Wow! eBook
A Little History of Philosophy
Author(s): Nigel Warburton (Author)
- Publisher: Yale University Press
- Publication Date: May 13, 2025
- Language: English
- Print length: 272 pages
- ISBN-10: 0300283261
- ISBN-13: 9780300283266
Book Description
Philosophy begins with the nature of reality and how we should live. These were the concerns of Socrates, who spent his days in the ancient Athenian marketplace asking awkward questions, disconcerting the people he met by showing them just how little they genuinely understood.
This engaging Little History introduces the great thinkers in Western philosophy and explores their most compelling ideas about the universe and our place in it. Nigel Warburton guides us on a tour of the lives and work of thought-provoking philosophers – from the certainty of Descartes (‘I think, therefore I am’) to Hannah Arendt who examined crimes against humanity and taught us ‘the banality of evil’.
Little Histories – Inspiring Guides for Curious Minds
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Forty short chapters offer an informative, clear guide to forty major Western philosophers. Warburton’s casual, conversational style belies the erudition that has gone into his book.”—Katie Owen,
Sunday Telegraph“This brisk primer is, for the neophyte, a good place to start immersing oneself in the history of Western thought.”—
Publishers Weekly“A charming read.”—
Christian Century“The book has a certain quality that comes from accepting a challenge under severe conditions, then taking it on without making a big deal of the whole thing. And the word for that quality is grace.”—Scott McLemee,
Inside Higher Ed“With this sweeping and enjoyable work the author affirms that deliberating on reality and questioning how our lives are best lived is still worth the trouble.”—
PopMatters“If you are looking for a book about philosophy, Nigel Warburton’s
A Little History of Philosophy is the place to begin. . . . Accessible, funny and informative.”—Sacramento News and Review“This book is a little classic.”—Merryn Williams,
Oxford Times“A tour of the major ideas and thinkers in the history of philosophy, nicely presented in 40 brief chapters.”—
The Bookseller“Warburton packs a heck of a lot in to what is something of a Goldilocks volume: neither too much nor too little, the exegesis neither too thin or too thick and lumpy, his
Little History can be consumed as a nourishing treat in its own right or provide the perfect fuel to kick-start anyone’s journey into philosophy.”—Julian Baggini, The Observer“The magic of Nigel Warburton’s book is its disarming accessibility. It closely follows the template of
A Little History of the World—Ernst Gombrich’s 1935 introductory text for children, recently translated by Yale—and Warburton is the ideal shout for a writer to match Gombrich’s terse charm and easy authority. Anyone who’s enjoyed Warburton’s brilliant podcast series Philosophy Bites, where he and fellow demystifier David Edmonds half-nelson academics into spelling out their theories, will know he has a special gift for defusing complexity.”—Chris Brown, Time Out“Nigel Warburton takes the reader on a journey through the history of Western philosophy, in a highly accessible way. . . . Illuminating, informative and most of all enjoyable.”—Mary Lussiana,
Country & Town House (Books of the Year)“A primer in human existence: philosophy has rarely seemed so lucid, so important, so worth doing and so easy to enter into. It’s refreshing to see the subject presented in terms of the history of ideas rather than of timeless concepts. A wonderful introduction for anyone who’s ever felt curious about almost anything.”—Sarah Bakewell, author of
How To Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer“A lively and eye-catching book, written in an easy style which should have splendid appeal for a young audience.”—Peter Cave, author of
Can a Robot be Human?: 33 Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles
