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Melissa Clements's avatar

I love how accessible this is, it's a great little chronological walk through and I loved the reminder of how these thinkers were constantly responding to those who came before them in combination with their own contemporary issues. Even after 3 years of a philosophy degree, it all still feels so unknowable - I think that's the thing with philosophy, the more you arguments you learn, the harder it becomes to agree with any of them wholeheartedly. Reading posts like this is a great way of sitting with it all again.

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Philosophical Jew's avatar

Thank you for this - I have been looking for a worthwhile resource with which to expand my knowledge and I think this may be just what I needed.

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Elissa's avatar

I recommend The Passion of the Western Mind, by Richard Tarnas. A very good summary of the history of Western thought.

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Rosa Maria's avatar

Thank you for the clear explanation in a matter I normally consider soporific. No yawnings here, just attention. Still, I am unable to wrap my mind around Nietzsche. Even reading him in German did nothing to stop unliking him. Well, one can't do anything about taste.

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John Reid Young's avatar

As a perpetual thinker and avid explorer of different theories and ideas, I enjoyed this post. Neverthess, it also makes me wish we had one or two Aristotles to put this puzzling world on a better course.

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Jordan Elings's avatar

Sounds to me like Thomas Aquinas might have planted the seed Martin Luther needed in order for the Protestant Reformation to truly take hold. If so, then well done, because that's what eventually helped encourage the teaching of literacy to everyone in the West.

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Stef's avatar

Because it totally makes sense to posit that one can begin to grasp the entirety of the western philosophical tradition through the narrow demographic of the white man. This post is lazy at best.

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Tom Sparks's avatar

Ummmm…. Because as even you acknowledge, we’re talking about “the Western Philosophical Tradition”, and The West is generally Caucasian, so…..

If it is the “male” part that so offends you, then propose some females who hold stature such as these.

I’d nominate Ayn Rand for her brilliant original thinking. Who would you nominate? And, remember, they would have to be a true Lioness of Philosophical History; someone anyone who has put any effort into learning would know.

<insert Final Jeopardy music 😁>

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Miss Zanarkand's avatar

This article is about the most influential philosophers not about the one POC /women / identity minority who was mumbling in his corner and no one knows about. Your comment sir / her / their is lazt at best.

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Justi Andreasen's avatar

One of the greatest lessons I learned from studying philosophy is understanding that Descartes’ invention of the coordinate system over time transformed the world itself into a coordinate system.

We came to believe that we lived in a mathematically measurable, computable grid.

He emphasized quantifiable “primary qualities,” stripped matter of intrinsic meaning, separated mind from matter, and placed the individual mind as the sole arbiter of truth.

This Cartesian dualism left humans isolated, detached from others and the world.

Tolkien and Lewis responded by reclaiming a cosmos rich with meaning. Through myth they restored a universe where moral order, beauty, and purpose are woven into creation itself. They offered an alternative to a world reduced to mere physical extension and calculation.

How they did so is for another time. But reading their stories might tell you more than reading their thoughts and arguments.

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Angela Dellaporta's avatar

Beautifully done! I love the way you have brought us back to "objective morality", though how to perceive it exactly is a challenge -- even religion cannot always help, although looking at values

acknowledged across cultures is a good beginning. I might add Socrates (Plato) to the list, because he pointed out that objective morality (The Good) does exist but also that we mortals cannot always perceive what it is, in fact that it is well nigh impossible to know for sure what it is, and then to carry it out, even though we must always continue to strive towards it. He suggested that Reason might get us there, but acknowledged that even Reason will not always suffice. Thank you for your cogent and clear summary!

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nick's avatar

Very interesting choice of 5 from the whole western cannon…

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William Sanchez's avatar

Great article! Interesting and well written.

If you're interested, I just recorded a similarly themed podcast on the enlightenment period called "God is dead; Western civilization killed him"

I talked about Francis Bacon, Fredrick Neitzche, John Stewart Mill, and James Madison though.

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Moon-Kite Maker's avatar

Why would one start with Aristotle rather than his predecessor, Plato? The Socratic dialogues are far more accessible and found the essential point that philosophy is not a subject to be learned so much as an activity one must learn to do in conversation with others. Not to mention, the pre-Socratics offer as rich and varied a metaphysical landscape as one is likely to find anywhere.

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Hannah O's avatar

Do I explore these in this order

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Augie's avatar

Are there any books you recommend that present an overview of Western philosophical ideas in a more digestable and readable version than reading the original texts? Aside from your blog of course :)

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<Julia Henri>'s avatar

Great information. Thank you!

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<Julia Henri>'s avatar

Great information. Thank you!

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