A Little History of Philosophy

For readers of E. H. Gombrich’s A Little History of the World, an equally irresistible volume that brings history’s greatest philosophers to life.

“A wonderful introduction for anyone who’s ever felt curious about almost anything.” – Sarah Bakewell, author of How To Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer

How do I know what’s real? Is it ever right to lie? What does it mean to be free? Philosophy begins with questions about the nature of reality and how we should live. This engaging book introduces the great thinkers in Western philosophy and explores their most compelling ideas about the world and how best to live in it.

In forty brief chapters, Nigel Warburton provides interesting and often quirky stories of the lives and deaths of thought-provoking philosophers – from the ancients, who debated freedom and the spirit, to Peter Singer, who asks the disquieting philosophical and ethical questions that haunt our own times.

Warburton not only makes philosophy accessible, he offers inspiration to think, argue, reason and ask. A Little History of Philosophy presents the grand sweep of humanity’s search for philosophical understanding and invites all to join in the discussion.