Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers

Rating:
Summary: Useful Overview for the Patient Reader
Review: Frost's book is a chronological parade of Western philosophers, exhibiting their wares along the most important philosophic themes that have absorbed man's thinking throughout history: nature of the universe, man's place in the world, ethics, God, fate vs. free will, soul and immortality, state, education, mind, and origin of ideas.

The book is useful both as an historical overview of philosophy and as a comparative tool for self-examination of one's own thinking by all armchair philosophers. Having gone through the comparative exercise, I end up largely aligned with the modern view: For all practical purposes, a real, tangible universe exists separate from man's existence, and concepts like soul, mind and God are more matters of faith than subject to any rigorous scientific proof. On moral guidance, I find value in Kant's "categorical imperative" that individuals should act in accordance with principles they would similarly prefer others heed to. Based on the fundamental likeness of all humans, I believe that core moral decisions (right vs. wrong, good vs. bad) are more universal than the "relativist" modern view generally admits. At the same time, I relish the richness that social and political freedom to pursue individual talents brings to our world.

The organization of the book along themes in philosophy is best suited to those who wish to explore just one or perhaps a few of the topics. Reading the entire work in the order presented (as the author suggests) proves to be a somewhat tedious exercise, since the basic thinking of prominent philosophers (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Leibnitz, Kant, Dewey) is presented many times over, with each philosopher donning a costume only slightly different each time he marches by in successive chapters. Awkwardly, the reader is left on his own to assemble the fragments and reconstruct the "whole" of any single philosopher's thinking. A summary chart cross-referencing philosophers and their stance on the key philosophic themes would enhance the pedagogical cohesiveness of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Useful Overview for the Patient Reader
Review: Frost's book is a chronological parade of Western philosophers, exhibiting their wares along the most important philosophic themes that have absorbed man's thinking throughout history: nature of the universe, man's place in the world, ethics, God, fate vs. free will, soul and immortality, state, education, mind, and origin of ideas.

The book is useful both as an historical overview of philosophy and as a comparative tool for self-examination of one's own thinking by all armchair philosophers. Having gone through the comparative exercise, I end up largely aligned with the modern view: For all practical purposes, a real, tangible universe exists separate from man's existence, and concepts like soul, mind and God are more matters of faith than subject to any rigorous scientific proof. On moral guidance, I find value in Kant's "categorical imperative" that individuals should act in accordance with principles they would similarly prefer others heed to. Based on the fundamental likeness of all humans, I believe that core moral decisions (right vs. wrong, good vs. bad) are more universal than the "relativist" modern view generally admits. At the same time, I relish the richness that social and political freedom to pursue individual talents brings to our world.

The organization of the book along themes in philosophy is best suited to those who wish to explore just one or perhaps a few of the topics. Reading the entire work in the order presented (as the author suggests) proves to be a somewhat tedious exercise, since the basic thinking of prominent philosophers (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Leibnitz, Kant, Dewey) is presented many times over, with each philosopher donning a costume only slightly different each time he marches by in successive chapters. Awkwardly, the reader is left on his own to assemble the fragments and reconstruct the "whole" of any single philosopher's thinking. A summary chart cross-referencing philosophers and their stance on the key philosophic themes would enhance the pedagogical cohesiveness of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Views that are now outdated, but still a great introduction
Review: I read this book about four to six years ago, when I was still in grade school, and this book pretty much got me started on the track of the study of philosophy. It provides a pretty good overview about all of the beliefs of each of the big names under each topic (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Hobbes, Locke, Kant, Hegel, including many others), which are conveniently divided for, what was for me, easy reading.

Make a note though: some of the views outlined in this book are now considered outdated views of the philosophers. This book was last revised in 1962, so it should not take one much thinking to realize that. Right now in philosophy, there are new interpretations of philosophers like Immanuel Kant and Hegel being brought forth by today's professors of philosophy. Nonetheless, I think this is a great way to introduce oneself to philosophy; however, be careful not to make the mistake of calling the views within the book the authoritative views.

Rating:
Summary: Views that are now outdated, but still a great introduction
Review: I read this book about four to six years ago, when I was still in grade school, and this book pretty much got me started on the track of the study of philosophy. It provides a pretty good overview about all of the beliefs of each of the big names under each topic (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Hobbes, Locke, Kant, Hegel, including many others), which are conveniently divided for, what was for me, easy reading.

Make a note though: some of the views outlined in this book are now considered outdated views of the philosophers. This book was last revised in 1962, so it should not take one much thinking to realize that. Right now in philosophy, there are new interpretations of philosophers like Immanuel Kant and Hegel being brought forth by today's professors of philosophy. Nonetheless, I think this is a great way to introduce oneself to philosophy; however, be careful not to make the mistake of calling the views within the book the authoritative views.

Rating:
Summary: The best single volume reference on philosophy
Review: I've read this volume cover-to-cover at least three times over the last two decades. In fact, I wonder if I was really all that well educated before I found it. Inspite of the fact that I was a university honors graduate I found that this book covered a whole universe of new ideas for me. Perhaps this is because I majored in one of the physical sciences and almost everything covered was from the narrow viewpoint of materialism and logical positivism.

I especially enjoyed the organization of the book. Each chapter covers a major topic: the nature of the universe; man's place in the universe; what is good and evil; the nature of god; fate versus free will; the soul and immortality; man and the state; man and education; mind and matter; ideas and thinking; and recent approaches to philosophy. The individual philosophers, from classical to modern, addressing the issue are listed right under the chapter heading, then each of their arguements is presented in order. You can't help but start to compare them- to start thinking for yourself at a significant level.

Since first reading this volume I've gone on to read more detailed works by the philosophers who appealed more to me such as Plato and Schopenhauer. Indeed, this book opened a whole intellectual world to me that my public university education totally ignored. I find myself wondering if a life lived without serious reflection of the topics presented here is really a life worth living....

Rating:
Summary: the BEST philo. overview (nutshell)
Review: i've used this book throughout my philosophy education, and it is the best nutshell you can get on virtually every major western Philosopher. not a replacement for org. writings, but a great "basics" to give understanding to what you are studying.

Rating:
Summary: A Comprehensive But Dry Reference
Review: If you are in search of a handy reference work that gives fundamental summaries of the main theories of western philosophy, this book functions adequately. Most of the major philosophers, or at least the major philosophical movements in history, are consulted for their theories on fundamental questions. These include the basic college course stuff like the nature of the universe, good vs. evil, free will, and the like. The thinkers covered stretch from Plato, Aristotle and the other Greek immortals, to the lesser ancient schools, on through the middle ages to relatively recent philosophers such as Kant and Spinoza. A useful bonus is a biographical paragraph in the appendix on every thinker whose work is used in the book. The only flaw with this book is that it was written by a professor back in 1942, and is presented in the dry, humorless, and didactically professional writing style that prevailed in that day.

Rating:
Summary: Christians stay away from this book.
Review: S.E. Frost is either highly misinformed on Christian matters, or a liar. He states that we have never been able to answer the problem of evil and sin, which we have. He declares that we do not know who created the devil, and we do. He does have a couple of gems in the book, but if you are a Christian, or atleast open to truths, even the ones you don't like. I believe they would be better found elsewhere.