The History of Philosophy

“A witty learned authoritative survey of philosophical thought.” (The New York Times Book Review) The first authoritative and accessible single-volume history of philosophy to cover both Western and Eastern traditions from one of the world’s most eminent thinkers The story of philosophy is an epic tale spanning civilizations and continents. It explores some of the most creative minds in history. But not since the long-popular classic by Bertrand Russell A History of Western Philosophy published in 1945 has there been a comprehensive and entertaining single-volume history of this great intellectual world-shaping journey. With characteristic clarity and elegance A. C. Grayling takes the listener from the age of the Buddha Confucius and Socrates through Christianity’s capture of the European mind from the Renaissance and Enlightenment on to Mill Nietzsche Sartre and finally philosophy today. Surveying in tandem the great philosophical traditions of India China and the Persian-Arabic world and astonishing in its range and accessibility Grayling’s The History of Philosophy is destined to be a landmark work.