In the Middle ages, learning was in the hands of the Church and the only interest Schoolmen had in disputing each other was to show their intellectual capabilities. Nietzsche created an imaginary Ubermensch as wishful thinking; Hitler tried to copy the idea and killed millions of peoples. The variety of thought and ideas here was really incredible and made for very easy and interesting reading throughout. Plato is a fascinating character, not least because it seems a case can be made that he became increasingly less convinced of his theory of forms as his dialogues went on.

Ou seja, a sua filosofia analítica não comporta espaço para uma análise contextualizada pelo tempo em que as ideias foram produzidas, interessado apenas no como se comportam essas ideias quando passadas pelo filtro da lógica atual. This allows him to narrate the entire historical progress in a patronizing and all-knowing tone that might be jarring to a reader who is not willing to take the same attitude towards Russell’s own naivete! It is abundantly clear that the refugees have every right to the homeland from which they were driven, and the denial of this right is at the heart of the continuing conflict. In each of these periods, Russell is careful to provide a meaningful amount of historical context, as he describes the major life events, the ideas, and the influence of the philosophers he covers. Instead it is a critical survey, a long catalogue of what Russell agrees and disagrees with among all the major doctrines.This is why a book made up of essays by various authors is apt to be less interesting as an entity than a book by one man. If this book is over 5 years old, then please expect the pages to be yellowing or to have age spots. And more often than not, he is wary of those ideas which, from the point of view of his war-torn present, seemed 'dangerous.

In this, Rousseau is the predecessor of Nietzsche, who raised the notion of 'Will to Power' to unsurpassed heights. Not only does Israel condemn a vast number of refugees to misery; not only are many Arabs under occupation condemned to military rule; but also Israel condemns the Arab nations only recently emerging from colonial status to continued impoverishment as military demands take precedence over national development. As part of a broader reading project, I will read and review some individual Chapters in My Writings. Por vezes, é preciso dar alguma razão a Russell, a "República" de Platão é realmente um manifesto em defesa do autoritarismo, mas daí a dizer que Sócrates provavelmente nunca existiu e pode ter sido inventado por Platão.The reader is never confused as to whether it is Russell’s idea or that of the philosopher under discussion. Full title A History of Western Philosophy And Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day – the indefinite article was deleted in the British editions. All who want to see an end to bloodshed in the Middle East must ensure that any settlement does not contain the seeds of future conflict. No people anywhere in the world would accept being expelled en masse from their own country; how can anyone require the people of Palestine to accept a punishment which nobody else would tolerate?

Sometimes one needs to be obscure because what you are trying to say does not allow you to be immediately clear. All in all a very fascinating read which flows along nicely, spiced with Russell's wit and opinions. If that is the case for you, I strongly suggest that you first read another history of philosophy, and then compliment that by this book.I had thought that I would find the middle section on Catholics the least interesting – I believe that we ‘moderns’ feel we have much more in common with Ancients than we do with the Catholic scholastics of the dark and middle ages – but Russell is very kind to these philosophers, although in the main I found them to be little more than pedants adding Christian footnotes to Plato and Aristotle. Perhaps, in another life, I will have time to read one or two of them and see if my attitude changes. This book starts with Thales and moves all the way to Plotinus, before it continues into the second book, which is on Catholic Philosophy.

In Jon Stewart's anthology The Hegel Myths and Legends (1996), Russell's work is listed as a book that has propagated "myths" about Hegel.Russell shows how philosophy has evolved from a focus on things to a focus on process, bringing it in alignment with quantum physics.