Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Mic dicționar al filozofiei occidentale

Rate this book
A comprehensive update of the best-selling first edition, this revitalized new text presents readers with a series of clear, well-written entries focusing on fifty of the most influential philosophers from the last two thousand years.

Chosen to present the traditional mainstream of European philosophy, the text also provides a critical survey that meets the needs of readers seeking a broad basic understanding as well as a foundation for further philosophical enquiry.

Encompassing a wide range of ancient, medieval and modern philosophers, features of the second edition include:

new entries on Dewey, Collingwood, Popper, Quine, Merleau-Ponty, Ayer and Rawls
a thorough revision of existing entries
a complete update of the further reading section
an expanded glossary
the addition of an alphabetical table of contents and an index for ease of use.

Authoritative and highly readable, this book is a vital reference tool for all those wishing to improve their understanding of some of the world's most fascinating intellectual figures.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1987

12 people are currently reading
114 people want to read

About the author

Diané Collinson

15 books3 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
12 (21%)
4 stars
22 (40%)
3 stars
20 (36%)
2 stars
1 (1%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for Daniel Jansky.
90 reviews3 followers
August 11, 2020
Good resource and guide to 50 of the major deceased Western philosophers. It follows the train of philosophy chronologically. The author does a fairly good job of remaining objective and pointing out the problems and inconsistencies in each view. Even after finishing the book I do not know what her personal philosophical position is. Good book, would recommend.
Profile Image for Robert.
47 reviews
June 5, 2018
Very patchy in places, i.e. some personal lives of philosophers covered in detail (William James) and others (Gottlob Frege) barely a mention other than he taught at University of Jena. Coverage of the philosophers' works very patchy too; otherwise good for research into those persons of (personal) interest from major sources.
Profile Image for Marcos.
Author 17 books113 followers
October 29, 2020
No surprises here, a straightforward description of the top philosophers. Plenty of links and further reading provided.
13 reviews
May 29, 2023
Kathryn Plant, my favourite philosopher. The book was great and gives a reliable context to whatever thinker you are reading/studying. Very readable too.
11 reviews
Read
December 16, 2017
I don't have much time to complete the reading of this book, so I randomly chose one to read on. The philosopher that I have chosen to read is Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). He worked on the Principle of Utility and using this principle to reform laws and constitution. He asserted that human behaviour is driven by pain and pleasure, each person acts to secure his own happiness or pleasure. However, morally, each person also acts in a way that brings about the greatest happiness of the greatest number. He wanted a legislation that unite individual and societal interests. It isn't a long section to read. But the content is very interesting. The most interesting thing that I learn about him is that he came up with a mathematics which he called 'felicity calculus' to calculate the quantity of happiness likely to result from action. He identified 7 properties that he believed to be quantifiable: intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity and extent. I am so overwhelmed by what he did, the courage and bravery in tackling humongous ideas like happiness.
Profile Image for Aya.
237 reviews35 followers
March 25, 2020
A good intro to major philiosophers, good for a beginner to philipsophy
Profile Image for Craig Bolton.
1,195 reviews86 followers
Read
September 23, 2010
Fifty Major Philosophers (Routledge Key Guides) by Diane Collinson (2006)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.