Durant writes with the quill of a novelist. Unlike modern textbooks that strip language of emotion for the sake of "objectivity," Durant is unafraid to be poetic. His description of Spinoza’s life is particularly moving, portraying a man of immense spiritual dignity surviving on grinding lenses and meager meals. He turns the dry dust of ontology into the drama of the human spirit.
Will Durant First Published: 1926 Genre: Non-Fiction / History of Ideas
With Voltaire, Durant turns satirist. He shows the great wit not as a shallow cynic, but as a warrior against the “infamous thing”—religious intolerance and superstition. Voltaire’s philosophy, Durant quips, was “common sense raised to a crusade.” The chapter is a masterclass in biographical storytelling: we see Voltaire as businessman, lover, prisoner, and exile. And through it all, we hear Durant’s own progressive, democratic voice: philosophy must be judged not by its internal consistency, but by its effect on human suffering. story of philosophy by will durant exclusive
"The Story of Philosophy" is divided into 12 chapters, each focusing on a distinct period or movement in the history of philosophy. The book begins with ancient civilizations, including Egypt, Babylon, and Greece, and proceeds to cover the major philosophical developments of the Western world, including:
The chapter on Herbert Spencer is arguably the most dated portion of the book. Spencer was a titan in Durant's time but has since fallen into obscurity. Reading this chapter now serves more as a history of sociology than a relevant philosophical guide. Similarly, his inclusion of contemporary thinkers of the 1920s feels slightly archaic, as the "current events" of philosophy have shifted significantly. Durant writes with the quill of a novelist
The Enduring Brilliance of Will Durant’s The Story of Philosophy
Will Durant (1885-1981) was an American historian, philosopher, and writer, best known for his monumental work, "The Story of Civilization," a 11-volume set that covers the history of Western civilization from ancient times to the present day. Durant's work on "The Story of Philosophy" was initially intended as a single volume within this larger project, but it eventually grew into a standalone book that has been widely acclaimed for its clarity, insight, and scope. He turns the dry dust of ontology into
In 1925, a young and ambitious publishing duo, Richard Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster, noticed the incredible popularity of Durant's booklets. They approached Durant with an audacious proposal: compile, expand, and weave these individual essays into a single, comprehensive narrative volume. Despite Durant's initial skepticism that a heavy book on philosophy would sell, he agreed. The Breakthrough Formula: Humanizing the Intellect
Among the listeners at the Labor Temple was a young, ambitious publisher named Emanuel Haldeman-Julius. Haldeman-Julius was the pioneer of the "Little Blue Books"—cheap, pocket-sized pamphlets designed to bring classic literature and radical ideas to the American masses. Recognizing Durant’s unique gift for clarity, Haldeman-Julius persuaded him to write up his lectures as individual blue books, paying him a modest advance of $150 per pamphlet.