A History of Western Philosophy
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A History of Western Philosophy Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Bertrand Russell (Author), Jonathan Keeble (Narrator), Naxos AudioBooks (Publisher)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,839 ratings
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Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy serves as the perfect introduction to its subject; it remains unchallenged as the greatest account of the history of Western thought. Charting philosophy's course from the pre-Socratics up to the early twentieth century, Russell relates each philosopher and school to their respective historical and cultural contexts, providing erudite commentary throughout his invaluable survey. This engaging and comprehensive work has done much to educate and inform generations of general readers; it is written in accessible and elegantly crafted prose and allows for an easy grasp of complex ideas.

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  1. Listening Length
    38 hours and 3 minutes
  2. Author
    Bertrand Russell
  3. Narrator
    Jonathan Keeble
  4. Audible release date
    October 7, 2013
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Naxos AudioBooks
  7. ASIN
    B00FU3XE1Y
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 38 hours and 3 minutes
Author Bertrand Russell
Narrator Jonathan Keeble
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date October 07, 2013
Publisher Naxos AudioBooks
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B00FU3XE1Y
Best Sellers Rank #36,445 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#487 in Philosophy (Audible Books & Originals)
#916 in History of Philosophy & Schools of Thought

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LOVE DAVE
5.0 out of 5 stars Warm, Beguiling, Biased, and Brilliant. Just like Russell.
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2013
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Bertrand Russell. The man was a giant. Philosopher, historian, nobel laureate, activist unto his death, and now posthumous comic-book hero[1]. He was an Earl. He rewrote most of mathematics, but considered that a failure, as he aimed at reworking the basis of all thought. Even there, he was only foiled by some Austrian proving it to be impossible. By all accounts, a warm and charming man. Very tall, as well. A giant.

This is his book about those giants whose shoulders he stood on. The book covers about two thousand five hundred years of smart people saying reasonably smart things (most the time). This is done in a dry and British fashion. It was the first work of academic philosophy I had read. I was 16. I was on my friend's couch. It was summer. I killed it in a week or so -- that's not a brag, it goes quickly because it's clear and clever. Russell clearly enjoyed writing it. I loved reading it. I was hooked. A bit later, I ended up with a highly marketable bachelor's degree in philosophy, and a set of cognitive tools that better prepared me for the myriad of random things I've had to do to eat (such as: children's parties, graphic design for a porn site, wearing a Cash4Gold sign while jumping, and software engineering) than any *real* coursework could have done. And I thank Bertie for his part in that.

Since I've walked that road on the cover, too, I can say I agree with the other learned reviewers that Russell makes no effort to be balanced. I had a VERY Catholic upbringing, and I was a bit surprised at his outright hostility to the great doctors of the church. Like, Augustine, he was a pretty okay bloke, you know? He was the only one I liked! (Still, I have to admit I was both honestly surprised *and* vindictively pleased -- as you might expect of a 16-year-old boy. Yeah Bertie! Stick it too 'em! I wanna go drink Zima and catch crabs like St. A, but they won't let me!) I also agree it gets a bit ponderous as it creeps toward modernity. Gone are the days of our public intellectuals jumping into volcanos to prove their godhood. In exchange we get John Dewey, mostly famous for inventing a slightly better system for cataloging libraries. Alas and alack!

So I clearly love the book. It's like an extremely eccentric uncle: acerbic, vastly opinionated, but even when you're 16 and think old people are merely repositories for funny smells, you still realize he says really, *actually* profound things between the rants about the Capitalists and the Imperialists.

At the end of the day, this is an imperfect work of *philosophy* we're talking about. The whole point is to self-referentially explore our own knowledge, ruthlessly hunting for fallacies, failings, and pedantic technicalities, all whilst sipping slowly upon a snifter of brandy near the fireplace in your study. As an introduction, I think perhaps we're all the better off for Bertie's flaws. They give the novice something to chew on. They did a good job getting a 16-year-old to think.

[1] Search up "Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth" for another fun traversal of western history involving The Right Honourable The Earl Russell, OM, FRS.
29 people found this helpful
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Camille
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars! Really well done!
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2018
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This was a truly spectacular book and I rate it a solid 5 stars. I liked it much more than Will Durant’s acclaimed The Story of Philosophy, and equally as much as Leonard Peikoff’s History of Philosophy lectures.

I like to think of this book as “a history of Western thought.” Russell profiles and summarizes every philosopher and philosophical movement from Thales to John Dewey and his own school of logical analysis. Each chapter was clear and interesting. I found Kant, Hegel, and Bergson less clear than other chapters, but that may just be because those philosophers themselves are hard to grasp.

Russel didn’t just report on how ideas changed and impacted society, he also explained the history and workings of society in each period. I found this especially helpful for the first book about ancient philosophy and the second about the medieval ages. I also really loved how detailed Russell was in his analysis and retelling of the history of the Church. All of that was completely new to me, and I didn’t know how much I was missing by not delving into Church history!

Also, I gotta say, his chapters on Rousseau, Berkeley, and Byron were exceptional. I loved the letters exchanged between Rousseau and Voltaire (I literally laughed out loud reading them). Berkeley was clearer than he’s ever been before. And even though I was never interested in Byron previously, Russell intrigued me with his description of him. I’ve already added some of his poems to my Kindle to check out!

Usually long books annoy me. This one didn’t. Every sentence felt absolutely necessary, and I was often left with wanting to know more about each figure, idea, and period!

Russell occasionally injected his opinion or brought up inconsistencies within the philosophies he was describing, but not nearly enough for my tastes. It was always very obvious when he was commenting as himself and when he was describing or speaking for the philosopher he was writing about though, which was great.

Overall, this was an excellent survey of Western philosophy. It was great as an introduction to the ideas of these thinkers, as well as a “history of Western thought” like I mentioned at the beginning of this review. If you want something that goes deeper into the philosophies of some of these thinkers, check out Leonard Peikoff’s History of Philosophy. If you’re more interested in the history aspect, you can check out Will Durant’s  Story of Philosophy . (I think Russell’s book is complimentary yet slightly superior to Durant’s.)

I highly recommend this book, and the Audible version narrated by Jonathan Keeble.
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John
5.0 out of 5 stars The search for truth is based on humility
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024
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Soccer trees claim to say that all he knows is that he does not know. Our attempt to know, however, is a noble endeavor and I do certainly subscribe to Birch and Russell‘s incremental. This book is worth probably rereading five times.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Lucia E. Prelle
5.0 out of 5 stars Granddaughter goes to university
Reviewed in Canada on March 26, 2024
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Grandparents wanted granddaughter to prepare herself intelectually, before starting her university studies, and this excellent boik was a very good beginning.
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Guilherme Delacio
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Ever!
Reviewed in Brazil on December 10, 2022
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Bertrand Russell is in My Opinion unique!
This Book is a Bible simply saying. A Rare and True Contribution To Mankind.
This Book Will always Be My Bedtime Reading.
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Amazon Kunde
5.0 out of 5 stars Einführung in die Geschichte der westeuropäischen Philosophie
Reviewed in Germany on February 8, 2024
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Das beste Buch zum Einstieg in die Philosophie bis zum Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts, das ich kenne!
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Johannes Baagøe
5.0 out of 5 stars Un classique toujours d'actualité
Reviewed in France on January 22, 2024
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Russell est toujours agréable à lire, drôle et pertinent à la fois.
Et il prend position - ça agacera les spécialistes qui estiment que le travail des philosophes est d'expliquer les auteurs sans juger, mais ravira celles et ceux qui voient la philosophie comme une discipline vivante susceptible de progrès, plus scientifique que littéraire, où plus personne ne croit comme Descartes que le cœur se dilate parce que le sang y est le plus chaud.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Un libro da avere
Reviewed in Italy on September 17, 2020
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È ormai un classico. Se si ha interesse per la filosofia questo da leggere.
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