BCF (#27) - The Great Philosophers

eldergill (52)in #bookclub • 6 years ago

The Great Philosophers is a book that condenses the life and theory of 12 famous philosophers from a range of era's and backgrounds.

About the Authors (Editors)

Ray Monk

Prof.-Ray-Monk.jpg

Ray Monk is a British philosopher that was born on15 February 1957. He is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton, where he has taught since 1992. He has published award-winning biographies of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell. And in the book, he gives his account on the life and teachings of Bertrand Russell.

Frederic Raphael

Writer, critic and broadcaster, Frederic Raphael was educated at Charterhouse School and at St John's College, Cambridge. He has written several screenplays and fifteen novels. His The Glittering Prizes was one of the major British and American television successes of the 1970s.

A little bit about the book

The Great Philosophers is a great book for those who want a brief summary of a handful of the most influential philosophers. I think it is fantastic because when studying philosophy, it is easy to find that you much prefer some rather than others. This may be due to the subject that they dedicated their life towards, Eg:

Bertrand Russell and Mathematics
Rene Descartes and the connection between Mind and Body
Karl Marx and politics.

This is great because you can get a feel for what makes a philosopher tick, and what their primary interests and habits were. What is great is that the philosophers vary from a variety of era's also, and some influence the others quite greatly... Socrates had a great effect on Plato's thinking and the way he thought who then had a great impact on Descartes and his form of modern philosophy. These 3 accounts are straight after the other so it flows nicely.

I did find, however, when reading certain philosophers work such as Bertrand Russell, it was more of a chore because although very interesting as a person, I have little personal interest in much to do with Mathematics and the idea behind it from an empirical or theoretical perspective. What is good to note is that it became very apparent to me that most of the philosophers took a real interest in Science and Mathematics as their areas of study. Which makes sense because it takes a lot of theory and contemplation to make sense and advancement in the subjects. In fact, Spinoza would say that Science + Superstition = Advancement.

Along with the scientists and mathematicians, the group that I found particularly interesting were those such as Wittgenstein (Human Nature), Alan Turing, (Philosophy applied to Human thinking - Leading to Computer Science) Karl Marx (Freedom) and Rene Descartes (on Mind + Body). It shows the variety of philosophy and how exciting it can actually be. Also, it is great to know more about the philosophers themselves instead of simply just knowing their name.

There are a number of influential Philosophers that were not included in the book, but I think that the philosophers mentioned are some of the most famous, and this book is a great start to getting to understand their work and who they were as people.

I'd recommend the book to anyone curious about philosophy.

Take Care and Be Exceptional

Adam x