The Story of Philosophy

Summary

The Story of Philosophy is Will Durant's account of the Western philosophical tradition, published in 1926 and revised in a second edition of 1933. Durant organizes the book around biographies rather than problems: each chapter introduces a thinker's life and times, sets out his central ideas with long extracts from his writings, and ends with a brief appraisal of strengths and weaknesses. An opening essay, "On the Uses of Philosophy," argues that philosophy deals with questions not yet settled by science, such as good and evil, beauty, order and freedom, and that it aims at a coherent view of the whole of experience. Durant states that he will stay with ideas bearing on conduct and society and avoid the more technical disputes of metaphysics and theology. The first chapters move through antiquity: Plato, introduced through Socrates and centered on the Republic, and Aristotle, presented as an encyclopedic organizer of the sciences, logic, ethics and politics. The book then jumps to the early modern period with Francis Bacon and his program for the reform of learning, and Spinoza, preceded by a short section on Descartes, whose Ethics and Theologico-Political Treatise are summarized at length. The eighteenth century is represented by Voltaire, whose life is traced from Paris and London to Cirey, Potsdam and Ferney, with sections on Candide, the Philosophical Dictionary and his quarrel with Rousseau. The Kant chapter covers the three paths leading to Kant, the Critique of Pure Reason, the Critique of Practical Reason, his writings on religion and on perpetual peace, and closes with a note on Hegel. Later chapters treat Schopenhauer's philosophy of will, Herbert Spencer's synthesis built on evolution, and Nietzsche's critique of morality and his idea of the superman. Two final chapters survey philosophers who were still living when the book appeared: Henri Bergson, Benedetto Croce and Bertrand Russell in Europe, and George Santayana, William James and John Dewey in the United States. Written for general readers, the book became a commercial success that helped establish its publisher. Reviewers and scholars have pointed out its omissions, among them most medieval and non-Western thought, and the 1933 preface contains Durant's reply to such criticisms. The book remains in print and is widely used as an introduction to the history of philosophy.

Plot or Argument

• Introduction: On the uses of philosophy

  Durant distinguishes philosophy from science and explains his focus on ideas that bear on life and society.

• Chapters I–II: Plato and Aristotle

  Socrates, the Republic and the theory of the ideal state; Aristotle's logic, science, ethics of the mean and politics.

• Chapters III–IV: Bacon and Spinoza

  Bacon's plan for the renewal of learning and the inductive method; Descartes as background to Spinoza's Ethics and political thought.

• Chapter V: Voltaire and the French Enlightenment

  Voltaire's career, histories, Candide, the Philosophical Dictionary and his campaigns, with a comparison to Rousseau.

• Chapters VI–IX: Kant to Nietzsche

  Kant's critiques and a note on Hegel, Schopenhauer's will and pessimism, Spencer's evolutionary synthesis and Nietzsche's revaluation of values.

• Chapters X–XI: Contemporary philosophers

  Short accounts of Bergson, Croce and Russell, followed by Santayana, William James and John Dewey.

Characters

• Will Durant, author

  American historian and teacher who wrote the survey for general readers.

• Plato, subject

  Athenian philosopher whose Republic anchors the first chapter.

• Voltaire, subject

  French writer whose career and campaigns fill the fifth chapter.

• Immanuel Kant, subject

  German philosopher treated in the longest chapter on modern thought.

• Friedrich Nietzsche, subject

  German philosopher whose chapter closes the main sequence.

Lessons

• Philosophy and science

  Durant describes philosophy as working on questions science has not yet settled. Students can test this account against examples.

  • How does Durant describe the relation between philosophy and science?
  • Can you name a question that moved from philosophy to science?

• Lives and ideas

  Each chapter joins biography to argument. Students can consider how a thinker's circumstances relate to his ideas.

  • How does Durant use Voltaire's life to explain his writings?
  • Does knowing a philosopher's biography change how you judge the arguments?

• Summary and source

  Durant paraphrases as well as quotes. The line about excellence as a habit is his own summary of Aristotle, often misattributed to Aristotle himself.

  • Why might a summary be mistaken for a quotation?
  • How can a reader check whether words belong to the philosopher or the summarizer?

Context

In the 1920s American publishers found a large market for popular outlines of knowledge, following H. G. Wells's Outline of History. Durant's book belongs to this movement to make specialized learning accessible to general readers.

Composition

Several chapters first appeared as pamphlets in E. Haldeman-Julius's Little Blue Books series. Simon & Schuster published the expanded book in 1926, and Durant added a long preface to the revised edition of 1933.

Reception

The book sold widely and remained in print for decades. Academic reviewers criticized its omissions and simplifications, which Durant discussed in the 1933 preface.

Comparisons

• The Republic

  Durant's first chapter is built around the Republic, summarizing Plato's ideal state and theory of justice.

• The Nicomachean Ethics

  The Aristotle chapter digests the Ethics, including the doctrine of the mean and the role of habit in virtue.

• Novum Organum

  Durant's Bacon chapter explains the program for reforming knowledge that the Novum Organum sets out.

• Ethics

  The Spinoza chapter summarizes the Ethics, its geometric method and its account of the emotions.

• Candide: Or Optimism

  Durant's Voltaire chapter discusses Candide as Voltaire's reply to philosophical optimism.

• Critique of Pure Reason

  Durant's Kant chapter outlines the Critique of Pure Reason section by section.

• The World as Will and Representation

  The Schopenhauer chapter summarizes this book's account of the will and of art.

• Thus Spoke Zarathustra

  Durant's Nietzsche chapter draws heavily on Zarathustra for the idea of the superman.

Quotes

For Students

A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.

Reading Guide

Watch for

• How each chapter moves from biography to ideas to a final estimate.
• When Durant is quoting a philosopher and when he is summarizing in his own words.
• Links Durant draws from one thinker to the next.
• Which questions Durant chooses to emphasize and which he sets aside.

Key terms and names

Metaphysics

The branch of philosophy that asks about the basic nature of reality.

Epistemology

The study of knowledge: what we can know and how.

Ethics

The study of what is good and how one ought to live.

Enlightenment

The eighteenth-century European movement that stressed reason, inquiry and reform.

Pragmatism

An American philosophy that judges ideas by their practical consequences.

Seminar Questions

1. Comprehension How does Durant define the task of philosophy in his introduction?
2. Comprehension According to Durant, how did Voltaire want history to be written?
3. Interpretation Why might Durant have organized the book around lives rather than around problems?
4. Interpretation What does Durant mean by saying excellence is 'not an act but a habit'?
5. Big Question Can the history of ideas be told fairly through a few great individuals?
6. Big Question What is philosophy for?

Faith Connections

• Acts 17:16–34 (Scripture)

  Paul's speech to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens is an early meeting of Christian faith and Greek philosophy, the tradition Durant's first chapters describe.

• Proverbs 4:7 (Scripture)

  'Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom' offers a biblical counterpart to the love of wisdom that gives philosophy its name.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: Philosophy is best understood as an effort to see knowledge whole and apply it to life, and its history can be learned through the lives and leading ideas of its greatest figures.

Rhetorical device: biographical narrative. Durant opens each chapter with the thinker's life and times, so that ideas appear as responses to circumstances.

Debate: Resolved: Students should learn philosophy through surveys before reading the philosophers themselves.

Memory Work

we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit

Writing Prompts

Essay: Choose one chapter and compare Durant's summary with a passage from the philosopher's own work in the library. What does the summary capture, and what does it leave out?

Comparison with Candide: Or Optimism: Compare Durant's account of Voltaire's aims with what Candide itself shows about Voltaire's views.

Creative Prompts

• Essay

  Write a short chapter in Durant's manner about a thinker he left out, combining biography, main ideas and a brief appraisal.

• Classroom

  Small groups each take one chapter and present the philosopher's central idea alongside a passage from the philosopher's own book in the library.

• Dialogue

  Write a conversation between Voltaire and Rousseau on whether civilization improves human beings.

• Essay

  Explain why the line about excellence as a habit is often attributed to Aristotle, and what Aristotle actually wrote on the subject.

Further Reading

• The Republic, Plato

• Candide, Voltaire

• The Story of Civilization, Will and Ariel Durant

• The Mansions of Philosophy, Will Durant