Routledge Philosophy GuideBooks painlessly introduce students to the classic works of philosophy. Each GuideBook considers a major philosopher and a key area of their philosophy by focusing upon an important text – situating the philosopher and the work in a historical context, considering the text in question and assessing the philosopher’s contribution to contemporary thought.
Edited by Tim Crane, University of Cambridge and Jonathan Wolff, University College London
By Rachael Wiseman
March 17, 2016
G. E. M. Anscombe’s Intention is a classic of twentieth-century philosophy. The work has been enormously influential despite being a dense and largely misunderstood text. It is a standard reference point for anyone engaging with philosophy of action and philosophy of psychology. In this Routledge ...
By Angela Curran
October 16, 2015
Aristotle’s Poetics is the first philosophical account of an art form and the foundational text in aesthetics. The Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Aristotle and the Poetics is an accessible guide to this often dense and cryptic work. Angela Curran introduces and assesses: Aristotle’s life and ...
By Daniel Frank, Jason Waller
July 23, 2015
Baruch Spinoza is one of the most influential and controversial political philosophers of the early modern period. Though best-known for his contributions to metaphysics, Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise (1670) and his unfinished Political Treatise (1677) were widely debated and helped to ...
By Andy Hamilton
November 28, 2008
Ludwig Wittgenstein is arguably the most important philosopher of the twentieth century. In On Certainty he discusses central issues in epistemology, including the nature of knowledge and scepticism. The Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Wittgenstein and On Certainty introduces and assesses: ...
By Harold Noonan
February 05, 2013
Saul Kripke is one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. His most celebrated work, Naming and Necessity, makes arguably the most important contribution to the philosophy of language and metaphysics in recent years. Asking fundamental questions – how do names refer to things ...
By Lawrence Pasternack
December 03, 2013
Throughout his career, Kant engaged with many of the fundamental questions in philosophy of religion: arguments for the existence of God, the soul, the problem of evil, and the relationship between moral belief and practice. Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason is his major work on the ...
By David O'Connor
May 18, 2001
David Hume was the most important British philosopher of the eighteenth century. His Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion is a classic text in the philosophy of religion.Hume on Religion introduces and asseses:*Hume's life and the background to the Dialogues *the ideas and text of Dialogues *...
By David Lloyd Thomas
November 21, 1995
John Locke is one of the most important figures in the history of political thought. His Second Treatise on Government was one of the most significant political statements of its time and provides the foundations of liberal political thought. His views on the social contract, political obligation, ...
By George Pattison
August 30, 2000
Martin Heidegger is one of the most controversial thinkers of the twentieth century. His writings are notoriously difficult: they both require and reward careful reading.The Later Heidegger introduces and accesses:* Heidegger's life and the background to his later works* The ideas and texts of some...
By Anthony Savile
September 19, 2000
Leibniz is a major figure in western philosophy and, with Descartes and Spinoza, one of the most influential philosophers of the Rationalist School. The Monadology is his most famous work and one of the most important works of modern philosophy.Leibniz and the Monadology introduces and assesses:*...
By Joseph Mccarney
August 04, 2000
Hegel's Introduction to the Philosophy of History remains one of the most profound and influential books on the philosophy of history. In clear and cogent terms this book:* examines the ideas and arguments of the Introduction to the Philosophy of History* explains key concepts of Hegel's system, a ...
By Komarine Romdenh-Romluc
September 20, 2010
Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908 – 1961) is hailed as one of the key philosophers of the twentieth century. Phenomenology of Perception is his most famous and influential work, and an essential text for anyone seeking to understand phenomenology. In this GuideBook Komarine Romdenh-Romluc introduces and ...