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A Little History of Philosophy

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A Little History of Philosophy

By: Nigel Warburton
Narrated by: Kris Dyer
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About this listen

Philosophy begins with questions about the nature of reality and how we should live. These were the concerns of Socrates, who spent his days in the ancient Athenian marketplace asking awkward questions, disconcerting the people he met by showing them how little they genuinely understood.

This engaging book introduces the great thinkers in Western philosophy and explores their most compelling ideas about the world and how best to live in it. In forty brief chapters, Nigel Warburton guides us on a chronological tour of the major ideas in the history of philosophy. He provides interesting and often quirky stories of the lives and deaths of thought-provoking philosophers from Socrates, who chose to die by hemlock poisoning rather than live on without the freedom to think for himself, to Peter Singer, who asks the disquieting philosophical and ethical questions that haunt our own times.

Warburton not only makes philosophy accessible, he offers inspiration to think, argue, reason, and ask in the tradition of Socrates. A Little History of Philosophy presents the grand sweep of humanity's search for philosophical understanding and invites all to join in the discussion.

©2011 Nigel Warburton (P)2014 Audible Studios History Philosophy Metaphysical Humanism Mathematics Morality Tradition Western Philosophy

Editorial reviews

The fascinating subject of Philosophy is revealed in A Little History of Philosophy, written by British philosopher and best-selling author Nigel Warburton with an audiobook narration by Kris Dyer. Taking listeners all the way back to the philosophers of ancient Greece and working his way through the most notable philosophers in history, hear the fascinating topics that have been discussed over the course of time and see the parallels between them – for at its core, philosophy is an attempt to answer those fundamental questions - who are we? Why are we here? Who or what created us? Available now from Audible.
All stars
Most relevant
this is an ideal book if you want to go through big names of philosophy in 7 hours.

pas mal

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easy to understand and well arranged to understand the development of the major influences. it would have been even better if some Eastern influences had also been included

perfect introduction for a novice

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I have never read anything on philosophy. I found this very interesting and thought provoking

A good listen

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This audiobook expresses a lot of very complex ideas in a very accessible and interesting way. It is both a history and sampler of important thinkers in the Western tradition of philosophy, and stimulates thought and encourages further reading of the many philosophers whose main ideas are summarised within.

A fascinating and informative little book.

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Thoroughly enjoyable to dip in and out.
Well constructed & organised.
Suits the beginner or novice to philosophy.

Excellent book and narration

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loved the narration, and had a great overview on philosophy. changed my outlook on how I see the world and definitely changed how I think about things.
other reviewers are upset the book didn't go into details but it is a huge subject and it is titled "a brief history" its enough to ponder the subject and get some ideas.

eye opening!

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I found this very easy to read while also being informative. I wanted a overall introduction to philosophy and got it. Definitely recommend.

Recommend this book

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This is an engaging introduction to western philosophical schools of thought and the characters behind them. Each chapter covers a philosopher or area of philosophy, providing the basic concept and origins in a very accessible way.

An excellent entry level introduction

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