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    Cover of The Story of Philosophy

    The Story of Philosophy

    Will Durant, Du Shu Xin Wen She · 1926

    A brilliant and concise account of the lives and ideas of the great philosophers--Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Kant, Schopenhauer, Spencer, Nietzsche, Bergson, Croce, Russell, Santayana, James, and Dewey--The Story of Philosophy is one of the great books of our time. Few write for the non-specialist as well as Will Durant, and this book is a splendid example of his eminently readable scholarship. Durant's insight and wit never cease to dazzle; The Story of Philosophyis a key book for any reader who wishes to survey the history and development of philosophical ideas in the Western world.

    Philosophy
    Open LibraryAmazon
    Stats for nerds
    22recommend
    43mentions
    38people
    2010–2026years
    58% recommend40% neutral2% critical

    Mentions per year

    201020122014201620182020202220242026

    What Hacker News says

    1. lovelearningJul 2023
      I started with "The Story of Philosophy" by Will Durant. It introduced me to the high-level strands and terms in philosophy by studying the works of eminent philosophers.
      thread
    2. qnttyDec 2020
      The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant is a good if slightly outdated intro. I also read Sophie's World and would recommend reading that first, but you can skip it if you don't want to read fiction.

      If you want something that talks purely about ideas without reference to the famous names, Bertrand Russell's book The Problems of Philosophy is also good. It give a very good overview of the major questions that philosophy keeps coming back to without dwelling too much on the history of the different answers. He also gives his own opinions on some of these issues, but you don't have to take that too seriously.

      thread
    3. sonabinuDec 2020
      I would also recommend the 'Story of Philosophy' for an introduction to western philosophical thought.
      thread
    4. andreilysDec 2020
      I really enjoyed Story of Philosophy by Will Durant, which covers the following philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Kant, Schopenhauer, Spencer, Nietzsche, Bergson, Croce, Russell, Santayana, James, and Dewey.

      https://www.amazon.com/Story-Philosophy-Opinions-Greatest-Ph...

      thread
    5. kylewinsDec 2020
      Will Durant The Story of Philosophy is probably the best intro book to philosophy I have read
      thread
    6. SubGeniusOct 2020
      I found these Wheaton college lectures[0] by Arthur Holmes a while back and watched through them a couple times. And then picked up books depending on what I liked.

      Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy[1] was also useful as a summary and a starting point to go read philosophers that sounded interesting.

      [0] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yat0ZKduW18&list=PL9GwT4_YRZ...

      [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEK4A9hrVjQ&list=PLez3PPtnpn...

      thread

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