For readers of E. H. Gombrich's A Little History of the World, an
equally irresistible volume that brings history's greatest philosophers
to life
"A primer in human existence: philosophy has rarely seemed so lucid,
so important, so worth doing and so easy to enter into. . . . 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
Philosophy begins with questions about 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 how little they genuinely understood.
This engaging book introduces the great thinkers in Western philosophy
and explores their most compelling ideas about the world and how best to
live in it.
In forty brief chapters, Nigel Warburton guides us on a chronological
tour of the major ideas in the history of philosophy. He provides
interesting and often quirky stories of the lives and deaths of
thought-provoking philosophers from Socrates, who chose to die by
hemlock poisoning rather than live on without the freedom to think for
himself, to Peter Singer, who asks the disquieting philosophical and
ethical questions that haunt our own times.
Warburton not only makes philosophy accessible, he offers inspiration to
think, argue, reason, and ask in the tradition of Socrates. A Little
History of Philosophy presents the grand sweep of humanity's search for
philosophical understanding and invites all to join in the discussion.
