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The History of Philosophy #3
Modern Philosophy: From 1500 CE to the Present
Responding to the needs of an increasingly secularized and educated populace, the philosophical tradition since the Renaissance has shifted dramatically away from that of the preceding centuries. Concerned more with rationality, human nature, and human interaction with society and the world than the theological questions of the Middle Ages, contemporary philosophy has advanced study of the limits of the human mind. This insightful volume traces the evolution of present-day Western philosophy and the diverging methods of inquiry that continue to inform a wide range of disciplines.
- GenresPhilosophyHistory
223 pages, Library Binding
First published July 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 7, 2025
When I've read Thus Spoke Zarathrustra I thought I do not understand and do not like Nietzche...I was wrong: the more I stumble upon his concepts and ideas, the more I like him:
BRIAN DUIGNAN THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PHILOSOPHERS OF ALL TIME
God is Dead...I agree with that, although I try to find other Truths...The Invisible Hand, perhaps Nirvana....
"The will to power (German: der Wille zur Macht) is a prominent concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. The will to power describes what Nietzsche may have believed to be the main driving force in humans: achievement, ambition, the striving to reach the highest possible position in life; these are all manifestations of the will to power."
there is an ambivalence: on the one hand I am pretty sure I would have liked to reach a Higher position, with power, recognition...on the other hand, I try to embrace the Buddhist notions of Nirvana, wishing for Nothing, wanting little...as a resignation, a recognition of the failure to achieve, to succeed and fulfill the most ambitious, or indeed many of my desires...
"...the idea of morality was something invented by the “herd” (society, community, family, the church)
Nietzche said people should throw out the ideas of good and evil as mere conventions, and instead create their own individual value systems."
"in another world-the idea of karma dictates that every action people take— good or bad—will determine what happens to them down the road. According to this idea, if you help an old woman
cross the road, supposedly good things will be coming your way, either in this lifetime or the next (reincarnation is part of this belief). Steal money from a friend, and you might be coming back in the next life as a dung beetle."
"Confucius (or Master Kong, for the word Confucius means nothingto the Chinese) - the sort of man who forgets to eat when he engages himself in vigor- ous pursuit of learning, who is so full of joy that he forgets his worries, and who does not notice that old age is coming on?”
"There is a Confucian conviction that cultivation of the self is the root of social order and that social order is the basis for political stability"
"For Confucius, leaders are to be examples who govern by moral leadership and exemplary teaching rather than by force. Government’s responsibility is not only to provide food and security but also to educate..."
Parmenides: “all is one.”
"Socrates likens his way of philosophizing to the occupation of his mother, who was a midwife: not pregnant with ideas himself, he assists others with the delivery of their ideas, though they are often stillborn...
reason, properly cultivated, can and ought to be the all-controlling factor in human life. Thus he has no fear of death, he says in Plato’s Apology, because he has no knowledge of what comes after it, and he holds that, if anyone does fear death, his fear can be based only on a pretense of knowledge...
virtue is a form of knowledge..."
“What is courage?” and “What is piety?” If we could just discover the answers 30 7 Socrates 7 to these questions, we would have all we need to live our lives well"
"eirôneia... this is the term from which the English word irony is derived,
for the ancient Greeks eirôneia meant “dissembling”—a user of eirôneia is trying to hide something...
Socrates insists that he devotes his life to one question only: how he and others can become good human beings, or as good as possible....
human wisdon begins with the recognition of one’s own ignorance; the unexamined life is not worth living; ethical virtue is the only thing that matters; and a good human being cannot be harmed ...
"how can I be happy?” and the basic answer is “by means of virtue.” But in the relevant sense of the word, happiness— the conventional English translation of the ancient Greek eudaimonia—is not a matter of mood or emotional state.
Human virtue, accordingly, is whatever enables human beings to live good lives. Thus the notions of happiness and virtue are linked...."
I continue to read this book with pleasure
BRIAN DUIGNAN THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PHILOSOPHERS OF ALL TIME
God is Dead...I agree with that, although I try to find other Truths...The Invisible Hand, perhaps Nirvana....
"The will to power (German: der Wille zur Macht) is a prominent concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. The will to power describes what Nietzsche may have believed to be the main driving force in humans: achievement, ambition, the striving to reach the highest possible position in life; these are all manifestations of the will to power."
there is an ambivalence: on the one hand I am pretty sure I would have liked to reach a Higher position, with power, recognition...on the other hand, I try to embrace the Buddhist notions of Nirvana, wishing for Nothing, wanting little...as a resignation, a recognition of the failure to achieve, to succeed and fulfill the most ambitious, or indeed many of my desires...
"...the idea of morality was something invented by the “herd” (society, community, family, the church)
Nietzche said people should throw out the ideas of good and evil as mere conventions, and instead create their own individual value systems."
"in another world-the idea of karma dictates that every action people take— good or bad—will determine what happens to them down the road. According to this idea, if you help an old woman
cross the road, supposedly good things will be coming your way, either in this lifetime or the next (reincarnation is part of this belief). Steal money from a friend, and you might be coming back in the next life as a dung beetle."
"Confucius (or Master Kong, for the word Confucius means nothingto the Chinese) - the sort of man who forgets to eat when he engages himself in vigor- ous pursuit of learning, who is so full of joy that he forgets his worries, and who does not notice that old age is coming on?”
"There is a Confucian conviction that cultivation of the self is the root of social order and that social order is the basis for political stability"
"For Confucius, leaders are to be examples who govern by moral leadership and exemplary teaching rather than by force. Government’s responsibility is not only to provide food and security but also to educate..."
Parmenides: “all is one.”
"Socrates likens his way of philosophizing to the occupation of his mother, who was a midwife: not pregnant with ideas himself, he assists others with the delivery of their ideas, though they are often stillborn...
reason, properly cultivated, can and ought to be the all-controlling factor in human life. Thus he has no fear of death, he says in Plato’s Apology, because he has no knowledge of what comes after it, and he holds that, if anyone does fear death, his fear can be based only on a pretense of knowledge...
virtue is a form of knowledge..."
“What is courage?” and “What is piety?” If we could just discover the answers 30 7 Socrates 7 to these questions, we would have all we need to live our lives well"
"eirôneia... this is the term from which the English word irony is derived,
for the ancient Greeks eirôneia meant “dissembling”—a user of eirôneia is trying to hide something...
Socrates insists that he devotes his life to one question only: how he and others can become good human beings, or as good as possible....
human wisdon begins with the recognition of one’s own ignorance; the unexamined life is not worth living; ethical virtue is the only thing that matters; and a good human being cannot be harmed ...
"how can I be happy?” and the basic answer is “by means of virtue.” But in the relevant sense of the word, happiness— the conventional English translation of the ancient Greek eudaimonia—is not a matter of mood or emotional state.
Human virtue, accordingly, is whatever enables human beings to live good lives. Thus the notions of happiness and virtue are linked...."
I continue to read this book with pleasure
December 18, 2021
Offering the most basic of introductions to a broad array of philosophic thinkers and traditions without offering any sort of depth or ability to dive deeply into any one of them. This represents the dangers of such enterprises, and vastly superior alternatives exist.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews