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The first major single-author narrative of the history of philosophy for several decades Reveals the origins of many modern ideas and issues Perfect for undergraduate use Written for anyone who wants to learn about the intellectual development of mankind--no prior knowledge of philosophy assumed Brings to life the great minds of the past Kenny is the perfect author: the only person who has made major contributions to the study of ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary philosophy This book is no less than a guide to the whole of Western philosophy--the ideas that have undergirded our civilization for two-and-a-half thousand years. Anthony Kenny tells the story of philosophy from ancient Greece through the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment into the modern world. He introduces us to the great thinkers and their ideas, starting with Plato, Aristotle, and the other founders of Western thought. In the second part of the book he takes us through a thousand years of medieval philosophy, and shows us the rich intellectual legacy of Christian thinkers like Augustine, Aquinas, and Ockham. Moving into the early modern period, we explore the great works of Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Leibniz, Spinoza, Hume, and Kant, which remain essential reading today. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Hegel, Mill, Nietzsche, Freud, and Wittgenstein again transformed the way we see the world. Running though the book are certain themes which have been constant concerns of philosophy since its early beginnings: the fundamental questions of what exists and how we can know about it; the nature of humanity, the mind, truth, and meaning; the place of God in the universe; how we should live and how society should be ordered. Anthony Kenny traces the development of these themes through the centuries: we see how the questions asked and answers offered by the great philosophers of the past remain vividly alive today. Anyone interested in ideas and their history will find this a fascinating and stimulating read. About The Author Sir Anthony Kenny has been President of the British Academy, and Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford. He has written many books on the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of religion, and the history of philosophy, including both scholarly and popular works on Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, and Wittgenstein. Table Of Contents Part I: Ancient Philosophy 1: Beginnings: From Pythagoras to Plato 2: Schools of Thought: From Aristotle to Augustine 3: Argument and Reason: Logic 4: Knowledge and its Limits 5: How Things Happen: Physics 6: What There Is: Metaphysics 7: Soul and Mind 8: How to Live: Ethics 9: God Part II: Medieval Philosophy 10: Philosophy and Faith: Augustine to Maimonides 11: The Schoolmen: From the Twelfth Century to the Renaissance 12: Logic and Language 13: Knowledge 14: Physics 15: Metaphysics 16: Mind and Soul 17: Ethics 18: God Part III: The Rise of Modern Philosophy 19: Sixteenth-Century Philosophy 20: Descartes to Berkeley 21: Hume to Hegel 22: Knowledge 23: Physics 24: Metaphysics 25: Mind and Soul 26: Ethics 27: Political Philosophy 28: God Part IV: Philosophy in the Modern World 29: From Bentham to Nietzsche 30: From Peirce to Strawson 31: From Freud to Derrida 32: Logic 33: Language 34: Epistemology 35: Metaphysics 36: Philosophy of Mind 37: Ethics 38: Aesthetics 39: Politics 40: God Chronology