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The Philosophy Book: From the Vedas to the New Atheists, 250 Milestones in the History of Philosophy
An accessible, engaging, and fully illustrated guide to the most profound and influential ideas in the history of philosophy.Philosophy explores the deepest, most fundamental questions of life. This guide presents 250 of the most important theories, events, and seminal publications in the field over the last 3,500 years. The concise yet informative entries cover a range of topics and cultures, from the Hindu Vedas and Plato’s theory of forms to Ockham’s Razor, Pascal’s Wager, Hume’s A Treatise of Human Nature, existentialism, feminism, Philosophical Zombies, and the Triple Theory of Ethics. Beautifully illustrated and filled with unexpected insights, The Philosophy Book is a treasure trove of the world’s wisdom.
530 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 19, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 1, 2024
Approaching Philosophy Through Milestones
I have been reading philosophy for many years and thus thought this book , "The Philosophy Book: From the Vedas to the New Atheists, 250 Milestones in the The History of Philosophy"might be too broad-brush and basic to be worth my time. Then, in skimming the book, I found an entry to a 1929 book, "An Idealist View of Life" by the Indian thinker, Sarvipalli Radhakrishnan (1888 -- 1975). I have a strong interest in philosophical idealism and hadn't been familiar with this book. The brief description in "The Philosophy Book" made me want to drop what I was doing and read Radhakrishnan's book which I found available in digital form online. After reading "An Idealist View of Life" I returned to read "The Philosophy Book" (2016), convinced that it was worthwhile after all.
"The Philosophy Book" by Gregory Bassham, professor of philosophy at King's College, Willkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is part of the "Sterling Milestones" series, each of which offers an introduction to broad subjects, including physics, space, chemistry, and others, in the form of 250 or so "milestones". "The Philosophy Book"of 250 philosophical milestones is in large format and printed on glossy paper. Each milestone includes a single page of text with a photograph or other relevant illustration included on the facing page. The milestones begin with the Vedas (c. 1500 B.C.E.) and conclude in 2011 with the "Triple Theory of Ethics" which treats the study "On What Matters" by the contemporary philosopher Derek Parfit.
The coverage of the book is broad, from standard figures in Western philosophy to Indian philosophy, including the Vedas, Chinese, Muslim, and feminist philosophy, and works that may be outside the philosophical canon but which have been highly influential in philosophy, such as, for example, the writings of Freud and the environmental writings of John Muir. Many writers, for example, Plato, Wittgenstein, William James Parfit, mentioned above, receive more than one milestone. Other milestones cover philosophical movements, such as the "New Atheism" rather than individual thinkers.
Each milestone is no more than a page in length and often includes biographical and background information together with the philosophical significance of the milestone. The summaries thus are only of the broadest and offer only an outline of the reasons which impelled a particular thinker to develop his or her views in a particular way. Still I found the book valuable. I was reminded of William James' dictum (not quoted in this book) that the heart of any philosophy was succinct enough to be stated on a postage stamp. The book allows the reader to trace recurring philosophical themes, such as the existence of God, the nature of reality, the nature of knowledge and of moral behavior, and the nature of philosophy itself through the ages and through the works of many thinkers and to see continuity and differences. Although the treatment of each milestone is brief, the book can serve as a reference and as a finding tool for more detailed reading of works that interest the reader. As mentioned, I found Radhakrishnan's "An Idealist View of Life" from this book, which made it immediately worthwhile, together with, as I continued, other books that I didn't know but felt I should read. I was absorbed in the book.
Before reading this book, I participated in an informal discussion with a group of philosophers about the best way to introduce a young person, still in high school, to philosophy who had expressed an interest. Some participants in the discussion thought the student should begin with individual works of philosophy, such as Plato's "Apology" and "Crito" while other participants thought a broader overview of philosophical thought might be more useful at the start. I doubt if there is a one-size-fits-all answer to the question, as readers generally gravitate to the books they need. "The Philosophy Book", however, is on the broad side of the continuum. The book is good for browsing by readers new to philosophical thinking but I am not sure if it will inspire love and passion. It might in fact be a better book for readers with familiarity with philosophical thought to capture trends, continuities, books the reader didn't know, and a reminder of the reasons that impelled the reader in the first place to have a love for philosophy.
Robin Friedman
I have been reading philosophy for many years and thus thought this book , "The Philosophy Book: From the Vedas to the New Atheists, 250 Milestones in the The History of Philosophy"might be too broad-brush and basic to be worth my time. Then, in skimming the book, I found an entry to a 1929 book, "An Idealist View of Life" by the Indian thinker, Sarvipalli Radhakrishnan (1888 -- 1975). I have a strong interest in philosophical idealism and hadn't been familiar with this book. The brief description in "The Philosophy Book" made me want to drop what I was doing and read Radhakrishnan's book which I found available in digital form online. After reading "An Idealist View of Life" I returned to read "The Philosophy Book" (2016), convinced that it was worthwhile after all.
"The Philosophy Book" by Gregory Bassham, professor of philosophy at King's College, Willkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is part of the "Sterling Milestones" series, each of which offers an introduction to broad subjects, including physics, space, chemistry, and others, in the form of 250 or so "milestones". "The Philosophy Book"of 250 philosophical milestones is in large format and printed on glossy paper. Each milestone includes a single page of text with a photograph or other relevant illustration included on the facing page. The milestones begin with the Vedas (c. 1500 B.C.E.) and conclude in 2011 with the "Triple Theory of Ethics" which treats the study "On What Matters" by the contemporary philosopher Derek Parfit.
The coverage of the book is broad, from standard figures in Western philosophy to Indian philosophy, including the Vedas, Chinese, Muslim, and feminist philosophy, and works that may be outside the philosophical canon but which have been highly influential in philosophy, such as, for example, the writings of Freud and the environmental writings of John Muir. Many writers, for example, Plato, Wittgenstein, William James Parfit, mentioned above, receive more than one milestone. Other milestones cover philosophical movements, such as the "New Atheism" rather than individual thinkers.
Each milestone is no more than a page in length and often includes biographical and background information together with the philosophical significance of the milestone. The summaries thus are only of the broadest and offer only an outline of the reasons which impelled a particular thinker to develop his or her views in a particular way. Still I found the book valuable. I was reminded of William James' dictum (not quoted in this book) that the heart of any philosophy was succinct enough to be stated on a postage stamp. The book allows the reader to trace recurring philosophical themes, such as the existence of God, the nature of reality, the nature of knowledge and of moral behavior, and the nature of philosophy itself through the ages and through the works of many thinkers and to see continuity and differences. Although the treatment of each milestone is brief, the book can serve as a reference and as a finding tool for more detailed reading of works that interest the reader. As mentioned, I found Radhakrishnan's "An Idealist View of Life" from this book, which made it immediately worthwhile, together with, as I continued, other books that I didn't know but felt I should read. I was absorbed in the book.
Before reading this book, I participated in an informal discussion with a group of philosophers about the best way to introduce a young person, still in high school, to philosophy who had expressed an interest. Some participants in the discussion thought the student should begin with individual works of philosophy, such as Plato's "Apology" and "Crito" while other participants thought a broader overview of philosophical thought might be more useful at the start. I doubt if there is a one-size-fits-all answer to the question, as readers generally gravitate to the books they need. "The Philosophy Book", however, is on the broad side of the continuum. The book is good for browsing by readers new to philosophical thinking but I am not sure if it will inspire love and passion. It might in fact be a better book for readers with familiarity with philosophical thought to capture trends, continuities, books the reader didn't know, and a reminder of the reasons that impelled the reader in the first place to have a love for philosophy.
Robin Friedman
February 10, 2020
An epic overview of the History of Philosophy, spanning from 1500 bc to the present day. This is a great reference to find Philosophers you want to read more of. Many of the books referenced are free online, too!
December 2, 2021
This book is intended as a series of very brief introductions to various philosophers and ideas throughout history. I remember finding this reasonably interesting, as most of the names in this book were foreign to me when I read it.
Don't expect much detail (each section is only 1-2 pages, from what I can recall), just find the ideas or people you find interesting and explore them further elsewhere.
Don't expect much detail (each section is only 1-2 pages, from what I can recall), just find the ideas or people you find interesting and explore them further elsewhere.
July 16, 2023
A great introduction into the world of philosophy. If you're looking for a starting point to find what to read, explore or learn more about yourself, this is the place to start
June 21, 2021
After loving The Science Book, thought this would be a fun one too. It was pretty weak and vacuous.
I always associated philosophy with quotes from Bruce Lee that I liked. But after reading this, I think I far prefer sciences like psychology, economics, and sociology to philosophy. The events chronicled here felt like a bunch of untested schools of nonsense. What progress, if any, has been made in the field of philosophy over the pages of this book? Is philosophy the loud, underachieving little brother of science? Haha. Also Bruce Lee does not make an appearance.
Richard Dawkins did make an appearance, ironic given the beauty of The God Delusion is that god doesn’t exist, scientifically so, not the trite philosophically so arguments that have been debated for millennia.
The psychology meta aspect of philosophy is sort of fascinating, for a few minutes anyways. But philosophy itself is pretty funny. I was hoping to learn something interesting or a new perspective, but this book just further strengthened my indifferent view of philosophy as the pseudo rigorous analysis of loose and empty concepts.
I always associated philosophy with quotes from Bruce Lee that I liked. But after reading this, I think I far prefer sciences like psychology, economics, and sociology to philosophy. The events chronicled here felt like a bunch of untested schools of nonsense. What progress, if any, has been made in the field of philosophy over the pages of this book? Is philosophy the loud, underachieving little brother of science? Haha. Also Bruce Lee does not make an appearance.
Richard Dawkins did make an appearance, ironic given the beauty of The God Delusion is that god doesn’t exist, scientifically so, not the trite philosophically so arguments that have been debated for millennia.
The psychology meta aspect of philosophy is sort of fascinating, for a few minutes anyways. But philosophy itself is pretty funny. I was hoping to learn something interesting or a new perspective, but this book just further strengthened my indifferent view of philosophy as the pseudo rigorous analysis of loose and empty concepts.
January 9, 2024
La calificación general del libro es de 3.5.
La presentación obtiene un sólido 8.5/10 gracias a su atractiva pasta dura, calidad de impresión y cuidada diagramación.
Sin embargo, el texto, aunque se esfuerza por ser un compendio histórico, resulta demasiado general. Podría haberse beneficiado de eliminar el uso de fotografías y en su lugar desarrollar visualmente cada visión filosófica.
La monotonía del texto podría haberse evitado con infografías, especialmente considerando que la extensión y edición del libro no parecen limitadas por presupuesto.
Además, se percibe cierto sesgo al presentar algunos personajes, disminuyendo o burlándose de sus contribuciones, lo que afecta la imparcialidad del contenido.
Lastimosamente hay algunos errores en la edición en que se fueron errores ortográficos pero esa es culpa de los editores.
La presentación obtiene un sólido 8.5/10 gracias a su atractiva pasta dura, calidad de impresión y cuidada diagramación.
Sin embargo, el texto, aunque se esfuerza por ser un compendio histórico, resulta demasiado general. Podría haberse beneficiado de eliminar el uso de fotografías y en su lugar desarrollar visualmente cada visión filosófica.
La monotonía del texto podría haberse evitado con infografías, especialmente considerando que la extensión y edición del libro no parecen limitadas por presupuesto.
Además, se percibe cierto sesgo al presentar algunos personajes, disminuyendo o burlándose de sus contribuciones, lo que afecta la imparcialidad del contenido.
Lastimosamente hay algunos errores en la edición en que se fueron errores ortográficos pero esa es culpa de los editores.
October 17, 2017
Best introduction to the history of ideas I have found so far. The one page summaries are compact and easy to absorb. Can be used as a reference book. A great companion to Richard Tarnas' "The Passion of the Western Mind" and Arthur Herman's "The Cave and the Light."
April 2, 2020
Un libro muy interesante que resume, quizá demasiado, el pensamiento de los principales filósofos y movimientos filosóficos de la historia. Buen libro para tomar contacto con el tema.
April 14, 2020
La mejor cronología de pensadores y teorías que alguna vez podrás leer.
December 30, 2023
The Philosophy Book: From the Vedas to the New Atheists, 250 Milestones in the History of Philosophy by Gregory Bassham is a sort of Who's Who of philosophers covering the last 2600 years. Bassham also includes a few individuals who are not strictly philosophers in this book, like the naturalist John Muir and the authors of The Federalist, but most of the book is devoted to philosophers and their ideas.
Each entry in The Philosophy Book gets a page or two of discussion plus an illustration. So this isn't an extensive presentation of the philosophers' backgrounds or views, but a very brief introduction to their thinking, though a few philosophers are given two or three entries. Bassham is a former professor of philosophy and has a good general understanding of philosophy, but he describes his subjects in language understandable to those of us who aren't philosophy majors. Which is much appreciated when it comes to some of the dense writing philosophers like Immanuel Kant or Martin Heidegger.
The Philosophy Book serves as a good introduction to the big names in philosophy and some of its lesser known practitioners. It also can be used as a reference book for additional reading. It's sort of an appetizer for additional philosophy consumption.
Each entry in The Philosophy Book gets a page or two of discussion plus an illustration. So this isn't an extensive presentation of the philosophers' backgrounds or views, but a very brief introduction to their thinking, though a few philosophers are given two or three entries. Bassham is a former professor of philosophy and has a good general understanding of philosophy, but he describes his subjects in language understandable to those of us who aren't philosophy majors. Which is much appreciated when it comes to some of the dense writing philosophers like Immanuel Kant or Martin Heidegger.
The Philosophy Book serves as a good introduction to the big names in philosophy and some of its lesser known practitioners. It also can be used as a reference book for additional reading. It's sort of an appetizer for additional philosophy consumption.
April 30, 2024
This was a great intro to philosophy. It briefly describes influential events and people that shape our world and history of philosophy to help you decide who you want to research more. It tries to include women. On occasion it is too brief.
December 20, 2024
As advertised, highlights 250 milestones in philosophy. Hard to tell from the format though which milestones were/are more impactful than other. Many of the concepts probably deserved going into greater detail.
November 12, 2017
This book offers a great collaboration of Philosophies.
December 25, 2022
Good information I just wish there was more. Very brief descriptions on each.
February 27, 2024
bueno como libro de consulta, el problema que lo note muy inclinado a lo religioso, no siendo tan objetivo en ese aspecto.
March 1, 2020
Great survey of Philosophical and religious thoughts. Laid on a chronological order from the axial age. Good introduction and reference book.
November 12, 2016
Usually I would read this kind of book faster, but I had a number of other books to finish first. This book is a good shorthand coverage of philosophy. It introduces the main ideas and sets a few paragraphs to explaining them and who propounded the ideas. It talks somewhat of the effects that these new ideas had, but it doesn't go too far into depth. Since it does that, it would make a good introduction to philosophy and it's main historical ideas.
June 21, 2018
I think this is a great book for people who interested in an overview of philosophical ideas. It serves as a great reference for others who want to consult for different key points. It may also be used for finding out new books and ideas for further exploration. The book features excellent illustrations too.
April 20, 2024
Esperaba que el autor profundizara un poco más en cada personaje, y no fue así. Ese es un problema cuando no hay una buena delimitación temporal, te obliga a escribir nimiedades. Lo más rescatable es la presentación, buenas ilustraciones y sólida tapa
January 8, 2017
I nice quick refresher on the notable participants in the great game.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews