Description

“Ten Great Works of Philosophy” contains an excellent set of introductory philosophy readings — with a little analysis by Robert Wolff — for an introductory philosophy class. Students are especially drawn to Socrates’ apology by Plato and by “An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding” by David Hume. They also like Descartes’ meditations and the pieces by John Stuart Mill and William James.

In its vast scope, this book presents the continuum of Western philosophy. Ranging from ancient Greece to nineteenth-century America, it traces the history of our civilization through the seminal works of its most influential thinkers. Each philosopher in this volume made intellectual history; each created a revolution in ideas; each reaffirmed man’s view of himself as a sentient being capable of creating order out of the baffling contradictions of existence. And the most powerful reflections and speculations of each are represented here.