Sarah’s Reviews > The History of Philosophy > Status Update

I’ve finished 18th century philosophy. While I still am not retaining what specific ideas specific philosophers had, I’m really enjoying the overarching themes of each period. The argument between rationalism and empiricism in this one was very fun to read about and I found the culmination into Kant’s philosophy sooo satisfying.

Just finished Medieval Philosophy. I most enjoyed reading about Ockam and Machiavelli. I think it’s interesting how religion influenced the period and how philosophers/theologians worked to work Plato and Aristotle into the Christian framework. Likewise, the competing theories on how and if God can be proven and perceived were cool.

I’ve finished reading about Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Though the book says that Aristotle has been the most influential, Plato’s philosophy was my favorite part. I’m kind of disappointed the whole copper/bronze blood thing wasn’t mentioned because I wanted a refresher from this author. But reading about the ideal state and the components of the soul was really interesting.

I finished the part about pre-Socratic philosophers. I’m really glad to have their views put into context because theories of a sphere called “Love” surrounded by “Strife” now sound utterly ridiculous. But I found Grayling’s disclaimer that, at the time, philosophers had nothing but their own generalized experiences to extrapolate onto the world useful. All to turn into the recognizable atomism theory.