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The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition cover art

The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition

By: Daniel N. Robinson,The Great Courses
Narrated by: Daniel N. Robinson
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Publisher's Summary

Grasp the important ideas that have served as the backbone of philosophy across the ages with this extraordinary 60-lecture series. This is your opportunity to explore the enormous range of philosophical perspectives and ponder the most important and enduring of human questions - without spending your life poring over dense philosophical texts.

Professor Robinson guides you through more than 2,000 years of philosophical thinking and gives you a coherent, comprehensive, and beautifully articulated introduction to the great conversation of philosophy. Every lecture contains substance that can change your view of the world and its history.

You'll journey from the early philosophical ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; chart the origins of Christian philosophy and investigate the Islamic scholars who preserved and extended Greek thought during the Middle Ages; and venture through Enlightenment contributions to philosophy, from Francis Bacon to Locke, Hume, Kant, Mill, and Adam Smith.

Then shift your attention to the modern era, where you see groundbreaking ideas like psychoanalysis, pragmatism, and nihilism, as well as the collision between the inherently social understanding of meaning created by Wittgenstein, the vastly different estimation of human thought developed by the code-breaking genius Alan Turing, and the subtle response to him made by the American philosopher John Searle.

While the lectures cover an enormous range of key thinkers and ideas, they always focus on the most important ideas. The result is a course that gives you everything you need to finally grasp humanity's exciting philosophical history - without years of intense academic study and piles of dense reading.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2004 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2004 The Great Courses

What listeners say about The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Wordy, hard to follow, lots of fluff

What disappointed you about The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition?

The lecturer's language was unnecessarily complex and he spent a lot of time discussing 'fluff'. So the lectures were difficult to follow and in the end he didn't communicate very much of substance. Unfortunately, I found them to be low-yield.

Has The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition put you off other books in this genre?

No, but it has put me off other books by this lecturer.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Professor Daniel N. Robinson?

Definitely Professor David K. Johnson. I've listened to a lot of philosophy lectures by the Great Courses and he is the best by FAR - excellent communicator, philosopher and teacher.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition?

There was so much 'fluff' in each lecture. He spent so much time telling stories, discussing dramas and characters, digressing from the core issues. I would have preferred a much more detailed discussion of the actual philosophical ideas, arguments for and against each idea, whether there is any modern expert consensus regarding the ideas and how the ideas have developed over time.

Any additional comments?

Please get Professor David K. Johnson to do a similar lecture series. I would purchase anything written and narrated by him!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great overview of philosophy and noted figures

What did you like most about The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition?

A great intro to philosophy for people who haven't studied it before (like me). Goes through a lot of history and how it relates to present day thinkers, which is very enlightening.

Narrator is excellent; very thoughtful explanations and demonstrates different sides of philosophical arguments.

Really enjoyable reading.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Wordy but informative

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

It was a bit of an effort. I think I am better for it, but my head hurts...

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3 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Awful. No focus or conciseness anywhere.

Awful. Frustratingly lacking in conciseness and focus and thus extremely difficult to learn anything as a result. This professor reminds me a lot of some of the worst professors I've ever had in university - extremely intelligent and knowledgeable in their subject, but without a clue as how to teach it properly. Every lecture comes off as if the professor is trying to show off how well-educated he is through his unnecessarily-eloquent language and references to obscure facts that do nothing but remove focus from the core question - "what did these various philosophers think?" I can honestly say that the amount I learned while sitting through a 35 minute lecture on Francis Bacon, for instance, was less than what I got through a 5-minute segment on Francis Bacon through watching a free YouTube video from Crash Course History.

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2 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

the reader excessively uses useless fluff words

As philosophy is plagued by over complication of simple concepts, this is just a prime example. Dumbest collection of what would be great philosophical thoughts in a non-linear, almost non sensical presentation giving a bad name to academia.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant - does requiree concentration

Brilliant way to learn philosophy. Engaging lecturer and content. Requires concentration from the listener.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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This wasn't designed as a podcast.

It is a lecture that has been recorded, but I needed the visuals to make understanding easier.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Dry

He really just didn't bring it yo life for me. It felt 2 dimensional. He's knowledgeable, no doubt, but it didn't really come together.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Very little Philosophy here

Good only for a laugh.
The pompous argumentation of our dear Professor lacks in substance and abounds in rhetoric, for the wanted be only.
It barely touches the 19th Century.
A waste of ear time.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Unbalanced

Heavily biased to theological thought and European philosophy. I expect a more rounded collection of great ideas.

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1 person found this helpful

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