A Little History of Philosophy (Little Histories)

A Little History of Philosophy offers a well-paced and accessible introduction to key philosophers and their ideas. Nigel Warburton presents complex concepts clearly and engagingly, making this an excellent book for anyone curious about philosophy, whether new to the subject or looking for a refresher.Each chapter focuses on a different thinker, giving just enough context and explanation to understand their main contributions without getting bogged down in jargon. The writing is concise but never dull, and the historical flow helps show how these ideas built upon one another over time.Highly recommended for readers who want to better understand the big questions that have shaped human thought.

The book is great, very entertaining. Short chapters make it easily digestible and the examples and analogies are clear for anyone to understand. It gives you a good overview of each philosopher without going into too much detail (which is kind of the point). The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because sometimes the author's personal opinions can be seen throughout the book in a way that slightly taints what the philosopher tries to express. It would be better if he were completely impartial and just stuck to what each philosopher thinks.

I love this philosophy book. My buddy and I got it to guide us in some armchair philosophy conversations. We're familiar with most of the people in here, and this just gives us some additional insight and reminders of the big items so we can better discuss them. It's well written and well organized. Incredibly easy to just pick up and flow through some of the philosophers.

This book provides a concise and illuminating history of philosophy. It is a sort of super Cliff Note, in that its 40 chapters cover 46 philosophers (Kant has two chapters) from Socrates to Peter Singer, and they are linked together over time. My own demographic is that of a retired but still curious civil servant who is still trying to catch up on the great span of my own life and learning. My only philosophy course at Yale was taught by the renowned Professor Rorty, and it was incomprehensible to me at the time. This book clarifies and organizes the course of western philosophy from its beginnings in readable chapters. The author is very articulate and even handed. Every one of these thinkers was controversial in their times, and the author notes and balances their thoughts with competing thoughts and shows how they were linked to each other and to the history of their respective times. I give copies of this book to friends, one of whom remarked that it would help him with his cocktail conversation for all time. This is true, but the book is much better than that!

This must be the best introductory book I could offer students to Western philosophy with, and I have read far too many of them. Warburton manages to grab some of the best insights of great philosophers, and bring them to the bloodflow of any intellectually curious reader outside of the narrow confines of contemporary philosophy. Very easy to read, and this covers quite a bit while managing to include a few people who are often unfortunately left out--especially Schopenhauer. People will nitpick on what is in and out of this, but we do get so much for under 300 pages and less than $15. I have fallen in love with this little book, and now I have to hurry up and find a way to include it in my classes. The Audible version (I bought both) made for a good road trip, too!

Considering this book is not intended to be a long in depth piece of literature, neither will my review. This book may be the greatest source of elementary knowledge as it relates to philosophy. At just over 240 pages of text, this book paints a brilliant picture of what philosophy was, is, and may become. With 40 chapters, making each about 6 pages in length, philosophy is briefly summarized through many different philosophers. Every chapter is clearly tied to the next, with mostly fluent transitions. My biggest gripe is that the book was simply to shallow for me personally, however the adequate references to specific works has allowed me to learn more at my own wish.

Buy your books used from Amazon. Theyre just roughed up enough as if you went and bought them from a library. Because they CAN come FROM a library! Im glad i got mine this way. Cheaper and not dirty, they come with joyous little surprises, helpful notes, and it's cute to see how helpful what's in your hands now, was to someone else then.. plus this book freakin slaps