A Brief History of Philosophy

A Brief History of Philosophy

(Book Overwiew)

A Brief History of Philosophy is a general philosophical book written by Derek Johnston. The book guides the reader into the various ages and schools of philosophy beginning with Socrates and culminating with Derrida. At the very outset, the author notes that one would not be a master in philosophy after reading the book but will get an overall idea as to what philosophy entails. He says that a reader would be disappointed in the book if his quest at the beginning itself is to get a clear and distinct definition of philosophy.

Philosophy is a term that has not been clearly defined right from the very start. This is because it is an act rather that a single thought. It is a way of life. This is brought out in the book as the reader goes through the various chapters. The author has made an effort to reduce the philosophical jargon to the minimum. Nevertheless, the basic philosophical terms have been explained time and again so that the reader doesn’t have to flip back the pages and hunt for the meaning.

Each chapter is dedicated to a particular philosopher or school of thought. Though the book guides the reader in to the history of philosophy, the author focuses more on the thought of each philosopher with a brief introduction to the philosopher’s life preceding it. The author tries to explain the vast concepts in philosophy like deconstruction in simple words so as to make the text more appealing to the average reader. He uses a lot of examples from everyday life to enrich the explanation provided. An added section containing texts from the philosopher’s work is present in every chapter. This also helps the reader to get a glimpse of the level of language used by the philosopher itself.

The author makes it very clear that the choice of philosophers in the book may not seem adequate enough and may even disappoint some. Nevertheless, the author mentions that the aim of the book is to introduce the reader into philosophy and the various schools of philosophy. Some of the key philosophers mentioned are Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, Aquinas, Locke, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Sartre, Marx, Descartes, Heidegger and Derrida among others. An interesting section is the section on ‘Further Reading’ that suggests some books for readers who are more keen on developing their interest in philosophy.

Overall, the book is worth reading. It fulfills all the aims that the author had in mind and also assists one to enter into philosophical studies with a foreknowledge to the various approaches to philosophy. I would say that it is quite apt for someone taking their first steps into philosophy.