History of philosophy...

Which version of the history of philosophy would you all recommend? I'm looking at options from Canadian, Kalin, Bazati, or Windelband—any thoughts?

The history of philosophy is Hegel, which means you really only have two choices: start with him or end with him.

🙂 🙂 🙂

Coplestone.
Sadly (as far as I know), only the first two volumes have been translated into English—Greek philosophy and medieval philosophy. Though, "medieval philosophy" might be a bit too broad for you... what are you actually looking for? But man, they’re great, definitely recommend them. (Maybe the others were published later, like after the nineties, so they aren't sitting on our library shelves anymore?)

I did a quick search for Copleston, and it looks like our local libraries carry five volumes.

I’m pretty new to the world of philosophy—and based on what people are saying, I probably ought to start by diving into its history. Which era would you suggest I tackle first? I'm hoping to find a starting point that keeps me hooked rather than burning me out early on.

Einstein said:I checked for Oxford at my local library and they've got 5 volumes on it.

I'm totally new to philosophy, and everyone keeps telling me I need to dive into the history of it first. Which era should I actually start with if I don't want to burn out and lose interest immediately?

The Greeks, obviously. Start from the jump. If you're a total newbie, maybe try Nietzsche's 'Philosophy in a Tragic Age'—it’s a blast, or at least it was for me. It's short and sweet.
And honestly, I don't think you even have to slog through history right away. You've got that brilliant book by Thomas Nagel, 'what does that all mean', where he just jumps straight into the problems without all the historical baggage. Once you actually get the core issues down, it'll be way easier to see what those old-school philosophers were actually trying to get at. Then you can circle back to the history later. That book is pretty quick too, highly recommend it to everyone.
If you're dead serious about doing the history thing, then go with Oxford, Greek Philosophy—but man, that's a massive undertaking.

Einstein said:Which "History of Philosophy" would you all recommend to me? Should I go with Canadian, Kalin, Bazati, or Windelband?

In my estimation, Abagnano and Russell are the superior choices, though I must point out that while Russell occasionally spouts absolute nonsense, his ability to explain complex concepts is nothing short of brilliant.👍

Russell is, if nothing else, a walking encyclopedia of entertaining anecdotes.

Thanks everyone. I'll definitely try to put your advice to use.

A good history of philosophy serves as a compass, and honestly, it often offers much more than just basic orientation.

In your opinion, what’s the absolute best history of philosophy out there?

I never get bored restarting from Thales and moving forward.

Here’s a list of some works I've come across (varying in importance):
-----------------------------------------------
Bazali - in 3 volumes
Hegel - in 3 volumes
A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Western Wisdom
Copleston - in 5 or more volumes
Windelband - in 2 volumes
Kalin - for students
Praxis Anthology
Praxis - anthology of philosophical texts
Standard textbooks
A Short History of Ideas by B. Magee
A Short History of Ideas
Zelić Guide
B. Bošnjak - History of Philosophy in 3 Volumes
-------------------------------------------------

Russell is clear, engaging, and fun to read, but he is incredibly biased. He has no love for Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Socrates, or Rousseau, and he didn't even bother mentioning Kierkegaard. He can't stand anything vague or linguistically sharp. He dislikes Heidegger, and there are contemporary thinkers he hasn't even heard of. He leans heavily toward the empiricists and Leibniz.

Bazali is Kantian, but surprisingly good.

Hegel is a bit muddled, but at least he's decent when covering the pre-Socratics.

Since I tend to follow Hegel and I'm a fan of the Praxis followers, I've never actually held B. Bošnjak's History of Philosophy in my hands. I have this nagging suspicion that it might be the gold standard. Is it? Is it really worth dropping $500$200 on it?

earlier thread: History of Western Philosophy

Alright, I’m moving this topic over since there was already an old thread floating around somewhere.

I see a comment up above claiming that Canadian is biased.

In what way, though?
Is he just steering everything toward Marxism and those kinds of principles?

If that’s the only issue, then I don't think he's all that bad. Honestly, most accounts of the history of western philosophy feel like someone is just "telling you a story" if they leave out dialectics entirely.

Everyone seems to praise Copleston for being impartial. I wonder, how does his approach handle dialectics?

ironhawk64 said:A good history of philosophy serves as a compass, and honestly, it often offers much more than just basic orientation.

In your opinion, what’s the absolute best history of philosophy out there?

I never get bored restarting from Thales and moving forward.

Here’s a list of some works I've come across (varying in importance):
-----------------------------------------------
Bazali - in 3 volumes
Hegel - in 3 volumes
A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Western Wisdom
Copleston - in 5 or more volumes
Windelband - in 2 volumes
Kalin - for students
Praxis Anthology
Praxis - anthology of philosophical texts
Standard textbooks
A Short History of Ideas by B. Magee
A Short History of Ideas
Zelić Guide
B. Bošnjak - History of Philosophy in 3 Volumes
-------------------------------------------------

Russell is clear, engaging, and fun to read, but he is incredibly biased. He has no love for Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Socrates, or Rousseau, and he didn't even bother mentioning Kierkegaard. He can't stand anything vague or linguistically sharp. He dislikes Heidegger, and there are contemporary thinkers he hasn't even heard of. He leans heavily toward the empiricists and Leibniz.

Bazali is Kantian, but surprisingly good.

Hegel is a bit muddled, but at least he's decent when covering the pre-Socratics.

Since I tend to follow Hegel and I'm a fan of the Praxis followers, I've never actually held B. Bošnjak's History of Philosophy in my hands. I have this nagging suspicion that it might be the gold standard. Is it? Is it really worth dropping $500$200 on it?

Russell's Western wisdom
is basically a condensed version of the History of Western Philosophy, and honestly, it's ten times cheaper...$9.75 He actually mentions Kierkegaard in this one, and there are plenty of illustrations too.
And really, it's because he's so biased...that he's more entertaining than the rest of them.
Plus, since it's shorter...you'll actually finish it... unlike those massive multi-volume sets that just sit on the shelf.

If you want to dive into specific philosophers, I'd suggest Great Thinkers A-Z

electricscout23 said:Russell's Western wisdom
is basically a condensed version of the History of Western Philosophy, and honestly, it's ten times cheaper...$9.75 He actually mentions Kierkegaard in this one, and there are plenty of illustrations too.
And really, it's because he's so biased...that he's more entertaining than the rest of them.
Plus, since it's shorter...you'll actually finish it... unlike those massive multi-volume sets that just sit on the shelf.

If you want to dive into specific philosophers, I'd suggest Great Thinkers A-Z

Western Wisdom is decent, though Russell tends to cherry-pick specific segments of certain philosophers just so he can tear them down. He presents the material somewhat inductively. If you don't grasp all those (selected) segments, you might lose sight of the big picture. That's what happened to me—even though he gave some thinkers enough attention, they didn't come across as entirely clear. Take Plato, for instance... he jumps so quickly from one Dialogue to the next that it's easy to get confused. It's possible a subpar translation in this budget edition contributed to that (though you can find luxury copies in used bookstores for under $50). Regardless, I think Western Wisdom requires some prior knowledge. Also, while the book is fun, rich, provocative, and written in a clear style, there's an issue where some philosophers are presented with such a lack of understanding that they end up looking totally irrelevant. Hegel and Marx (and so on) are completely trashed, often using weak or trivial arguments, yet he doesn't bother offering a single affirmative remark. In my view, he criticizes things that don't matter and misses what's truly influential. He attacks anything that isn't strictly provable, essentially finding flaws in almost everything; but then again, if something is purely provable, maybe it isn't really philosophy in the true sense of the word. It wasn't until I read other books that I actually grew to love the very philosophers he either criticized or presented through a biased, uninformed lens here. Not to make my comment just a critique of Russell (everything I've written isn't meant to diminish the undeniable quality of Western Wisdom, just to point out certain things), it should be said that the book was written by a great erudite, and thanks to the historical content and the wealth of images, it's never boring. It sticks in my mind as my first real introduction to philosophy. Let that be its credit. It also serves as a supplement to Russell's History of Western Philosophy which is more comprehensive and therefore, in my opinion, better. It suffers from similar flaws, but the insight is clearer. It's a monumental book about the magnificent West where there's no room for boredom. I believe I'm around page 380 of 720.