History of Philosophy

by Frederick Charles Copleston

Book Overview

Conceived originally as a serious presentation of the development of philosophy for Catholic seminary students, Frederick Copleston's nine-volume A History Of Philosophy has journeyed far beyond the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385016336
• ISBN13: 9780385016339
• Release Date: September 1963
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Volume 4: The Birth of the Modern

Volume I of this series covers the pre-Christian philosophies of Greece and Rome, while Volumes II and III are devoted to Medieval and Scholastic philosophers. (I have, for the moment, jumped over those last two). Volumes IV, V, and VI cover "modern" philosophy from Descartes through Kant, and this volume (Volume IV) has a special treat at the beginning. There is a fascinating, well-written introduction which is actually an introduction to Volumes IV, V, and VI --- and is therefore a brilliant 62-page essay on everything from Descartes to Kant. Naturally, it's a bird's-eye overview, but it is the first thing I have ever read which actually made me feel I understood Kant! (When in college, I made a serious blunder and just went and bought "The Critique of Pure Reason" and sat down and tried to read it! :-) 30 pages later, I abandoned my foolish task with a bad headache!) Volume IV covers Descartes, Pascal, Spinoza, and Leibniz. As usual, the discussion and illustrations are excellent.

Excellent

Fr. Copleston is a treasure. Initially, he wrote these books of history to better a seminarian's understanding of philosophy, but his influence now goes beyond the classroom. Thank God!

The Best Introduction to Philosophy Ever!

Copleston's series, "The History of Philosophy", is quite possibly the best introduction to the history of philosophical thought that has ever been published and certainly the best currently in print. You will be hard pressed to find a better collection of solid philosophical surveys in one place. The beauty of the series is that Copleston has clearly done his research on each period and each thinker of Western philosophy. I cannot recommend this series any more highly. It is a must-have collection for anyone who is a scholar (professional or casual) of philosophy, theology or any of the arts. If this isn't on your bookshelf, it should be!

Comprehensive and enlightening

I read the whole series nine volumes twice. Being a business major in school I didnot have any true understanding of philosophy, but this book really got me interested and I started reading on philosophy. I definitely recommand it for anyone interested in serious reading.

Great

This series is great. I have been reading the series over the past 3 years at irregular intervals. I am over halfway finished. It has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.