This brilliant and concise account of the lives and ideas of the world's great philosophers?Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Kant, Schopenhauer, Spencer, Nietzsche, Bergson, Croce, Russell, Santayana, James, and Dewey?is "a delight" (The New York Times) and remains one of the most important books of our time.Will Durant chronicles the ideas of the great thinkers, the economic and intellectual environments which influenced them, and the personal traits and adventures out of which each philosophy grew. Durant's insight and wit never cease to dazzle; The Story of Philosophy is an essential book for anyone who wishes to understand the history and development of philosophical ideas in the Western world.

A brilliant and concise account of the lives and ideas of the great philosophers -- Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Kant, Schopenhauer, Spencer, Nietzsche, Bergson, Croce, Russell, Santayana, James and Dewey -- The Story of Philosophy is one of the great books of our time. Few write for the nonspecialist as well as Will Durant, and this book is a splendid example of his eminently readable scholarship. Durant's insight and wit never cease to dazzle; The Story of Philosophy is a key book for any reader who wishes to survey the history and development of philosophical ideas in the Western world.

ContentsPREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITIONINTRODUCTION: ON THE USES OF PHILOSOPHYCHAPTER IPLATOI. The Context of PlatoII. SocratesIII. The Preparation of PlatoIV. The Ethical ProblemV. The Political ProblemVI. The Psychological ProblemVII. The Psychological SolutionVIII. The Political SolutionIX. The Ethical SolutionX. CriticismCHAPTER IIARISTOTLE AND GREEK SCIENCEI. The Historical BackgroundII. The Work of AristotleIII. The Foundation of LogicIV. The Organization of Science1. Greek Science before Aristotle2. Aristotle as a Naturalist3. The Foundation of BiologyV. Metaphysics and the Nature of GodVI. Psychology and the Nature of ArtVII. Ethics and the Nature of HappinessVIII. Politics1. Communism and Conservatism2. Marriage and Education3. Democracy and AristocracyIX. CriticismX. Later Life and DeathCHAPTER IIIFRANCIS BACONI. From Aristotle to the RenaissanceII. The Political Career of Francis BaconIII. The EssaysIV. The Great Reconstruction1. The Advancement of Learning2. The New Organon3. The Utopia of ScienceV. CriticismVI. EpilogueCHAPTER IVSPINOZAHistorical and Biographical1. The Odyssey of the Jews2. The Education of Spinoza3. Excommunication4. Retirement and DeathII. The Treatise on Religion and the StateIII. The Improvement of the IntellectIV. The Ethics1. Nature and God2. Matter and Mind3. Intelligence and Morals4. Religion and ImmortalityV. The Political TreatiseVI. The Influence of SpinozaCHAPTER VVOLTAIRE AND THE FRENCH ENLIGHTENMENTI. Paris: OEdipeII. London: Letters on the EnglishIII. Cirey: The RomancesIV. Potsdam and FrederickV. Les Délices: The Essay on MoralsVI. Ferney: CandideVII. The Encyclopedia and the Philosophic DictionaryVIII. Ecrasez l'InfameIX. Voltaire and RousseauX. DénouementCHAPTER VIIMMANUEL KANT AND GERMAN IDEALISMRoads to Kant1. From Voltaire to Kant2. From Locke to Kant3. From Rousseau to KantII. Kant HimselfIII. The Critique of Pure Reason1. Transcendental Esthetic2. Transcendental Analytic3. Transcendental DialecticIV. The Critique of Practical ReasonV. On Religion and ReasonVI. On Politics and Eternal PeaceVII. Criticism and EstimateVIII. A Note on HegelCHAPTER VIISCHOPENHAUERI. The AgeII. The ManIII. The World as IdeaIV. The World as Will1. The Will to Live2. The Will to ReproduceV. The World as EvilVI. The Wisdom of Life1. Philosophy2. Genius3. Art4. ReligionVII. The Wisdom of DeathVIII. CriticismCHAPTER VIIIHERBERT SPENCERI. Comte and DarwinII. The Development of SpencerIII. First Principles1. The Unknowable2. EvolutionIV. Biology: The Evolution of LifeV. Psychology: The Evolution of MindVI. Sociology: The Evolution of SocietyVII. Ethics: The Evolution of MoralsVIII. Criticism1. First Principles2. Biology and Psychology3. Sociology and EthicsIX. ConclusionCHAPTER IXFRIEDRICH NIETZSCHEI. The Lineage of NietzscheII. YouthIII. Nietzsche and WagnerIV. The Song of ZarathustraV. Hero-moralityVI. The SupermanVII. DecadenceVIII. AristocracyIX. CriticismX. FinaleCHAPTER XCONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN PHILOSOPHERSHenri Bergson1. The Revolt Against Materialism2. Mind and Brain3. Creative Evolution4. CriticismII. Benedetto Croce1. The Man2. The Philosophy of the Spirit3. What Is Beauty?4. CriticismIII. Bertrand Russell1. The Logician2. The Reformer3. EpilogueCHAPTER XICONTEMPORARY AMERICAN PHILOSOPHERSIntroductionI. George Santayana1. Biographical2. Scepticism and Animal Faith3. Reason in Science4. Reason in Religion5. Reason in Society6. CommentII. William James1. Personal2. Pragmatism3. Pluralism4. CommentIII. John Dewey1. Education2. Instrumentalism3. Science and PoliticsConclusionGlossaryBibliographyIndex