Classics of Philosophy

By Louis P. Pojman and Lewis Vaughn

Book Overview

Incorporating the insights of new coeditor Lewis Vaughn, Classics of Philosophy, Third Edition, is the most comprehensive anthology of writings in Western philosophy in print. Spanning 2,500 years of thought, it is ideal for introduction to philosophy and history of philosophy courses. It features more than seventy selections by forty philosophers--along with fragments from the Pre-Socratics--offering students and instructors an extensive and economical collection of the major works of the Western tradition. This volume contains the most important writings from Thales to Rawls; twenty of these are complete works, while the others are judiciously abridged so that little of value to the student is lost. A lucid introduction, including a brief biographical sketch, accompanies each of the featured philosophers.

NEW TO THE THIRD EDITION:

* Selections from philosophers who were not included in the previous edition--Maimonides (Guide for the Perplexed) and Schopenhauer (The World as Will and Representation)--along with Kant's Critique of Pure Reason

* Expanded readings: Aristotle's Posterior Analytics, On the Soul, Metaphysics, and Nicomachean Ethics; Berkeley's Of the Principles of Human Knowledge; and Hume's Treatise on Human Nature

* Review questions for each chapter and illustrated portraits of many philosophers

* A Companion Website featuring resources for students (self-quizzes, flash cards, chapter review questions, a timeline, and helpful web links) and instructors (brief reading summaries, essay questions, test questions, and PowerPoint-based lecture slides)

Classics of Philosophy, Third Edition, provides students with an extensive view of the major stages of growth in Western philosophy--including its birth with the Pre-Socratics and its contemporary developments--in an accessible format and at an affordable price.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199737290
• ISBN13: 9780199737291
• Release Date: July 2010
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 1312 Pages
• Weight: 4.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 7.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

the only philosophy textbook you need

Select works of several prominent philosophers ranging from antiquity (Plato) to modern times (Bertrand Russel) are presented in a highly readable, user-friendly manner with concise notes from the authors explaining key concepts at the beginning of each larger section of text. Two-column layout makes it easy to find a passage. Explanations are very brief but informative. An overview of each philosopher and the context of his work is presented before his writing. Thin, non-glossy pages are readable in any lighting. Book is paperback and bulky, so covers will bend and corners will quickly deteriorate if the book travels at all. Because of the thickness, photocopying is impossible unless the spine is broken at the precise section to which one wishes to open the pages, but the pages are approximately the right size to fill a photocopied page without much "black space" if one is determined to do so.

Great

This is a massive and invaluable book for the student of philosophy. It has over twenty complete works of classical philosophy. Including many of the great works by Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kierkegaard, Hume, Mill and many, many more. And it also includes fragments from the presocratics and careful abridgments of over forty more works from a full spectrum of philosophers, ancient to modern. All of this comes in one large yet manageable volume. So it is ideal for a student or someone who wants a single volume philosophy reference. I highly recommend it.

A Good Text for An Introductory Course in Philosophy

I use this work as the sole text for my Survey of Philosophy course. Both the breadth and depth of the readings are impressive, and the book lends itself to any number of combinations of readings, which makes this work uniquely versatile in my experience as a philosophy professor.I also believe that the earlier reviewer was overly harsh in his disparagement of the introductions and summaries to each philosopher's work. While some of the introductions and summaries are indeed rather weak (although even these are generally adequate), others are quite good, and it is in any case the part of the instructor to guide students through these works. A novice instructor with insufficient background in the history of philosophy would indeed find this text difficult to use. The text is poorly edited in parts, with any number of rather glaring errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar, but these are minor when compared to the overall usefulness and versatility of this text.