A New History of Western Philosophy: In Four Parts

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Given these omissions, Kenny reveals himself as yet another product of the gap he documents, and readers will need to look elsewhere to do some filling in. By separating their systems into short chapters, which summarize disciplines, works or phases, single ideas are quick to grasp.

It should be noted that there is very little 20th century philosophy beyond Russel and Wittgenstein and almost nothing on American philosophy (a revised edition would be a good idea), but that is a minor quibble. He was Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1984 to 2001 (Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Development, 1999–2001).

In the Introduction, Kenny recounts his struggles with determining a suitable cut-off point for inclusion in the book: Can the philosopher in question still be living? Philosophers’ views may not be so tight-knit as to form a system of thought, but certainly their takes on different issues should form a coherent view that are distinctive to that particular philosopher.

The only minor issue is in relation to trhe way this book is structured: I am not 100% sure that splitting each period into two parts (a relatively short history of the individual philosophers, followed by an analysis by thematic area) is necessarily the best approach, as it may cause a loss of focus on the system of thought and contribution of the individual philosopher. Though one can dispute the success of any particular approach in philosophy, it strikes me as unfair and inaccurate to deem all of this to be merely "well-meaning.The first section concerns with the intellectual history that gave some brief summaries of and historical background behind the philosophical views. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1974 and served as a member of the Council of the Academy 1985–88, as Vice President 1986–88 and President 1989–93. He combined his narrative with his earlier four volumes: Ancient Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Rise of Modern Philosophy and Modern Philosophy. Now these four splendid books have been combined into one magnificent volume, providing a continuous sweeping account of the great thought of the Western world. My main reason for thinking a single-author history of philosophy book might be good is that there will be more opportunity to show interrelationships between various philosophers.

Kenny was Gifford Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh 1972–73 and at the University of Glasgow in 1988, Stanton Lecturer at the University of Cambridge 1980–83, and Bampton Lecturer at Columbia University in 1983. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. He has been a member of the American Philosophical Society since 1993, and of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters since 1993, and an Honorary Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford since 1996, and of the School of Advanced Study, University of London since 2002 (Senior Distinguished Fellow 2002–3).With over fifty books published in his career, his most recent works are The Enlightenment: A Very Short History (2017) and a memoir, Brief Encounters, to be published in September 2018. Nonetheless, I prefer this organization by Kenny and simply think it could be improved by adding more context about philosophers for better continuity. The title of the first chapter -- "Bentham to Nietzsche" -- is indicative of this cosmopolitan approach, as is the inclusion of thinkers as diverse as Schopenhauer and Mill in one chapter. The overviews are unsatisfying - staccato jumps from philosopher to philosopher that fail to develop a narrative of the progression of the ideas - and the thematic sections are short and dense, a terrible way to convey some very technical philosophy (Kant’s monumental metaphysical system is given just three pages, or seven if you count the four pages of jargon-heavy exposition that Kenny inexplicably allows into the overview section on Kant).

Kenny explained that a reader who is concerned with intellectual history can look at the chronological survey in the first section. Chatper 20 (Darwain, Newman and Freud) is to me out of place - would have preferred something on existentialism rather. This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use.

Specially written for a broad popular readership, but serious and deep enough to offer a genuine understanding of the great philosophers, Kenny's lucid and stimulating history will become the definitive work for anyoneinterested in the people and ideas that shaped the course of Western thought. Logic, for example, was briefly absent in Rise of Modern Philosophy but reappear in the later volume. Its influence was felt well beyond antiquity into the Middle Ages, particularly through the writings of St. A New History of Western Philosophy is a stimulating chronicle of the intellectual development of Western civilization, allowing readers to trace the birth and growth of philosophy from antiquity to the present day. He was a member of the Board of the British Library 1991-96 and Chairman 1993–96, and has served as Chairman of the Society for Protection of Science and Learning (1989–93), of the British National Corpus Advisory Board (1990–95), of the British Irish Association (1990–94), and of the Board of the Warburg Institute (1996–2000).