosophy.
Whether this two-sections approach is appropriate is open to question. Kenny explained that a reader who is concerned with intellectual history can look at the chronological survey in the first section. The second sections are for readers who are interested in specific philosophical issues. However firstly, his account of intellectual history is less than satisfactory. Secondly, his thematic treatments have torn coherent philosophical ideas into pieces. Thirdly, general readers might find it difficult to read specific philosophical issues. Let me explain each in turn.
Kenny’s intellectual history is a little better than ‘who’s who’ in philosophy. He briefly described the lives of the philosophers, and then outlined their ideas. Historical, cultural, social, scientific and a host of other factors are absent from the discussions. This section merely serves to provide a very short summary of the ideas that will be elaborated in the later thematic chapters. Kenny should learn from other masterpieces to learn how to write intellectual history better.
Philosophers’ views may not be so tight-knit as to form a system of thought, but certainly their takes on different issues should form a coherent view that are distinctive to that particular philosopher. For example, Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is one closely-argued thesis and is then followed by his two other critiques on practical reason and judgment. Yet the impression that Kenny gave me is that Kant’s philosophical views are torn into different pieces in different thematic chapters, so that terms like a priori, a posteriori, analytic, synthetic, antinomies and mathematical/dynamic sublimity are, to me, loosely connected words with Kant’s views but their relationships with each other remain obscure to me.
A related problem is that general readers are perhaps less interested in such careful comparisons of philosophers’ view on one topic. General readers are one of Kenny’s target audiences since he hoped to write for people’s ‘own information and entertainment’. In this respect, Bertrand Russell’s treatment of presenting philosophers’ views may be more suitable.
Beside the shortcomings of the two-sections approach, I am also puzzled by Kenny’s selections. He gave equal attention to medieval philosophy as to philosophy from 1500s onward but the former’s impact on the modern world is much less significant. This might be due to Kenny’s own specialities in medieval philosophy. I am also disappointed that after mentioning Heidegger and Sartre in the so-called intellectual history, they received no attention in the subsequent chapters. It would have been recommended to cut down parts of the medieval philosophy to make room for the existentialism of Heidegger and Sartre.
Nevertheless, I would stress that these are relative minor criticisms in comparison to the task that Kenny has set for himself and has, to certain extent, succeeded. Kenny can write in lucid prose and supplied his own examples to concretise the abstract ideas. He did not attempt to ‘dumb down’ his materials to suit the tastes of some casual readers. Very substantively, he outlined the philosophical concepts that one might encounter in a philosophy course, albeit in a much more interesting and readable prose.
More importantly, he presented the materials under very critical scrutiny, so that the narrative is filled with shrewd observations. He criticized Descartes to have made himself handicapped by radically abandoning Aristotelean notions. He was also not afraid to present Derrida as a pseudo-philosopher. Opinions and observations of such kind are littered in many places in his narrative and are a particular boon for a general reader.
It should be reminded, however, that one should be prepared to read this work with patience and diligence. As said, Kenny introduced substantial philosophical concepts and so it can be very academic at times. His logic chapters are, for example, very difficult to understand for a general reader who has never undertaken any formal logic course. I myself relied extensively on other secondary materials (e.g. Very Short Introduction series and Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) to make sense some of the ideas.
As a result, the work can be in an embarrassed position. An academic scholar will find the work too simplistic while a casual reader will find it much too difficult to handle. A general reader well-versed in philosophy or a senior philosophy student already specialized in one branch of the philosophy will find the work welcoming for presenting philosophy in a panoramic picture.
The issue remains: whether Kenny’s A New History of Western Philosophy provides a x-ray version of intellectual history. The verdict will be a qualified yes. Although his two-sections treatment may not be the most desirable approach, his concrete introduction surely gives readers a very solid understanding on the Western philosophy. His learnt opinions in many instances are special gems. Anyone who read it from cover to cover will find it deeply rewarding.
From: http://1989nineteeneightynine.wordpre...
More reviews from: http://1989nineteeneightynine.wordpre...
February 8, 2013
A must read for all individuals seriously interested in the history of Western Philosophy. Reading this full book can be a significant but very rewarding undertaking. The only minor issue is in relation to trhe way this book is structured: I am not 100% sure that splitting each period into two parts (a relatively short history of the individual philosophers, followed by an analysis by thematic area) is necessarily the best approach, as it may cause a loss of focus on the system of thought and contribution of the individual philosopher.
July 14, 2019
What a great read!! I'll be unpacking these ideas and newly formed list of books to read for a long, long time! I feel like I just went through a very broad and relatively detailed overview of Western Philosophy.
Kenny's writing is informative, sometimes witty, concise and extremely organized. The Greek philosopher section was pretty dense as he was condensing a lot of information into those pages.
I'll review this book in more fun detail and link it here in a day or 2. I'm off to polish of the World's Writing Systems now ^.^
It took quite a bit longer than a few days, but here's the video review I finally put together:
https://youtu.be/9xmBdLvZszE
Kenny's writing is informative, sometimes witty, concise and extremely organized. The Greek philosopher section was pretty dense as he was condensing a lot of information into those pages.
I'll review this book in more fun detail and link it here in a day or 2. I'm off to polish of the World's Writing Systems now ^.^
It took quite a bit longer than a few days, but here's the video review I finally put together:
https://youtu.be/9xmBdLvZszE
May 14, 2020
Философи сурахад хэд хэдэн төрлийн материал байвал нэмэртэй юм шиг:
1. Платон, Аристотель г.м. философичдын өөрсдийн бүтээл—анхдагч эх сурвалжтай тодорхой хэмжээнд танилцахгүйгээр философи сурна гэж байхгүй байх.
2. Ямар нэгэн төрлийн ‘нэвтэрхий толь’: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy интернэт дээр байнга шинэчлэгдэж байдаг мэдээж хамгийн шилдэг нь.
3. (Яваандаа) сурах бичиг маягийн номууд: epistemology [‘мэдэхүй’ гэхээр арай л биш]-ийн нэг ном, logic-ийн нэг ном, metaphysics [‘оршихуй’ гэхээр бас арай л биш]-ийн нэг ном г.м.
4. Гол нь гэхдээ энэ бүгдийг ‘базаж’ хооронд нь авцалдуулсан харьцангуй хялбар (гэхдээ дэндүү хялбар биш) ганц хоёр ном. Тэр нь энэ Anthony Kenny-гийн A New History of Western Philosophy байж болох юм шиг санагдлаа. Философичдыг бүгдийг нь уншина гэж байхгүй (философийн доктор хамгаалдаггүй л юм бол). Тэгэхээр дутуугаа нөхөхөд нэг ийм ном хэрэгтэй байх. Зүйрлэвэл байшингийн хундамент зуурч байхад хайрга чулуу [анхдагч эх сурвалж], тэдгээрийг хооронд нь авцалдуулах шавар [багшийн хичээл лекц, иймэрхүү ном, подкаст] хэрэгтэй. Mиний хувьд Аристотелийг уншиж байгаагүй, энэ тал дээрх хэрэгцээг бага зэрэг нөхөөд, Early Modern үерүү ороход нэмэр болж байна.
A New History of Western Philosophy-ийн сайн талууд гэвэл:
—Дотор нь 4 ном багтаж байгаа гэж ойлгож болно: ancient, scholastic, early modern & modern philosophy.
—Kenny өөрөө дээрх (барууны) философийн 4 үе тус бүр дээр судалгаа хийж байсан философич хүн. (Гэхдээ мэдээж нэг л хүний үзэл бодлыг уншиж байгаагаа анхаарах хэрэгтэй байх. Ерөнхийдөө найдаж болохоор үзэл бодлууд байж таараа (судалгаан дээр тулгуурласан г.м.). Гэхдээ жишээ нь Аристотель талруугаа, Платоныг арай доогуур үзсэн нтр гээд өөр нэг review-гээс уншиж байсан юм байна. Nietzsche, Marx нтр гээд anglophone-биш философичдыг Кенни яаж бичиж дүгнэснийг мэдэхгүй. Russell-аас гэхдээ хамаагүй дээр байх.)
—Дээр хэлсэнчлэн, хэт хялбарчлаагүй, зарим талаараа анхан шатны сурах бичиг маягаар ашиглаж болох юм шиг. ‘Ном’ болгон нь хоёр хэсгээс ерөнхийдөө бүрдэнэ: эхлээд тухайн цаг үеийн (жишээ нь эртний үе) философчдыг ерөнхийд нь танилцуулна. Дараа нь судалгааны сэдвүүдийг тус бүрд нь авч үзнэ. “Modern Philosophy” дотор жишээ нь: философичдын танилцуулга (нийт 3 бүлэг), Logic, Language, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, Ethics, Aesthetics, Political Philosophy, God гэсэн бүлгүүд байна.
—Mэдээж ганц энэ номыг уншаад философи сурна гэж байхгүй. Гэхдээ зөв ашиглавал их хэрэгтэй ном шиг санагдлаа. Mиний бодлоор эхнээс дуустал нь уншихаас илүүтэйгээр хажуугаар нь өөр юм хараад, гол эх сурвалжуудаас нь уншаад явах хэрэгтэй байх.
Анхааруулга: шрифт нтр нь гоё царайлаг ном гэхдээ эхэндээ жаахан сонин үнэртэй байж байгаад гадаа уншаад байсан чинь аяндаа арилчихсан. ebook ээрээ надад байгаа олдохгүй бол надаас аваарай.
1. Платон, Аристотель г.м. философичдын өөрсдийн бүтээл—анхдагч эх сурвалжтай тодорхой хэмжээнд танилцахгүйгээр философи сурна гэж байхгүй байх.
2. Ямар нэгэн төрлийн ‘нэвтэрхий толь’: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy интернэт дээр байнга шинэчлэгдэж байдаг мэдээж хамгийн шилдэг нь.
3. (Яваандаа) сурах бичиг маягийн номууд: epistemology [‘мэдэхүй’ гэхээр арай л биш]-ийн нэг ном, logic-ийн нэг ном, metaphysics [‘оршихуй’ гэхээр бас арай л биш]-ийн нэг ном г.м.
4. Гол нь гэхдээ энэ бүгдийг ‘базаж’ хооронд нь авцалдуулсан харьцангуй хялбар (гэхдээ дэндүү хялбар биш) ганц хоёр ном. Тэр нь энэ Anthony Kenny-гийн A New History of Western Philosophy байж болох юм шиг санагдлаа. Философичдыг бүгдийг нь уншина гэж байхгүй (философийн доктор хамгаалдаггүй л юм бол). Тэгэхээр дутуугаа нөхөхөд нэг ийм ном хэрэгтэй байх. Зүйрлэвэл байшингийн хундамент зуурч байхад хайрга чулуу [анхдагч эх сурвалж], тэдгээрийг хооронд нь авцалдуулах шавар [багшийн хичээл лекц, иймэрхүү ном, подкаст] хэрэгтэй. Mиний хувьд Аристотелийг уншиж байгаагүй, энэ тал дээрх хэрэгцээг бага зэрэг нөхөөд, Early Modern үерүү ороход нэмэр болж байна.
A New History of Western Philosophy-ийн сайн талууд гэвэл:
—Дотор нь 4 ном багтаж байгаа гэж ойлгож болно: ancient, scholastic, early modern & modern philosophy.
—Kenny өөрөө дээрх (барууны) философийн 4 үе тус бүр дээр судалгаа хийж байсан философич хүн. (Гэхдээ мэдээж нэг л хүний үзэл бодлыг уншиж байгаагаа анхаарах хэрэгтэй байх. Ерөнхийдөө найдаж болохоор үзэл бодлууд байж таараа (судалгаан дээр тулгуурласан г.м.). Гэхдээ жишээ нь Аристотель талруугаа, Платоныг арай доогуур үзсэн нтр гээд өөр нэг review-гээс уншиж байсан юм байна. Nietzsche, Marx нтр гээд anglophone-биш философичдыг Кенни яаж бичиж дүгнэснийг мэдэхгүй. Russell-аас гэхдээ хамаагүй дээр байх.)
—Дээр хэлсэнчлэн, хэт хялбарчлаагүй, зарим талаараа анхан шатны сурах бичиг маягаар ашиглаж болох юм шиг. ‘Ном’ болгон нь хоёр хэсгээс ерөнхийдөө бүрдэнэ: эхлээд тухайн цаг үеийн (жишээ нь эртний үе) философчдыг ерөнхийд нь танилцуулна. Дараа нь судалгааны сэдвүүдийг тус бүрд нь авч үзнэ. “Modern Philosophy” дотор жишээ нь: философичдын танилцуулга (нийт 3 бүлэг), Logic, Language, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, Ethics, Aesthetics, Political Philosophy, God гэсэн бүлгүүд байна.
—Mэдээж ганц энэ номыг уншаад философи сурна гэж байхгүй. Гэхдээ зөв ашиглавал их хэрэгтэй ном шиг санагдлаа. Mиний бодлоор эхнээс дуустал нь уншихаас илүүтэйгээр хажуугаар нь өөр юм хараад, гол эх сурвалжуудаас нь уншаад явах хэрэгтэй байх.
Анхааруулга: шрифт нтр нь гоё царайлаг ном гэхдээ эхэндээ жаахан сонин үнэртэй байж байгаад гадаа уншаад байсан чинь аяндаа арилчихсан. ebook ээрээ надад байгаа олдохгүй бол надаас аваарай.
June 11, 2015
This book is so biased in its accounts and delivery. Be very aware of his while reading.
Devoting multiple sections to Wittgenstein (albeit his importance), while giving a pittance to Heidegger and a terrible view of Derrida which exudes its misunderstanding, for example, make its author's firm positioning in the analytic camp blatantly obvious
Devoting multiple sections to Wittgenstein (albeit his importance), while giving a pittance to Heidegger and a terrible view of Derrida which exudes its misunderstanding, for example, make its author's firm positioning in the analytic camp blatantly obvious
March 9, 2014
An excellent introduction and very readable. The topic,of course, is very difficult and thankfully, it is not dumbed down. If anyone understands Frege's symbolic logic or Wittgenstein in general, you are doing better than me.
October 30, 2016
The only problem with this book is that it ends. And at 996 pages that's saying something.
Kenny divided the book into four parts correlating to four epochs of philosophical history. Within each part are two sections, one devoted to the historical narrative and flow of ideas, the other devoted to an analysis of the key ideas within the period as they fall under the various sub-disciplines of philosophy.
Kenny's exposition of the key works of the western philosophical tradition is clear and fair. Kenny also pays attention to medieval philosophers who provided key developments in philosophy often skimmed over or relegated to later era by other accounts.
Kenny's fairness extends to the importance of Christianity in the development of western philosophy with sections on Martin Luther and John Calvin. Many contemporary philosophers consider such developments as out of bounds to philosophers. Kenny shows how understanding theological developments enhances an understanding of the development of philosophical ideas.
On the whole, this book is the one to beat. I highly recommend it.
Kenny divided the book into four parts correlating to four epochs of philosophical history. Within each part are two sections, one devoted to the historical narrative and flow of ideas, the other devoted to an analysis of the key ideas within the period as they fall under the various sub-disciplines of philosophy.
Kenny's exposition of the key works of the western philosophical tradition is clear and fair. Kenny also pays attention to medieval philosophers who provided key developments in philosophy often skimmed over or relegated to later era by other accounts.
Kenny's fairness extends to the importance of Christianity in the development of western philosophy with sections on Martin Luther and John Calvin. Many contemporary philosophers consider such developments as out of bounds to philosophers. Kenny shows how understanding theological developments enhances an understanding of the development of philosophical ideas.
On the whole, this book is the one to beat. I highly recommend it.
August 28, 2016
Far better than Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy.
This book doesn't only provide information but also provides the reader the feeling, mainly because of the impersonal writing style.
This book doesn't only provide information but also provides the reader the feeling, mainly because of the impersonal writing style.
December 18, 2016
I should have Started with the Greeks™ tbh
October 8, 2018
3.5/5 stars: a very "traditional" approach to the history of philosophy that loses steam as it gets closer to the present. The structure — some initial chapters that present an outline of the period covered by that volume, followed by thematic chapters dedicated to each core topic — was very useful.
March 17, 2020
This book has been a great adventure. I recommend this book to all lovers of philosophy. I have finished slightly less than half the book in Febraury and March of 2020.
This is an indispensable companion to philosophic thought and ideas; from the start of the book Anthony Kenny proves that both The History of Philosophy, and The Philosophy of History are disciplines that are appropriately within the realm of philosophy; that they both exists as branches of philosophy. The book ends majestically, by stating a failure of a much esteemed history of Western Philosophy; that, written by Bertrand Russel. The book re-presents The Ontological Argument, once thought concluded, done, and dispensed with, in new light. Philosophy never ends, and I will most certainly return to this book again and again and again.
I highly recommend this masterpiece of both history and philosophy.
This is an indispensable companion to philosophic thought and ideas; from the start of the book Anthony Kenny proves that both The History of Philosophy, and The Philosophy of History are disciplines that are appropriately within the realm of philosophy; that they both exists as branches of philosophy. The book ends majestically, by stating a failure of a much esteemed history of Western Philosophy; that, written by Bertrand Russel. The book re-presents The Ontological Argument, once thought concluded, done, and dispensed with, in new light. Philosophy never ends, and I will most certainly return to this book again and again and again.
I highly recommend this masterpiece of both history and philosophy.
February 18, 2015
Maybe I just wasn't in the mood, but after a few pages I gave up. Other reviewers thought this brilliant, so it probably is, but after reading the Coppleston series years ago and Betrand Russell's histories, I got lazy.
February 13, 2023
996 mundane pages… they have okay info but the problem with dry writing is retention doesn’t stick as much. The analytic style is kinda oozing which isn’t unexpected just unwelcome. Anthony Kenny did something outstanding here but he doesn’t seem terribly qualified and it shows.
June 14, 2021
After reading Bertrand Russell's history, it was a welcome change to see so much of philosophies history treated with respect and dignity. Kenny, inevitably colored by some bias, finds a way to present even the most antiquated ideas in a way that does justice to the originator or advocate of the idea. His method of presentation may be somewhat off putting to some, and even is a bit redundant at times, but I found it intensely helpful to committing the major ideas and thinkers to memory. He starts with a brief history of the people of a period in the first couple chapters of each volume and then, discusses their ideas in greater depth in successive chapters by discipline. This method is one I much enjoyed but realize that many may prefer the more linear method of Russell or Grayling's history. That said, after also reading Russell's history, I found him to be much more judgemental of antiquated ideas then Kenny even though Russell is clearly the more eloquent writer.
If you are interested in a genuine history of Western Philosophy that does its best to treat all past thinkers with their due dignity, this is the best I've found. Some people object that this book poorly handles continental thinkers, and it is apparent that Kenny has an analytic bias, but the other available single author histories do much worse by thinkers like Hegel and Marx. Worth a read for anyone who wants a grand overview of the discipline and its history.
If you are interested in a genuine history of Western Philosophy that does its best to treat all past thinkers with their due dignity, this is the best I've found. Some people object that this book poorly handles continental thinkers, and it is apparent that Kenny has an analytic bias, but the other available single author histories do much worse by thinkers like Hegel and Marx. Worth a read for anyone who wants a grand overview of the discipline and its history.
January 10, 2025
I read Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy around 4 years ago during the pandemic when I was still learning much about European history and political science, and so while I got a general picture of western philosophy, I wanted another overview update, after learning all the stuff I do now about the west.
Kenny has a similar background (British intelligensia) and seems to have similar political liberal leanings (as evidenced by his assumption that Marxism was "proven" wrong because of the fall of the Soviet Union), but overall, his distillation of philosophy was clear and succinct for the layman to understand, and to know where to seek out additional detail or study if one so desired. As I begin my journey into reading German idealists, it is definitely a helpful guide in knowing where the players were and how they interacted with each other.
Although not essential, for those Marxists who want to deepen their understanding of how the theory developed along with the thinking and material conditions of the times, this is extremely helpful, as even the development of philosophy was conditioned by material conditions, from a dialectical view, as there was a distinct difference between the British empiricists who were influenced by the growing omnipotence of industrialization vs. the German idealists who wanted to create a scientific basis for the meaning of life.
Kenny has a similar background (British intelligensia) and seems to have similar political liberal leanings (as evidenced by his assumption that Marxism was "proven" wrong because of the fall of the Soviet Union), but overall, his distillation of philosophy was clear and succinct for the layman to understand, and to know where to seek out additional detail or study if one so desired. As I begin my journey into reading German idealists, it is definitely a helpful guide in knowing where the players were and how they interacted with each other.
Although not essential, for those Marxists who want to deepen their understanding of how the theory developed along with the thinking and material conditions of the times, this is extremely helpful, as even the development of philosophy was conditioned by material conditions, from a dialectical view, as there was a distinct difference between the British empiricists who were influenced by the growing omnipotence of industrialization vs. the German idealists who wanted to create a scientific basis for the meaning of life.
May 1, 2020
It's too dense for me to read in one go, so I thought I will use it as a reference for particular philosophers I am engaging with at the time. But then I found that, when reading Kant and Hume and Berkeley for example, that there are better lecture series and books on any particular time period or topic than what I find in here.
In the end I never came back to this book. I can see the value it has for what it tries to do, and maybe someone finds it worth their time to read this thing in one go/ or as an addition to their readings of a particular period/ philosopher.
Furthermore, I can not judge whether his depictions are actually accurate. I gave up on the book after reading the first of the four chapters/ books.
In the end I never came back to this book. I can see the value it has for what it tries to do, and maybe someone finds it worth their time to read this thing in one go/ or as an addition to their readings of a particular period/ philosopher.
Furthermore, I can not judge whether his depictions are actually accurate. I gave up on the book after reading the first of the four chapters/ books.
March 24, 2024
This was more like the book I wanted when I read "The Story of Philosophy" by Will Durant. Where Durant was severely dismissive of the Stoics and Epicureans, and acted like nothing of note happened from Aristotle until Francis Bacon, Kenny is much more comprehensive and even-handed. I kind of wish I would have opted for the same author's "Brief History of Western Philosophy" instead, because this work is rather daunting in volume and scope for the casually interested reader.
October 23, 2019
A bit hard and sometimes a little too academic as an introduction to Western Philosophy. Also, Kenny splits the intellectual history and the philosophical themes. This is sometimes really nice, and sometimes makes the book unnecessarily hard and dry.
However, these are small complaints. A great book!
However, these are small complaints. A great book!
March 31, 2018
Comprehensive. Highly readable. Up-to-date. High academic standards. Right author for the right job. What more do you need?
May 13, 2020
Remarkably readable, an astonishing achievement of breadth and clarity. The modern section does leave out too many philosophers, though.
November 28, 2020
A surface-level history of mental masturbation a.k.a. philosophy.
September 1, 2021
a bit long.
November 3, 2021
somewhere from 3 to 4 stars for parts 1-3, for part 4 at most 2
November 29, 2025
The challenge of writing a book encompassing so much knowledge was surely an enormous one and I'm not sure the challenger was up to the task. By nature, a book like this is a difficult read. It doesn't help that Anthony Kenny writes verbosely and occasionally uses British slang. While some sections are a pleasure to read, I find myself rereading the same paragraphs over and over trying to figure out what Kenny is trying to say. At various points, he leaves significant conclusions unexplained while others are needlessly repeated well after the point is made.
Edit: I've read a little further and this book is mostly unpalatable nonsense. The author wrote this book to be understood by an audience of one, himself.
Edit: I've read a little further and this book is mostly unpalatable nonsense. The author wrote this book to be understood by an audience of one, himself.
July 27, 2015
A textbook detailing the history of western philosophy by breaking it apart into digestible and accessible parts. The structure of the book was initially confusing but the patterned layout of the text makes a lot of sense when you're reading this as an introduction to the subject, because people who do philosophy don't tend to do all philosophy; the text is the history of philosophy but has in mind people with no interest in the history of philosophy who just want to see what philosophy is. The text is also structured around only including certain philosophers and doesn't create loose ends by mentioning anyone only once or twice. Anyone mentioned in the text is very thoroughly explored in the various fields they may have been involved in, which makes the text seem organized and serves to make learning from the text easier as well because of the repeated appearance of the philosophers that are mentioned.
August 14, 2025
I would discourage any hobby philosopher from reading it.
The book is split into four periods, with each period split between a chronological overview and a thematic treatment of the various theories. The overviews are unsatisfying - staccato jumps from philosopher to philosopher that fail to develop a narrative of the progression of the ideas - and the thematic sections are short and dense, a terrible way to convey some very technical philosophy (Kant’s monumental metaphysical system is given just three pages, or seven if you count the four pages of jargon-heavy exposition that Kenny inexplicably allows into the overview section on Kant).
Of course it can be countered that Kenny could hardly have written a history of three-thousand years of philosophy that treated each philosopher comprehensively - it might run to tens of thousands of pages. But what he has produced satisfies only a very niche interest.
The book is split into four periods, with each period split between a chronological overview and a thematic treatment of the various theories. The overviews are unsatisfying - staccato jumps from philosopher to philosopher that fail to develop a narrative of the progression of the ideas - and the thematic sections are short and dense, a terrible way to convey some very technical philosophy (Kant’s monumental metaphysical system is given just three pages, or seven if you count the four pages of jargon-heavy exposition that Kenny inexplicably allows into the overview section on Kant).
Of course it can be countered that Kenny could hardly have written a history of three-thousand years of philosophy that treated each philosopher comprehensively - it might run to tens of thousands of pages. But what he has produced satisfies only a very niche interest.
March 1, 2021
It took me two years to read it in my free time. The start of the 2020 and the quarantine oddly enough had its benefits, it gave me the opportunity to finish it.
It was all worth it. I would recommend it to anyone curious about philosophy, but who has enough patience to finish a long read. You will be gratified at the end of the journey, a lot of things in European culture would make more sense.
It was all worth it. I would recommend it to anyone curious about philosophy, but who has enough patience to finish a long read. You will be gratified at the end of the journey, a lot of things in European culture would make more sense.
February 11, 2018
This book is a good introduction of philosophy. I especially enjoyed the history of thought half of the book. However before buying this book one ought to be aware that it does focus more on topics such as metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of god at the expense of ethics and political philosophy- which were my focuses.
June 13, 2016
Quite comprehensive. Engaging when you are familiar with the Philosophers treated and/or the particular focus and even when you aren't it is explained lucidly.
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