The Classics of Western Philosophy brings together 61 newly commissioned essays on classic texts ranging from Ancient Greece to the 20th century. Surveying the history of philosophy, the book focuses on historical texts rather than historical figures and covers the entire range of classics in a single volume.
Each essay in the volume has been written by a leading expert on their subject. Contributors include C.D.C. Reeve on Plato's Republic, Terrance Irwin on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, James Ross on Aquinas' Summa Theologiae, Vere Chappell on Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Don Garrett on Spinoza's Ethics, Allen Wood on Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, Stephen Houlgate on Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, Richard Schacht on Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil, Bernard N. Schumacher on Heidegger's Being and Time, Hanjo Glock on Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, and Thomas R. Flynn on Sartre's Being and Nothingness, amongst many others. Accessible to a general readership, the contributions provide lively and well-substantiated expositions of the main arguments of each classic work, and highlight the significance of the work for the broader philosophical tradition. Each essay includes current references to a select bibliography of major articles and books. Engaging and authoritative, this volume is essential reading for anyone interested in the great works of western philosophy.
