Of course, no real philosopher is going to think 12 pages on Kant, no matter how lucid, are sufficient for an understanding of his work, but this book is more for the intelligent beginner than the seasoned expert.Īlas, ideas become more difficult to follow the closer we get to the present. Grayling may find a particular philosopher less than satisfactory, but he never fails to point out what is worth considering in each person’s work. Boethius has his turn, as does William of Ockham, and later, Spinoza, Locke, and Hume.

While the book is long - 600 pages, not including notes - philosophy itself is even longer, so the thinkers speed by. Grayling makes pre-Socratic philosophers such as Anaximander, Parmenides, and Anaxagoras feel unexpectedly relevant, and he concisely covers the Greek trinity of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, each of whom receives his own chapter. Grayling is in his new book, The History of Philosophy.

It’s surprisingly fun to immerse oneself in the tradition of Western philosophy, especially when the guide proves to be as thoughtful and clear-sighted as Oxford professor A.

Ac grayling the history of philosophy