“The author has given himself an immense task. He has carried it out admirably . . . he offers a book that is a pleasure to read: lucid, unpretentious, with a minimum of scholarly apparatus.”
― Teaching Philosophy (APA)
“Blumenau is strong in the areas where Russell [History of Western Philosophy] is weak, and includes thinkers who have something of interest to say on theological or political or ethical matters, regardless of whether or not they have an established place in the philosophical canon.”
― Philosophy Now
“The book is written in a lively, casual, and engaging style with which a lay audience can easily connect.”
― Metapsychology
“Consistently Blumenau reminds us that philosophical texts shoould not serve as the be-all and end-all: they should be starting points, ideological springboards that begin something new, autonomous and unexpected . . .Structuring the work in such a manner gives it an unusual vivacity and energy.”
— Michael Donkor ― Wadham College Gazette
About the Author
Ralph Blumenau was Head of the History Department at Malvern College. Since his retirement in 1985 he has taught the history of philosophy to senior citizens at the University of the Third Age in London.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction
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There have always been parts of philosophy which have been highly technical and so abstruse that only specialists could understand them. These features have their own importance; but the title of this book is intended to declare that it concerns itself mainly with those aspects of philosophy which have influenced the attitudes that people had towards their lives, towards each other and their society, towards their God, and towards the ethical problems that confronted them.
I am a historian by profession; I have taught history as a main subject, initially to sixth formers and now to retired people. I should describe myself as an amateur rather than a professional philosopher (as specialists in the subject may swiftly discover). But I have always taught philosophy as an important component of history; and although I have of course grappled with its technical as well as with the wider issues, it is the latter which have always interested me most; and it is not surprising that my classes have also always shown the greatest interest in those aspects which do touch on contemporary concerns. The students have not always immediately seen the relevance to contemporary issues of problems raised by philosophers in the past. So I have found that it has been helpful for me to have specifically raised this relevance.
This book is the result of that experience. I have selected mainly those aspects of the history of ideas which have something to say to our present pre- occupations; and I have proceeded, as I do in my classes, in a chronological fashion. I am interested in all those figures in the past who have contributed to shape the thought of their time and of later ages; and I do not draw the sharp distinction that professionals do between philosophers, theologians, scientists, psychologists and even political propagandists. I set out to expound the ideas of a particular thinker; I then invite discussion of the material and especially of how it relates to issues that are still alive today. Over the last five years I have tape-recorded these discussions, and the special feature of this book is that their reflections and mine, set in from the margin and in a different type, interrupt the exposition.
The topics I have chosen are selective, and the book does not purport to give a comprehensive account of the thinkers with whom I deal.
As a historian I am well aware that it is dangerous to read present concerns into an interpretation of the past. I dare say that the same danger exists in philosophy: perhaps the thinkers of the past, were they alive today, would be puzzled by what I may have occasionally read into them. But philosophers, like other figures from the past, have no control over the effect their thoughts and actions would have in later years. The historian must be interested, not only in what an idea meant to a character in the past, but also in how that idea has been interpreted by later generations. I try to be fair to the original context of an idea; but I must admit that what fascinates me most is the potency of some ideas down the ages. If I have unwittingly falsified the former, I must crave the indulgence of the professional philosophers and theologians.
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