This groundbreaking survey from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Will Durant chronicles the lives and ideas of key philosophical thinkers throughout history. Beginning with Plato and Aristotle, Durant offers lucid, accessible explanations of philosophers' contributions. He explores the legacy of Francis Bacon, Baruch Spinoza, Voltaire, Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, Herbert Spencer, and Friedrich Nietzsche. The last two chapters feature contemporary European philosophers Henri Bergson, Benedetto Croce, and Bertrand Russell as well as Americans George Santayana, William James, and John Dewey. The author builds a history of philosophy by showing how each thinker's ideas informed and influenced the next generation.
First published in 1926, The Story of Philosophy is essential reading for anyone fascinated by the development of Western philosophy.