The History of Philosophy
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The History of Philosophy
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Narrated by:
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Neil Gardner
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By:
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A. C. Grayling
About this listen
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The History of Philosophy written by A.C. Grayling, read by Neil Gardner.
The story of philosophy is an epic tale: an exploration of the ideas, views and teachings of some of the most creative minds known to humanity. But since the long-popular classic Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy, first published in 1945, there has been no comprehensive and entertaining, single-volume history of this great intellectual journey.
With his characteristic clarity and elegance A. C. Grayling takes the reader from the world-views and moralities before the age of the Buddha, Confucius and Socrates, through Christianity's dominance of the European mind to the Renaissance and Enlightenment, and on to Mill, Nietzsche, Sartre, and philosophy today. And, since the story of philosophy is incomplete without mention of the great philosophical traditions of India, China and the Persian-Arabic world, he gives a comparative survey of them too.
Intelligible for students and eye-opening for philosophy readers, he covers epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, logic, the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of language, political philosophy and the history of debates in these areas of enquiry, through the ideas of the celebrated philosophers as well as less well-known influential thinkers. He also asks what we have learnt from this body of thought, and what progress is still to be made.
The first authoritative and accessible single-volume history of philosophy for decades, remarkable for its range and clarity, this is a landmark work.
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What listeners say about The History of Philosophy
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- E
- 20-09-24
Abysmal delivery ruins great book
Awful mispronunciation throughout does a disservice to a fine writer. Such a shame. Had to give up after a while. Just too jarring.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- avidreader
- 11-01-20
Excellent content.. Audible should sort navigation
Audible need to add detailed chapter headings (chapter no.s only) otherwise you can’t navigate through the 28 hours of Grayling’s excellent content.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alan Johnson
- 28-03-21
Excellent introduction to Anglophone philosophy
An excellent introduction to Anglophone philosophy and it's roots and extensions written by a participant observer.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Howard8754
- 16-05-24
Very Clear and concise.
Complicated idea are clearly explained. The performance was brilliant! The book is thoughtfully set out and the more significant figures are given more time. Thanks
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- George Luff
- 18-01-23
Extensive but a long haul
I could have done without the American accents - they added nothing and no other philosophers needed an accent e.g Aristotle wasn't read in a pastiche of Zorba the Greek. Reading speed a bit fast for such dense material. Otherwise comprehensive.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Horley, G
- 04-09-20
A daunting task well executed
For a lay reader the scope and substance of this book is impressive. The book engenders the same feelings of awe as books on fundamental physics or cosmology.
Inevitably the subject has its own technical jargon and some concepts and lines of reasoning were difficult to follow. This should however not be taken as a criticism of the book.
I hope my own vocabulary will have been extended through listening to the work!
Philosophy I now realise regards itself as providing a superset for all realms of thought, even religious thought.
The book has provided me with a varied and substantial entree to the subject. While some of the fare presented was barely intelligible, generally I have been encouraged to seek to examine my own life further. If this is the mission of the writer, the the book is a success.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matthew Holmes
- 10-10-19
A great introduction to philosophy
A great book. As a novice in philosophy, I found it very informative and digestible. It is a long book, but given the content, I guess it has to be.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kieran McLoughlin
- 02-03-21
A great entry into the subject.
After wishing to get into a comprehensive study into philosophy after watching various explanations of certain kinds, I decided to take the punt and try this very comprehensive overview of western philosophy as it originated (at least in text) all the way to our current ways of thinking. Overall, while the dives into the many different philosophies on view here can be and in many ways are understandably complex. I don't blame the author on this aspect. Philosophy is a complex and heavy subject in its own right. As such, there's only so much you can elaborate and explain in this respect. In all, if you want a comprehensive explanation to all things western philosophy, this is absolutely the book for you. The narrator performs quite well (though I wasn't so sure on his rare ventures to the American accent) and I respect the authors unwillingness to delve too far into philosophy beyond the west due to not being as well versed on these philosophies. I would like him to perhaps colloborate with academics who specialise in these philosophies so they could receive the same treatment. In all, a very good read.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Proinsias Ó B
- 12-07-24
Excellent grand sweep - let down by slew of mispronunciations
First off, Grayling’s work is clear, concise and easily absorbable as an audio book. It is possible to come away feeling one has been immersed in, and received a good basic education in philosophy. BUT, the narrator mispronounced so many names of continental philosophers that I was left cringing, wincing and had a sinking feeling about the overall quality of the product. Can’t be that difficult to have quality control for audiobook recordings?
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mick
- 28-06-21
Incredible concise history of philosophy
I don't have a a deep knowledge of philosophy as some of the other reviewers clearly have. but in my own opinion this is quite clearly an incredible book in what in manages to achieve. the narrator is one of the best I've come across also. A book to be read and re read and infinitum, there is just so much information here.
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