One Thousand Years of Philosophy: From Ramanuja to Wittgenstein

Rating:
Summary: A pleasing survey
Review: Rom Harre gives a balanced introduction to three philosophical heritages, Western, Chinese, and Indian. The writing is very clear and Harre never rushes a point. I learned a great deal from his careful explanations. As the other reviewer stated, little attention is given to postmodern philosophy or recent practitioners. The absense didn't bother me. This is first of all, an HISTORICAL analysis and survey. And we will have to wait several years before future historians asses our present (postmodern) philosophical preoccupations. In the mean time, this book provides a pleasing introduction to the philosophical territories people have explored in the past.

Rating:
Summary: Introduction to World Philososphy
Review: This is a brief review of philosophical thought of the last thousand years. Unlike most reviews this book addresses both the eastern and western philosophical speculations. I learnt about various phiolosphical systems particularly those with their origins in the middle east and China.This book will interest a general reader as an introduction to philosophy or as an introductory text to the students of philosophy. Any review that spans as much time as this book would always miss a few or perhaps many important philosophers. I liked this book very much

Rating:
Summary: What you know and who you can learn from
Review: This paperback is a competent introductory survey. Probably its intended audience is undergrads or high school students. But will the MTV crowd take to it? The book's scope sounds promising: from China's Sung Dynasty in 960 to the demise of the Soviet Union. It encompasses Indian, Chinese, and various Middle Eastern thought systems. But Harre gives short shrift to political philosophy, and completely shuns influential thinkers like Chomsky, Adorno, Habermas, and Foucault. The author's background in the hard sciences shows in his preoccupation with the nature of speculation, theories of causality, the structure of scientific inquiry.

Rating:
Summary: What you know and who you can learn from
Review: This paperback is a competent introductory survey. Probably its intended audience is undergrads or high school students. But will the MTV crowd take to it? The book's scope sounds promising: from China's Sung Dynasty in 960 to the demise of the Soviet Union. It encompasses Indian, Chinese, and various Middle Eastern thought systems. But Harre gives short shrift to political philosophy, and completely shuns influential thinkers like Chomsky, Adorno, Habermas, and Foucault. The author's background in the hard sciences shows in his preoccupation with the nature of speculation, theories of causality, the structure of scientific inquiry.