Philosophy and Philosophers
An Introduction to Western Philosophy
Description
Whether John Shand is discussing the slow separation of philosophy and theology in Augustine, Aquinas and Ockham, the rise of rationalism, British empiricism, German idealism, or the new approaches opened up by Russell, Sartre, and Wittgenstein, he combines succinct but insightful exposition with crisp critical comment. This new edition will continue to provide students with a valuable work of initial reference.
Reviews
"Shand writes with great clarity and simplicity, with sparing use of jargon. His methods will make it easy for beginners to identify a plausible outline of what is going on in a particular philosopher's arguments, so that they can go on to other books for more detail and for presentation of the problems with some usable idea of which way is up. A useful addition to the first-year reading list." Philosophical Quarterly "A concise and readily surveyable account of the history of Western philosophy . . . it succeeds in being both an illuminating introduction to the history of philosophy for someone who has little prior knowledge of the subject and a valuable source of guidance to the more experienced student." Times Literary Supplement "Succeeds in nimbly tying autonomous episodes of Western thought into a coherent whole ... the selected philosophers and their work are examined rigorously and evenhandedly, including explanations of the standard objections and counterarguments." Philosophical Books