The Examined Life: Readings from Western Philosophers from Plato to Kant - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375405011 ISBN 13: 9780375405013

Publisher: Random House Reference, 2000

Synopsis

What did Plato contribute to the philosophy of art? What do Pascal's Pensees really say? Everyone knows the names of these philosophers, but few really understand the ideas at the core of western philosophy.

In this treasury of western thought, the primary sources speak for themselves. Over 35 excerpts from important philosophers -- including Aristotle and Hume, as well as contemporary thinkers -- offer a solid introduction to philosophy for the curious reader.

Leading scholars have carefully chosen the selections, which are arranged according to major discipline, including Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics, and Metaphysics. These experts have contributed a provocative introductions in their areas of expertise.

Unlike other philosophy collections, this book is not a history, a secondary source, or a quick reference. It stands out as an intelligent and accessible compilation of primary source material.

About this title

Review:

Perhaps you haven't the time for a cover-to-cover read of Plato's Republic, Pascal's Pensées, and Machiavelli's The Prince, let alone Aristotle's Politics, Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, and Maimondides' Guide for the Perplexed. You're familiar with the names Schiller, Kant, and Hobbes, but you haven't actually gotten around to reading their works. But that doesn't mean you wouldn't like to sample the writings of the sages, be conversant with their philosophical styles, and know what they have to say. Towards that end, Stanley Rosen has done a great service for the scholarly minded but time-challenged seekers of wisdom.

The Borden Parker Bowne Professor of Philosophy at Boston University, the Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus at Penn State University, and a past president of the Metaphysical Society of America, Rosen is eminently versed in all things philosophical, and as such he's already written 13 books, including Hermeneutics as Politics, The Question of Being, and Plato's Symposium. The Examined Life, however, is unusual in that it's geared towards the amateur scholar of philosophy. Rosen and a team of distinguished scholars selected 35 excerpts from 23 of the Western world's great philosophers, including Plato and Aristotle, Descartes and Rousseau, Hegel and Nietzsche, Kant and Wittgenstein. He then arranged the excerpts by discipline: "Social and Political Philosophy," "Philosophy of Religion," "Philosophy of Art and Culture," "Metaphysics," "Epistemology," and "Philosophy of Science." And for each section, an expert editor has written a provocative introduction offering insight and perspective into the philosophers' works. Rosen writes, "My intention has been to introduce the intelligent nonspecialist to the universality, but also to the urgency, of philosophy." If you seek such an introduction to Western philosophy, or a recap of what you learned years ago but have long since forgotten, Rosen's anthology is a thoughtful, readable, and well-organized place to start. --Stephanie Gold

About the Author:

Stanley Rosen is Borden Parker Bowne Professor of Philosophy at Boston University. He is author of twelve books on philosophy, as well as numerous articles, and he lectures widely throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Reference
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0375405011
• ISBN 13: 9780375405013
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 656
• Editor: Rosen Stanley