A History of Western Thought

The first English edition of what has clearly been a standard undergraduate work in Scandinavia since its publication in the early 70s. In scope but not in tone it resembles Russell's History of Western Philosophy, beginning as it does with the Greeks and proceeding through to our time. Each section contains questions for students and a short list of further primary and secondary reading. There are good sections on the rise of modern science, doubt and belief in Descartes, the rise of the humanities. Marx, Kierkegaard, Darwin and Nietzsche all have their own chapters. There is a section on Freud but scarcely any mention of Jung, or indeed of William James and Henri Bergson, both of whom feature in Russell. The social sciences are introduced and there is a section on Einstein (not really enough on the philosophical implications of QM) and on interdisciplinarity. The style is clear although it is a pity that the typeface is so small.