A New History of Western Philosophy by Anthony Kenny

Influence is taken to occur on three different levels: 1. uses the criterion of influence at various points to explain his choice of philosophers. does an admirable job when it comes to describing the themes and authors he wishes to emphasize. But clearly any work of this type must choose a focus, uniting disparate strands of speculation over a broad chronological and geographical stretch. One might wonder why certain themes are chronicled (and certain authors) rather than others. also explains why there is a slight chronological overlap with the last volume in the section on aesthetics (which begins in the early 18th century), which is that the theme has not been included in previous volumes (xiv). This implies, as is the case, that the philosophy of science is largely absent. explains, natural philosophy is no longer part of philosophy post-Newton (xiv).

This volume, however, leaves out “physics” since, as K. The themes for the most part carry through all four volumes, providing crucial continuity. Chapters 4-11 follow topic-areas, relating to themes in modern philosophy: 4. He connects these interests to the different sections of the book: Chapters 1-3 will be for the historically minded, and Chapters 4-12 for those interested in philosophy proper (xiii).Ĭhapters 1-3 cover time periods bounded by two thinkers, although as a whole they do not run chronologically: 1.

divides readers into two classes: those interested in the history of philosophy for the purpose of aiding contemporary philosophical concerns, and those who take a historical or contextual interest only.

It covers modern philosophy, from 1757 to 1975. This is the fourth and final volume of Anthony Kenny’s (hereafter K.) History of Western Philosophy series.

A New History of Western Philosophy by Anthony Kenny