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A History of Western Philosophy

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A History of Western Philosophy

By: Bertrand Russell
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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About this listen

Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy serves as the perfect introduction to its subject; it remains unchallenged as the greatest account of the history of Western thought. Charting philosophy's course from the pre-Socratics up to the early twentieth century, Russell relates each philosopher and school to their respective historical and cultural contexts, providing erudite commentary throughout his invaluable survey. This engaging and comprehensive work has done much to educate and inform generations of general readers; it is written in accessible and elegantly crafted prose and allows for an easy grasp of complex ideas.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©1945 Bertrand Russell (P)2013 Naxos AudioBooks History Philosophy Middle Ages Thought-Provoking Inspiring Funny Metaphysical Socialism Mathematics Morality Ancient History Capitalism
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Would you listen to A History of Western Philosophy again? Why?

This book came from Bertrand Russell's war time lectures in the US for the Barnes Foundation. Because they started out as lectures, it works well as an audio book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I particularly enjoyed the early chapters on Pythagoras and other pre-Socratic philosophers. Russell's characteristic wit shines through in many places, my favourite quote is his suggestion that Pythagoras was a mixture of Einstein and Mrs Eddy.

What about Jonathan Keeble’s performance did you like?

Well read.

Great set of lectures

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A beautiful summary of main philosophical ideas. Very well read. I bought the printed book first but found it too long. The audiobook allowed me to listen at times when I had to do manual jobs.

An amazing introductory book on philosophy

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If you could sum up A History of Western Philosophy in three words, what would they be?

History of thought.

What did you like best about this story?

The sheer scope of this work is more than I would have sat down to read, but listening to it and learning about the history of philosophy and how it helped build the way the West views the world, the universe, itself, culture, science and art is more than I expected.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

At 38 hours long, it would have taken some effort to listen to it one sitting. However, I did listen to it in large chunks of 4-6 hours at a time, which gives some idea of how interesting I found it.

Any additional comments?

This is the first of its kind that I have read, so is worth remembering it is Bertrand Russell's view and comes out of his own world view, though does well to treat fairly viewpoints that differ from his own. As far as sources go, Russell is excellent, but I would be curious how others have tackled the topic.

Staggering breadth of western thought

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Expertly addresses editorial biases created by political and religious overlaps. So well narrated that you forget that you are not reading the book yourself. Makes for a useful reference book in the future.

A complex story superbly told.

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Narration excellent, builds a good foundation, and followed chronologically, building understanding and in the end leaves you wanting more.

very long, but at the end I wanted more

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